The family of Patrice Lumumba has announced plans to pursue civil legal action against the Belgian state following the death of Étienne Davignon, the last living Belgian accused in the long-running investigation into Lumumba's assassination.
In a statement released on Monday, the Lumumba family's legal team said Davignon's death formally ends the criminal proceedings launched more than 15 years ago over the killings of Patrice Lumumba, Maurice Mpolo and Joseph Okito.
"It is therefore deeply regrettable that the Lumumba family is denied a criminal judicial outcome in this case," the statement said.
The lawyers stressed, however, that Davignon's death should not overshadow what they described as a historic legal breakthrough in Belgium regarding accountability for colonial-era crimes.
On 17 March, the Brussels Chamber of Council ordered Davignon to stand trial before a criminal court for alleged war crimes and involvement in the murders linked to the assassination of Lumumba, the first Prime Minister of independent Democratic Republic of the Congo, in January 1961.
According to the legal team, the decision marked "a major step forward in the search for truth and accountability, not only for Belgium but more broadly for the issue of European colonial crimes."
The family now intends to continue legal proceedings by filing a civil action against the Belgian state itself.
The statement argues that while Belgium acknowledged its "moral responsibility" for Lumumba's assassination in 2001, the country has yet to face formal legal responsibility.
"Mr Davignon's death cannot erase Belgium's legal responsibility for the assassination of Patrice Lumumba," said Wolfgang Kaleck, Secretary General of the European Centre for Constitutional and Human Rights and legal adviser to the Lumumba family.
The family also emphasised that the conclusions reached by Belgian prosecutors and courts remain part of the historical record despite the termination of criminal proceedings.
"The death of the last living accused does not close the historical record," the statement added.
Further details regarding the planned civil proceedings are expected in the coming weeks.
