Belgian prosecutors the suspect Davignon, who was then a young diplomat attached to the ministry of foreign affairs, was involved in Illegal detention and deportation of Lumumbaand treated him with “humiliating and humiliating acts.” He was also charged in connection with the murder of Lumumba’s associates Maurice Mpolo and Joseph Okito.
Davignon rejected those accusations. Belgian congressional investigation concluded in 2002 that Belgium was “morally responsible” for Lumumba’s death.
The case has been in the middle for a long and unpleasant account of Belgium and its former colonies. In 2022, the Belgian government officially returned to Lumumba’s family the only known part of his remains – tooth kept for decades by the Belgian police involved in disposing of his body.
Before his death, Davignon remained one of the most Belgian stick together establishment figures, and senior roles cover European diplomacy, banking, energy and aviation.
