Belgian prosecutors accused Davignon, then a young diplomat attached to the foreign ministry, of involvement in Lumumba’s unlawful detention and transfer, and of subjecting him to “humiliating and degrading treatment.” He was also accused in connection with the killings of Lumumba’s allies Maurice Mpolo and Joseph Okito.
Davignon denied the allegations. A Belgian parliamentary inquiry concluded in 2002 that Belgium was “morally responsible” for Lumumba’s death.
The case has become central to Belgium’s long and uneasy reckoning with its colonial past. In 2022, the Belgian government formally returned to Lumumba’s family the only known part of his remains — a tooth kept for decades by a Belgian policeman involved in disposing of his body.
Before his death, Davignon remained one of Belgium’s most connected establishment figures, with senior roles spanning European diplomacy, banking, energy and aviation.