Étienne Davignon, a 93-year-old former Belgian diplomat, faces war crimes charges for his role in the 1961 assassination of Patrice Lumumba, Congo’s first democratically elected leader. The Brussels court’s decision marks a rare moment of accountability for a Cold War-era atrocity. Lumumba’s overthrow, backed by U.S. and Belgian operatives, destabilized the Democratic Republic of Congo, leaving a legacy of corruption and foreign exploitation.

Belgium’s delayed reckoning underscores a broader failure to address colonial-era crimes, while the U.S. remains silent on its CIA’s involvement in Lumumba’s murder. The trial, though symbolic, highlights the need for reparative justice beyond legal proceedings.