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Belgium to finally probe murder of African hero Lumumba

11:20 13/12/2012

More than 50 years after the assassination of Congolese independence hero Patrice Lumumba, a court in Belgium has given the go-ahead to a judicial inquiry into his death. In question is the role of 12 Belgians in the January 17, 1961 assassination of Lumumba, the first lawfully elected premier of the Congo who is seen as a hero across Africa for his role in the continent’s struggle for independence.

Lumumba was deposed in a coup 12 weeks after his June 1960 election, and subsequently arrested and killed by firing squad in a Cold War-era episode said to have involved the CIA. A year ago his sons filed a war crimes complaint in Belgium against 12 Belgians they suspect of involvement.

“It is a father I am looking for, a father whom I still love, and I want to know why he was killed,” his youngest son, Guy Lumumba, said at the time. “We are targeting the assassins. In Belgium, there are 12 of them. They are alive and we want them to answer for their ignoble acts.”

A Brussels court linked to Belgium’s appeals tribunal yesterday agreed that the prosecutor’s office could go ahead with a probe to establish whether those named were involved in his death. The court was asked to decide whether the complaint met unique Belgian legislation allowing for the prosecution of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide on condition the plaintiffs or accused had an established link to Belgium.

Written by The Bulletin editorial team