Étienne Davignon, the last surviving Belgian official facing criminal prosecution over the assassination of Congolese independence leader Patrice Lumumba, died on Monday at the age of 93. His death brings an end to a landmark criminal case that had come to represent one of Europe's most significant legal reckonings with its colonial past — though his family's lawyers say the broader fight for accountability is far from over.

Davignon, a diplomat, European commissioner and prominent business figure long regarded as a pillar of the Belgian establishment, had been ordered to stand trial in March following a Brussels court ruling. He faced charges of war crimes, including the unlawful detention and transfer of a protected person during an armed conflict, deprivation of a fair trial, and degrading treatment. The charges stemmed from his role as a junior diplomat at Belgium's foreign ministry at the time of the killing. Diplomatic telegrams unearthed during a closed parliamentary inquiry 25 years ago — including one that allegedly asked the Katangan president, Moïse Tshombé, whether he wished to receive "the package" from Léopoldville, the colonial name for Kinshasa — pointed to Davignon's alleged encouragement of Lumumba's transfer to the breakaway province of Katanga. Davignon consistently denied any wrongdoing and had lodged an appeal against the March ruling before his death.

Patrice Lumumba became the first prime minister of what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo following its independence from Belgium in 1960. Within months he was overthrown and, on 17 January 1961, executed in Katanga — a killing that became one of the defining events of Africa's post-colonial history and a lasting symbol of foreign interference on the continent. The criminal case against Davignon was initiated in 2011 by Lumumba's children, who named ten Belgian officials. Davignon was the last of those accused still alive. Under Belgian law, the death of a defendant extinguishes the public criminal action, and federal prosecutors confirmed a formal ruling on the case's termination is expected on 8 June.

However, Lumumba's family and their legal team have made clear they will not stop there. Lawyer Christophe Marchand announced that a new civil action is being prepared against the Belgian state itself before a Brussels court of first instance, seeking to establish legal — not merely moral — responsibility for the assassination and its place within the broader pattern of colonial crimes. Belgium acknowledged its moral responsibility for Lumumba's killing in 2002, but his family argues that formal judicial accountability has never followed. "After more than 60 years of impunity, the death of Mr Davignon cannot put an end to the struggle of the Lumumba family," the legal team said in a statement.

Beyond the Lumumba case, Davignon's death drew tributes from across Belgium's political and business world. Described by commentators as "the last representative of old Belgium," he was associated with some of the country's most consequential institutions, including the Société Générale holding company, the ill-fated Fortis banking merger, and the creation of what became Brussels Airlines. Former prime minister Mark Eyskens called him "a truly exceptional man" and suggested the years-long judicial process had taken a personal toll. For his many critics, however, his passing leaves unresolved the questions that have haunted Belgium's relationship with its colonial history in Central Africa for more than six decades.