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The Palais de la Nation in Brussels, where the two chambers of the Belgian Federal Parliament sit.
The Belgian federal prosecutor’s office carried out a search of parliament on Tuesday January 18 to seize the documents of the 2000-2001 parliamentary commission of inquiry into the death of Patrice Lumumba. This search comes as this week should have celebrated the return to Kinshasa of the relics of the latter, namely a tooth taken away following his death by one of the Belgian police officers involved in his execution.
With our correspondent in Brussels, Pierre Benazet
Some in Belgium believe that the House of Representatives has not finished its work and has not shed light on the death of Patrice Lumumba twenty years ago. It remains that the conduct of a search in the Belgian federal parliament is a first and is a bit for justice to bring out the heavy artillery. The spokesman for the prosecution, Eric van Duyse wants to reassure and affirms that the search ” was made in good agreement between justice and Parliament ».
Confidential documents of interest to justice
The president of the chamber opposed a seizure. The prosecution has therefore placed under seal the documents which – twenty years ago – fueled the 88 hours of meetings of the parliamentary commission of inquiry for 18 months. In camera meetings and confidential documents… Something to interest the judge who is investigating the complaint filed in 2011, a complaint which led to a qualification of war crimes for the execution of Patrice Lumumba.
The parliamentary committee concluded its work by pointing out “ moral responsibility of some Belgian officials in his death. A so-called instance of indictment will now have to decide whether the documents of the Parliament can be added to the investigation file.
►Also read: Patrice Lumumba: how the West made an enemy
