France, March 17 -- Etienne Davignon, a one-time EU commissioner, is the only one still alive among 10 Belgians accused by the Congolese leader's family of complicity in the murder.

If the prosecutors' request that he answer in court is accepted, he would become the first Belgian official to face justice in the 65 years since Lumumba was executed and his body dissolved in acid.

Lawyers for Davignon, who denies all charges, argued in a closed-door January hearing that too much time had passed since the events, according to multiple sources.

Lumumba's relatives conversely maintained that the time is ripe for a long-overdue legal reckoning.

65 years on, Belgium edges closer to trial over Lumumba's assassination

"We are counting on the B...