Carlo Huyghé

Charles "Carlo" Huyghé
Chef de cabinet of Joseph Yav
PresidentMoïse Tshombe
Personal details
Born
Charles Corneille Juliette Huyghé

(1923-03-11)11 March 1923
Etterbeek, Belgium
Died27 December 2016(2016-12-27) (aged 93)
South Africa

Charles Corneille Juliette 'Carlo' Huyghé (11 March 1923 – 27 December 2016) was a Belgian national who worked at the cabinet of the independent Katangese Secretary of State of National Defense Joseph Yav. His role in the assassination of Congo's first Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba is still the subject of debate.

Early life and career

Huyghé was the child of a Walloon father and a Flemish mother. From his father's side, During the Second World War, he was a volunteer at the Royal Air Force.

Career

Huyghé moved to the Belgian Congo in 1945, where he worked for the Belgian colonial administration for almost twenty years. In March 1960, he was called to install a special unit for intervention at the European volunteers' corps. At the time of Katanga's declaration of independence by Moïse Tshombe in July 1960, Katangese Interior Minister Godefroid Munongu's Chef de cabinet Victor Tignée appointed Huyghé as his deputy Chef de cabinet. In October 1960, the Secretariats were created, which enlarged the government. Hugyhé became the deputy Chef de cabinet of Secretary of State of National Defense Joseph Yav, family member of Tshombe. He was involved in the procurement of weaponry for Katanga. In August 1961, he received an expulsion order and left for Paris, but became Chef de cabinet of Yav, replacing colonel Grandjean, in November. He stayed in Katanga until the end of 1962.

Involvement in Lumumba's murder

According to the United Nations Commission of Investigation into the deaths of Patrice Lumumba, Maurice Mpolo, and Joseph Okito, a "great deal of suspicion is cast" on Huyghé, "as being the actual perpetrator of Mr. Lumumba's murder", with Captain Julien Gat accessory to the crime.

Later life

Huyghé moved to South Africa after the end of the Katangese secession in 1963. He lived in Craighall on the outskirts of Johannesburg. He played an important role in the Western community in the country, occupying several positions in the social life of Johannesburg, such as President of the Union of Francophone Belgians Abroad and President of the Belgian Business Association.

Honours


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