Former DRC President Joseph Kabila Sentencedโ too Death In Absentia
Joseph Kabila,โข the former President of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) โwho governed from 2001โ to 2019, has been โsentenced to death by a military high court. The trial proceeded in absentia as Kabila has residedโข outside the DRC since 2023 and did not submit legal โฃrepresentation.
The court โคfound Kabila guilty of charges including “betrayal” and “war crimes.” The sentencing, originally scheduled for September 30th, was delayed byโค nearly three โคhours โขbefore the verdict โขwas announced, alongside โฃaโ considerable financial penalty.
Massive Financial Penalties & โAllegationsโ of โฃM23 Support
Beyond the death sentence, Kabila has been ordered to pay $29โข billionโข USD to the congolese state. He is also required to compensate the North Kivu and south โคKivu provincesโข – both civil parties in the case – wiht $2 billion USD each.
The Military Attorney’s Office accused Kabila of orchestrating the violence perpetrated by theโ M23 rebel movement,which โhas โbeen โlinked to widespread atrocities including murder,rape,and torture in eastern DRC.โฃ Lucien Renรฉ Likulia,the Armed Forces Auditor General,stated that Kabila was โdirectly connected to the movement’s crimes.
Loss of Immunity & party Crackdown
The legalโ proceedings followed the revocationโ ofโ Kabila’s senatorial immunity in May.โ Heโ had โฃserved as a Senator since 2019. The day after losing hisโฃ immunity,Kabila publicly โฃdenounced theโ government as authoritarian and criticized the “collapse of institutions” in a broadcast from an undisclosedโฃ location.
Concurrently,the government suspended the activities of Kabila’sโ founded political party,the Popular Party for Reconstruction and Democracy (PPRD),and ordered the seizure ofโ hisโ assets,citing collaboration with theโฃ M23.
Exile and Ongoing โฃRegional Tensions
Kabila, now 54 years old, left the DRC in 2023 andโข has primarily resided in South Africa. In April, he expressed โa willingness to return to the โคcountry to “help find โa solution” to the ongoing crisis in the east.
The conviction arrives amidst delicate peace negotiations. In June, Kinshasa and Rwanda signed a ministerial peace agreement in Washington, D.C., and in July, the Congolese government and M23 signed a declaration of โprinciplesโข in Doha. โHowever, the M23 โcontinues to โขdemand the releaseโ of prisoners as a condition for further negotiations.