A military court in the Democratic Republic of Congo on Tuesday sentenced former president Joseph Kabila to death in absentia, finding him guilty of treason and complicity with the M23 rebel group.
Kabila, 54, was neither present nor represented at the trial in Kinshasa. The court ruled that he had collaborated with M23, an armed group accused of seizing large parts of eastern Congo with alleged support from Rwanda.
Military prosecutor General Lucien René Likulia, who demanded the death penalty, also accused Kabila of plotting a coup against President Félix Tshisekedi, with charges including homicide, torture, and rape tied to M23’s actions. Likulia alleged Kabila coordinated with Rwandan authorities and Corneille Nangaa, former head of the electoral commission during the 2018 election.
Kabila, who ruled from 2001 to 2019 after the assassination of his father, Laurent-Désiré Kabila, has lived abroad since 2023. His brief reappearance in Goma in May — where he reportedly met with religious leaders and M23 spokesman Lawrence Kanyuka — raised alarm in the capital.
Tshisekedi has accused Kabila of being the mastermind behind the M23 insurgency, while Kabila has labeled Tshisekedi’s government a “dictatorship.”
Kabila’s party condemned the trial as politically motivated. Analysts say the death sentence is likely intended to block his return and prevent him from rallying opposition forces.
The DRC lifted its moratorium on the death penalty in 2024, though no executions have yet been carried out.
Rwanda continues to deny involvement with M23, but UN experts have found its military played a “critical” role in the group’s operations.
AFP
