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- Joseph Kabila now faces a death sentence after a military court in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) convicted him of treason and crimes against humanity
- Kabila is the DRC’s fourth president; he served between 2001 and 2019, with his tenure being regarded among Africa’s dictatorships
- The court passed the judgment against Kabila in his absence, with his whereabouts remaining unknown months after visiting the Eastern DRC
A military court in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has handed a death sentence to former president Joseph Kabila.
Kabila, who served as the DRC’s fourth president between 2001 and 2019, was convicted of treason and crimes against humanity, among other wrongdoings.
The former president was also found to be guilty of murder, sexual assault, torture and insurrection.
Why DRC court decided death sentence for Joseph kabila
He had further been accused of conspiracy and supporting terrorist acts.
The court established that the crimes Kabila was accused of were too heinous to warrant any other penalty than death.
“In applying Article 7 of the Military Penal Code, it imposes a single sentence, namely the most severe one, which is the death penalty,” the court said.
Kabila left the DRC after giving up power in 2019. His whereabouts are unknown to date.
His first return to the DRC after many years was in April this year, when he visited the war-torn eastern parts of the country. He would disappear again.
Kabila had faced accusations of siding with the M23 rebels, who are controlling a considerable territory in the minerals-rich Eastern DRC.
His trial was undertaken without his presence but was represented by his legal team.
The judgment on Tuesday, September 30, was passed by Lieutenant General Joseph Mutombo Katalayi.
Are DRC’s former presidents protected from prosecution?
The state prosecution had pursued the sentence, seeking to convince the court that Kabila was indeed a criminal, having, among other things, sided with the M23 rebels when they launched attacks in Eastern DRC to seize such key cities as Goma.
He denied all the charges for which he was prosecuted.
His woes were exacerbated after the Congolese senate voted to remove the immunity against prosecution that Congolese presidents and former ones enjoyed.
Kabila protested the Senate’s move, arguing it was dictatorial.
The 54-year-old succeeded his father, Laurent Kabila, who had led the DRC between 1997 and 2001, having taken over from Mobutu Seseseko after a coup.
Source: MSN News
