DRC ex-president Joseph Kabila sentenced to death in absentia

Joseph Kabila, former president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), was sentenced to death in absentia by the country’s High Military Court on Tuesday, on charges including treason and crimes against humanity.

According to the verdict, Kabila was found guilty of multiple offenses, such as participation in an insurrectional movement, intentional homicide, torture, rape, and forced occupation of the city of Goma, provincial capital of North Kivu, now controlled by the March 23 Movement (M23) rebels.

Kabila also received a 15-year prison term for conspiracy, while the court pronounced the death penalty for the other charges.

The trial, which opened in July following the lifting of Kabila’s parliamentary immunity by the Senate in May, was conducted without the presence of the accused.

The prosecution accused the former head of state of being implicated in atrocities committed in the eastern provinces by the M23. Evidence presented included witness testimonies, video footage, and media interviews.

Since January, the security situation in the eastern DRC has sharply deteriorated, with renewed fighting involving the M23, which has seized control of several strategic areas, including Goma and Bukavu.

Kabila, who ruled the country from 2001 to 2019, has been residing primarily in South Africa since 2023.

Since May, he has made public appearances in the DRC’s eastern province of North Kivu. He also expressed his desire to return home to “contribute to finding a solution” to the ongoing crisis.