A military court in Democratic Republic of Congo has sentenced the country’s former President, Joseph Kabila, to death in absentia after convicting him of war crimes, treason, and crimes against humanity.
The case stems from his alleged role in backing advance of M23 rebels supported by Rwanda in DRC’s volatile eastern provinces.
Kabila who led the country from 2001 to 2019, has denied wrongdoing and said the judiciary had been politicized.
Lt. Gen. Joseph Mutombo Katalayi, presiding over tribunal in Kinshasa, said Kabila had been found guilty of charges that included murder, sexual assault, torture, and insurrection.
Kabila did not attend the trial and was not represented by legal counsel. Neither he nor his representives were immediately available for comment. His whereabouts were not immediately known.
“In applying Article 7 of the Military Penal Code, (the Court) imposes a single sentence, namely the most severe one, which is the death penalty”, Katalayi said while delivering the verdict.
Kabila was also ordered to pay about $50bn (£36bn) in damages to the State and victims.
Kabila spent almost 20 years in power and stepped down only after deadly protests against him. He has been living mostly in South Africa since 2023, but appeared in the rebel-held city of Goma in Eastern DRC in May.
He entered into an awkward over-sharing deal with his successor, Felix Tshisekedi, but their relationship soon soured.
-9News Nigeria.
