Joseph Kabila, the former president of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), has been condemned to death in absentia by a military tribunal in Kinshasa. The court found him culpable of war crimes, treason, and crimes against humanity.
On Tuesday, Lieutenant-General Joseph Mutombo Katalayi announced the verdict, connecting Kabila to the revival of the M23 insurgency in eastern Congo, a movement allegedly supported by Rwanda.
“Under Article 7 of the Military Penal Code, the court imposes the harshest penalty available: the death sentence,” Katalayi stated during the sentencing.
The court convicted Kabila of multiple offenses, including murder, sexual violence, torture, and rebellion. Additionally, he was ordered to compensate the government and victims with approximately $50 billion in damages.
Kabila, who governed the DRC from 2001 until 2019, was absent from the trial and lacked legal counsel. His current location is uncertain, though reports suggest he has been living in South Africa since 2023. His last public appearance was in May in Goma, a city under rebel control in eastern Congo. Neither Kabila nor his representatives have issued any statements regarding the judgment.
This decision is expected to exacerbate existing political tensions and social fractures within the resource-rich Central African nation, which has endured prolonged conflict and instability.
After stepping down in 2019 amid widespread protests against his prolonged rule, Kabila initially entered a power-sharing arrangement with his successor, President Félix Tshisekedi. However, their relationship soon soured.
Tshisekedi has consistently accused Kabila of supporting the M23 insurgents. At the Munich Security Conference in February, he claimed that “Kabila was behind the insurgency” as the rebels advanced toward Bukavu, the second-largest city in eastern Congo.
The M23 militia currently holds significant territory in the North Kivu and South Kivu provinces. This year’s clashes have resulted in thousands of deaths and displaced hundreds of thousands of people. Despite a peace agreement brokered by the United States in June, both parties continue to blame each other for breaches of the accord.
Rwanda, frequently accused of backing the M23 rebels, denies these claims, asserting that its military actions are purely defensive against Congolese forces and Hutu militias linked to the 1994 genocide in Rwanda.
Following the court’s ruling, President Tshisekedi’s administration has taken steps to suspend Kabila’s political party and confiscate assets belonging to its senior officials.
