Keypoints:
- DRC court convicts Kabila in absentia
- Found guilty of treason, conspiracy and murder
- Linked to M23 rebels and Rwanda ties
A MILITARY court in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on Tuesday sentenced former president Joseph Kabila to death in absentia after finding him guilty of treason and conspiracy. The 54-year-old, who has lived outside the country since 2023, was accused of colluding with the M23 rebel movement in the east of the country, a group widely reported by the United Nations to have received support from Rwanda.
Kabila, who did not attend the trial in Kinshasa and was not represented by counsel, was stripped of his lifetime senatorial immunity earlier this year, clearing the way for the proceedings. The decision comes as the DRC continues to grapple with decades of armed violence and political turmoil.
Prosecutors push for death penalty
Military prosecutor General Lucien Rene Likulia had demanded the death penalty, alleging that Kabila conspired to overthrow President Felix Tshisekedi with the assistance of M23 leaders and Rwandan support.
In a packed courtroom, judges handed down the sentence after a nearly five-hour hearing, declaring the former president guilty of crimes including homicide, torture, rape, treason and organising an insurrectionist movement. The court said there were no mitigating factors to reduce the punishment.
Kabila’s political allies denounced the proceedings as a ‘political trial’, insisting the charges were aimed at neutralising him as a potential rallying point for opposition forces.
Political stakes and regional tensions
Kabila ruled the DRC from 2001 until 2019, taking over after the assassination of his father, Laurent-Désiré Kabila. His nearly two-decade rule was marked by contested elections, persistent insecurity in the mineral-rich east, and strained relations with neighbouring Rwanda.
In May this year, Kabila was briefly seen in the city of Goma, which is partly controlled by M23 forces, where he reportedly met with local religious leaders alongside the group’s spokesman Lawrence Kanyuka. The appearance sparked outrage in Kinshasa, with Tshisekedi branding his predecessor as the architect of the rebellion. Kabila has in turn accused the current administration of running a ‘dictatorship’.
Rwanda link and fragile peace deals
Although Rwanda denies involvement with M23, UN investigators have said Kigali’s military has played a ‘critical’ role in the insurgency’s battlefield successes. The DRC and Rwanda signed a peace agreement in Washington in June, followed by a declaration in Qatar in July supporting a permanent ceasefire with M23. Yet violence has continued, with rights groups documenting abuses such as summary executions, mass rapes and kidnappings.
A UN inquiry in September reported that all parties to the conflict may have committed war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Uncertain enforcement of verdict
Despite the capital sentence, Kabila’s arrest appears improbable. His current whereabouts remain unclear, and the DRC has not carried out an execution in decades, despite formally lifting its moratorium on the death penalty last year.
Legal experts note that an appeal to the Court of Cassation is possible, though only on procedural grounds. The ruling nevertheless underscores the fragile state of Congolese politics and the high stakes of its ongoing conflict in the east, where dozens of militias continue to operate beyond state control.
