Former DRC president Joseph Kabila has been sentenced to death in absentia by a military tribunal after being convicted of treason, war crimes, and crimes against humanity.
The sentence, delivered by Lt Gen Joseph Mutombo Katalayi in Kinshasa, accuses Kabila of orchestrating atrocities including murder, sexual violence, torture, and insurrection.
The charges stem from his alleged support for the M23 rebellion, a group backed by Rwanda that has seized large parts of North and South Kivu provinces.
Kabila, who governed DRC from 2001 until 2019, neither appeared in court nor appointed a defence team. His current location remains unclear, although he has largely resided in South Africa since 2023. He briefly resurfaced in May this year in Goma, a city under M23 control.
Invoking article 7 of the military penal code, Gen Katalayi said the court had no choice but to impose “the severest sanction available—the death penalty.” In addition, Kabila was ordered to pay nearly $50 billion in compensation to victims and to the state.
The verdict comes amid escalating instability in eastern Congo, where the M23 insurgency has displaced hundreds of thousands and left thousands dead this year despite a US-brokered ceasefire signed in June. Both Kinshasa and the rebels accuse each other of violating the truce.
President Félix Tshisekedi has repeatedly blamed his predecessor for financing the M23 offensive. Speaking at the Munich Security Conference in February, Tshisekedi alleged that Kabila was the “chief sponsor” of the rebellion.
Relations between the two men soured shortly after a fragile power-sharing deal following the 2019 transition. Tshisekedi’s government has since moved to suspend Kabila’s political party and seize its assets.
