Congo court annuls sentence for exiled opposition leader

KINSHASA, Congo – A lawyer for Congo opposition leader Moise Katumbi says a court has annulled his three-year prison sentence, enabling him to return from exile in Belgium.

The Court of Cassation, or supreme court of appeals, made the judgment Friday, saying that Katumbi can enter Congo a free man.

Lawyer Jean Joseph Mukendi said the court found fraud in the sentencing.

Congo’s government issued an arrest warrant last year against Katumbi, who had been a leading presidential contender before fleeing Congo in May 2016 after falling out with former President Joseph Kabila and as prosecutors announced they would try him on charges of hiring mercenaries, which he denied.

Katumbi tried to enter Congo to register as a candidate for December’s presidential election. He said he was blocked at the border with Zambia.