Congo’s prosecutor asks for the death penalty for former President Kabila for war crimes

GOMA, Congo (AP) — Congo’s public prosecutor on Friday asked for the death penalty for former President Joseph Kabila, who is being tried in absentia in a treason case that includes war crimes charges related to his ties to the M23 rebel group.

Kabila, who led Congo from 2001 to 2019, has been on trial since July, charged with war crimes, murder and rape. He took office at the age of 29 — after his father and former President Laurent Kabila was assassinated — and extended his mandate by delaying elections for two years after his term ended in 2017.

He is accused by the Congolese government of supporting the Rwanda-backed M23 rebels who have seized major cities and towns in the country’s east in the past months.

Kabila had been in self-imposed exile since 2023 until April, when he arrived in the rebel-held city of Goma following its seizure in a rapid rebel offensive.

His supporters say the trial is politically motivated. Kabila’s presidential immunity was revoked in May. His current location is unknown.

In court on Friday, Gen. Lucien René Likulia representing the prosecution, also asked, in addition to the death penalty, for a 20-year-sentence for Kabila’s alleged condoning of war crimes and 15 years for conspiracy. The general did not elaborate on those charges or say what they referred to.

No date has yet been set for the announcement of the verdict.

Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi last year accused Kabila of backing the rebels and “preparing an insurrection” with them, a claim Kabila denies.

Ferdinand Kambere, a former minister under Kabila and current head of his party, the PPRD, said revoking Kabila’s immunity as senator-for-life was the start of the campaign against him.

“What we saw was truly a disgrace for the Republic,” Kambere told The Associated Press by phone.

Henry-Pacifique Mayala, a researcher and coordinator of the Kivu Security Tracker, told the AP that the prosecution’s demands seem to be “more of a settling of scores session than a quest for truth.”

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This story has been corrected to say that Kabila is being tried for war crimes related to his ties to the M23 group, not for crimes committed while he was president. Also clarifies that he has not been convicted yet and no date has been set for the verdict, rather than the sentencing.