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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presidential immunity was revoked in May.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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