Kinshasa court sentences ex-president Kabila to death in absentia

A military court in Kinshasa on Tuesday sentenced former president Joseph Kabila to death in absentia, finding him guilty of treason, crimes against humanity, war crimes and other offenses linked to alleged support for the M23 rebel movement that seized large parts of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo earlier this year. Lieutenant General Joseph Mutombo Katalayi, who presided over the tribunal, announced the verdict and said the court was applying the military penal code to impose the most severe penalty.

The court convicted Kabila on a list of charges that included murder, sexual assault, torture and insurrection, according to the presiding judge. Prosecutors had sought the death penalty after accusing the former president of conspiring with the Rwandan backed M23 fighters in a campaign that pushed into North Kivu and South Kivu provinces and captured key towns in early 2024. The tribunal also ordered Kabila arrested and to pay damages to the state and victims, court officials said.

Kabila, who led the country from 2001 until stepping down in 2019, did not attend the trial and was tried in absentia. He has been living primarily in South Africa since late 2023, though he made...