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Former Congolese president Joseph Kabila went on trial in absentia on Friday, with accusations including treason due to purported support for militants backed by Rwanda.
He is charged at a military court in Kinshasa for allegedly conspiring to overthrow the government of President Felix Tshisekedi, a charge that may result in a death sentence.
The charges against him include homicide, torture, and rape related to the anti-government group M23, as indicated in the charge sheet.
Additional accusations consist of “participation in an insurrection movement,” “crimes against the peace and safety of humanity,” and “forcible takeover of the city of Goma.”
Kabila visited the eastern city in May, which the M23 captured in January; however, a promise for a permanent ceasefire was agreed upon between the group and the government in July.
The military court began the trial at 1020 GMT in the Gombe area of the capital.
His successor, President Tshisekedi, has labelled Kabila as the mastermind behind the M23, which has taken control of large areas in the resource-abundant eastern Congo, allegedly with assistance from Rwanda.
According to the charge sheet, he is described as “one of the initiators of the Congo River Alliance,” the political branch of the M23. He faces allegations of conspiring with Rwanda to unseat Tshisekedi forcibly. The charge sheet claims he is accountable for the atrocities perpetrated by the movement in the mineral-rich provinces of North and South Kivu.
While Rwanda denies having militarily supported the M23, United Nations experts assert that its army has played a “critical” role in the group’s offensive in that area.
Kabila, 54, ascended to power after the assassination of his father, Laurent Kabila, in 2001, and ruled the DRC until 2019, departing the country in 2023. He has described Tshisekedi’s administration as a “dictatorship.”
Kabila has dismissed the case as “arbitrary” and criticised the courts as being “an instrument of oppression.”
To facilitate his prosecution, the upper house of the legislature revoked his status as a senator for life.
For over thirty years, eastern DRC has been plagued by conflict involving various armed factions. The turmoil has escalated since the M23’s resurgence in 2021.
The DRC removed a moratorium on the death penalty last year, yet no judicial executions have taken place since that time.
