A court in Rio de Janeiro has sentenced two Brazilian men to lengthy prison terms for the brutal beating death of Congolese migrant Moise Kabagambe, a case that drew widespread outrage across the country.
Aleson Cristiano de Oliveira Fonseca received 23 years and seven months, while Fabio Pirineus da Silva was sentenced to 19 years and six months for the killing, which occurred on January 24, 2022, near the kiosk where Kabagambe worked along Barra da Tijuca beach.
According to court records, Kabagambe, 24, was viciously attacked after demanding overdue wages for two days of work. Surveillance footage, corroborated by testimony from his family, showed the men beating him with fists, feet, and a wooden stick after a third suspect, Brendon Alexander Luz da Silva, had tied his hands and feet. Luz da Silva is set to stand trial separately.
The victim’s brother, Maurice Kabagambe, expressed relief following the sentencing. “We got the response we had been waiting for for three years,” he told Folha de S. Paulo. “All of Brazil saw what they did to Moise. They killed him like cowards.”
The crime sent shockwaves through Brazil as disturbing footage of the attack aired repeatedly on television, sparking protests and calls for justice.
Moise Kabagambe and his family had fled armed conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo, seeking refuge in Brazil in 2011.