Former President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Joseph Kabila, has denounced the ongoing trial against him, describing the courts as “an instrument of oppression.”
Kabila, who has been outside the country for two years, is standing trial in absentia for alleged treason and war crimes linked to Rwanda-backed M23 rebels who seized large swaths of mineral-rich eastern DRC this year.
The former leader is accused of supporting the rebel group, plotting to overthrow President Felix Tshisekedi, and committing other crimes tied to the insurgency, including homicide, torture, and the forcible occupation of the city of Goma, which was captured by M23 fighters in January before a ceasefire was reached in July.
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On Friday, the Congolese military auditor general, General Lucien Rene Likulia, urged the court to condemn Kabila to death, insisting he should face the maximum penalty for “treason and war crimes.”
Reacting to the proceedings, Ferdinand Kambere, secretary of Kabila’s political party, told Reuters: “It is an act of relentlessness and persecution against a member of the opposition.”
The DRC, which lifted a moratorium on the death penalty last year, has not carried out any judicial executions since.
