Published on 30/09/2025
Congolese military court on Tuesday sentenced former President Joseph Kabila to death and ordered his immediate arrest.
Tried and convicted in absentia, Kabila faced charges including war crimes, rape, murder, incitement, treason, conspiracy, and promoting war-related propaganda. The court also ordered him to pay more than $30 billion in damages to the State and to the provinces of North Kivu and South Kivu.
Kabila, president from 2001 to 2019, has gradually become an enemy of the State, accused of fuelling the war in eastern Congo through collaboration with M23 rebels allegedly backed by Rwanda.
Rebel leaders were also sentenced to death in absentia, even as Kinshasa pursued peace talks with them mediated by Qatar and influenced by the United States.
The court identified Kabila as leader of the AFC/M23 rebellion and accused him of complicity with Rwanda, allegations long supported by UN expert reports.
Evidence cited by the military court included Kabila’s own statements, a UN Joint Human Rights Office report, testimony from an M23 fighter held in Kinshasa, and declarations from a close associate.
The fighter, Eric Nkuba, claimed Kabila was plotting with AFC/M23 leader Corneille Nangaa to overthrow President Félix Tshisekedi.
The verdict, delivered on September 30, had originally been scheduled for September 12 but was delayed after civil parties promised new witnesses. When the witnesses failed to appear, the court relied on earlier submissions.
Supporters of the former president denounced the case as politically driven. Ferdinand Kambere, deputy permanent secretary of Kabila’s now-suspended PPRD party, said: “It’s very sad when I hear there is a trial against Joseph Kabila. It always makes me laugh. An entire regime against an innocent citizen who has done so much for this country. A trial simply because he returned via Goma to live in his villa. What has he done to deserve death?”
In May, Kabila returned from South Africa, where he had been living, through Goma, a city under M23 control. Authorities in Kinshasa said the move confirmed his role in the rebellion. Kabila insisted his return was to help peace efforts, declaring:
“I am coming out of retirement in view of the situation our country is going through. To remain silent would have made me liable to prosecution before the court of history for failing to assist more than 100 million compatriots in danger.”
He also condemned “the tyranny and chaos that have taken hold in the DRC.”
Kabila, who remained at large during the trial, has not yet responded to the verdict.
