A military prosecutor has demanded the death penalty for former Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) President Joseph Kabila, who is being tried in absentia on charges of war crimes, Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.
Kabila was president of DR Congo for nearly two decades and stepped down from office in 2018. Since the end of 2023, he has been abroad and resides mainly in South Africa. He was last seen in public in May in rebel-controlled territory in eastern DR Congo.
Congolese authorities are seeking Kabila for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity, including the mass killing of civilians. Military prosecutor Likuliya Lucien Rene, who is also the army's auditor general, told the Supreme Military Court that he was seeking the death penalty for Kabila on charges that include murder, rape, deportation and torture.
In April of this year, Kabila announced that he would return to his homeland to help with peace efforts in the war-torn eastern part of the DRC. Later that month, the government banned his political party and confiscated his assets. In May, parliament voted to strip Kabila of his presidential immunity. Later that month, Kabila appeared in the rebel-held east of the country and met with religious leaders.
The long-running crisis in eastern DR Congo escalated after Rwanda-backed M23 rebels seized the resource-rich eastern territories in January of this year.