A military court in the Democratic Republic of Congo has convicted the longtime former president of the country, Joseph Kabila, of crimes including treason and crimes against humanity, and sentenced him to death in absentia.
The Congolese government accused Mr. Kabila of collaborating with the M23, a rebel group backed by Rwanda that seized swaths of eastern Congo early this year, including two major cities. Previously, he served as president of the central African country for nearly two decades.
In a verdict that took more than four hours to read out on Tuesday, he was also convicted of war crimes, murder, sexual assault, torture, involvement in an insurrection movement, conspiracy and supporting terrorism. But Mr. Kabila was not present for any of the proceedings, and in his absence it is unlikely that the court will be able to carry out his sentence.
Mr. Kabila’s chosen candidate lost the 2018 election, when an opposition figure, Felix Tshisekedi, was named the winner. Independent observers said that the real winner was another opposition figure, Martin Fayulu, but Mr. Kabila handed power to Mr. Tshisekedi, whom he considered to be a more acceptable ally.
The alliance between Mr. Tshisekedi and Mr. Kabila quickly fell apart, and Mr. Kabila went into self-imposed exile in 2023. In May, he live-streamed a speech criticizing the Tshisekedi government, and then paid a highly publicized visit to the rebel-held city of Goma. It is not known where Mr. Kabila is currently living.
Justin Makangara contributed reporting from Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo.
Ruth Maclean is the West Africa bureau chief for The Times, covering 25 countries including Nigeria, Congo, the countries in the Sahel region as well as Central Africa.
Saikou Jammeh is a reporter and researcher for The Times based in Dakar, Senegal.
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