25 Soldiers Sentenced To Death In DR Congo For ‘Fleeing The Enemy’

A military court in the North Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of Congo has sentenced 25 soldiers to death for several offences, including ‘fleeing the enemy’.

A total of 31 defendants, including 27 soldiers and four of their civilian wives, were tried before the Butembo garrison military court for charges including fleeing the enemy, dissipating munitions of war, violating orders and theft.

According to Jules Muvweko, one of the defence lawyers, the other accused soldiers and the four women were acquitted for lack of evidence. He noted that the convicted soldiers intended to appeal.

The mineral-rich DR Congo has been plagued by fighting between both local and foreign-based armed groups for over 30 years since the regional wars of the 1990s.

Last March, the Congolese government lifted the moratorium on the death penalty, which had been in force since 2003 in the country. This was considered a target on soldiers accused of treason as more armed rebellions sprung up in the east.

In early May, eight Congolese soldiers, including five officers, were reportedly sentenced to death in Goma for “cowardice” and “fleeing the enemy”.

There are already 2.8 million displaced people in North Kivu, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

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Oluwatobi Odeyinka

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