In a highly contested verdict, a Congolese military court sentenced Edouard Mwangachuchu, a popular congressman from the Masisi constituency, to death on treason and claimed ties to the M23 rebel movement.
Mr Mwangachuchu, who also owns a mining company, was found guilty of illicit weapon possession, treason, and participation in the M23 rebellion.
While the death penalty is commonly used in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, no one has been killed in more than two decades, and it is frequently commuted to life imprisonment. Initially, the public prosecutor sought a life sentence for the 70-year-old politician.
Notably, Mr Mwangachuchu was not present during the sentencing, which has prompted his lawyer, Thomas Gamakolo, to contend that the trial was tainted by “ethnic hatred and deductions.”
He contended that Mr Mwangachuchu had been wrongfully presumed guilty because of his Tutsi background, and he emphasized that there was no substantial proof linking his client to Rwanda.
Since rising in 2021, the M23 militia, commanded by Tutsi leaders, has taken control of parts of Congo’s North Kivu province. As a result, impartial United Nations experts, the Kinshasa government, and numerous Western countries, including the United States and France, have accused Rwanda of actively backing the M23 movement. Kigali strongly denies these allegations.
In an unexpected turn of events, Mr Mwangachuchu’s co-defendant, Robert Muchamalirwa, a police captain charged with “violation of orders,” was cleared by the court and ordered released immediately.
The case of Mr Mwangachuchu continues to generate controversy, showing ethnic divisions within the region, as tensions over the judgement rise.