Democratic Republic of Congo’s former President Joseph Kabila walks to attend a meeting with religious leaders to help find a “solution” to the crisis in the country’s eastern regions, where Rwanda-backed M23 rebels have seized significant territory, in Goma, North Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo, May 29, 2025
Sept 30 – A military court in the Democratic Republic of Congo on Tuesday sentenced former president Joseph Kabila to death in absentia, convicting him of crimes including war crimes.
Lieutenant-General Joseph Mutombo Katalayi, who presided the military tribunal in the capital, told the court that Kabila was convicted of various crimes including treason, crimes against humanity, murder, sexual assault, torture and insurrection.
Kabila spent almost two decades in power and only stepped down after deadly protests against him. Since late 2023, he has been residing mostly in South Africa, though he did appear in rebel-held Goma in eastern Congo in May.
