Congo: Former President Kabila sentenced to death for treason

The Democratic Republic of the Congo’s (DRC) former President Joseph Kabila has been sentenced to death by a military court for committing treason and war crimes against the nation, according to the Associated Press, September 30.

The charges centre around his collaboration with anti-government rebels.

Kabila has been enduring the trial that has now sentenced him to death, in absentia, since July 2025. His whereabouts remain unknown, which has not stopped trial proceedings, however, his last recorded sighting was in a rebel-controlled city earlier in 2025.

Joseph Kabila’s party, The People’s Party for Reconstruction and Democracy (PPRD), has said that the trial and verdict are politically motivated.

Regardless, the high military court has ordered authorities in the country to immediately arrest Joseph Kabila.

Kabila is accused of collaborating wit the Rwandan M23 rebel group that, in January of this year, took control of several cities in the country’s East, which is known to be a mineral rich region.

For Joseph Kabila’s part, he denies the charges. Though, this is a belief that may be contradicted by his own words, as he expressed support for the rebels’ cause in Sunday Times, a South African newspaper, back in February.

The court ordered Kabila to pay large penalties in damages to the country totalling $29 billion, with an additional charge of $2 billion dollars for bother the provinces of North Kivu, and South Kivu that has absorbed much of the damage caused by fighting.

Kinshasa’s high military court ruled that Joseph Kabila had indeed committed treason due to his involvement in war crimes, conspiracy and planning alongside M23 rebels, an insurrection against the DRC.

One critical piece of testimony was gathered from a Eric Nkuba, who was sent to prison after receiving rebellion charges in August 2024. He once served as Chief of Staff to Corneille Nangaa, one of the rebel leaders.

Nkuba directly implicated Joseph Kabilia, testifying that he had been in regular contact with Corneille Nangaa over the phone, the conversations largely centring around how to overthrow the currently serving President of the Congo, Felix Tshisekedi.

The PPRD head, Emmanuel Ramazani Shadary, has said the verdict is unfair and based on political manoeuvring: “We believe that the clear intention of the dictatorship in power is to eliminate, to neutralise, a major political actor,”

One of the lawyers in the case, representing the country’s provinces of North and South Kivu described his position on the outcome, saying “Justice rendered in the name of the Congolese people gives satisfaction to its people.”

For 18 years between 2001 and 2019, Joseph Kabila headed the Congolese government in Kinshasa, assuming control at just 29 years old as head of state after President Laurent Kabila, his father, was assassinated.

Kabila went on to extend his term towards the end of his reign by refusing to hold elections in 2017, delaying them for two years until 2019. This brings us to the current moment, where Felix Tshisekedi-who Nkuba accused Joseph Kabila and Corneille Nangaa fo trying to overthrow-is successfully elected President in December of 2018, with his rule beginning in 2019.

Previously, Joseph Kabila was protected from such an outcome due to having immunity from prosecution, however, this was stripped of him in May after the Congolese Senate voted to repeal the privilege.

Kabila expressed his fury at the vote’s outcome, saying the decision was ‘dictatorial.’

The Former President’s location is unknown. What is known, is that he returned to Congo after living in a self-imposed exile abroad. Though, rather than returning to Kinshasa, he instead returned to Goma, a city controlled by M23 rebels instead.

The conflict in Congo’s eastern provinces ranks among the world’s largest humanitarian conflicts. So far it has seen over 7 million people displaced by the fighting, with around 3000 people killed since the war saw a dramatic upswing in 2025 when the M23 rebel group made rapid advances into the country, capturing huge areas along the DRC-Rwanda border such as Goma city in January, followed by the town of Bukavu in February.

The mysterious disappearance of Joseph Kabila is a point of concern to the government in Kinshasa, and until he is either apprehended by the authorities, or until the conflict in the Congo is resolved, this is a dark chapter that remains open.

The People of Congo who suffered under Kabila’s reign, as well as those who have lost so much due to the rebels he is accused of supporting, may be faced with a long wait for justice. Though the court has ordered his arrest, issued fines in the billions and sentenced him to death, at the time of writing, the court has no power to bring him to justice.

Congo’s former President, Joseph Kabila, remains in hiding.

The Associated Press, Maghrebi.org