DR Congo: Death Penalty for 37 Accused of a Failed Coup D’état
Authors of the Failed Coup Attemp during the trial, Sept 13, 2024 Photo: @africa_intel
September 13, 2024 Hour: 2:03 pm
The military court in the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Kinshasa, sentenced 37 of the 51 accused for an attempted coup d’état on 19 May to death this Friday, including three American citizens.
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The 37 convicted persons were found guilty of criminal association, attack, terrorism and illegal possession of weapons and munitions of war, while 13 people were acquitted on unproven charges and one accused was found not guilty as his mental health problems were considered to be mitigating, local media reported.
The court was therefore not convinced by the arguments of several of the accused, who claimed in their submissions that they had been forced to participate in the events.
Among those convicted are three Americans, including Marcel Malanga, the 20-year-old son of the alleged leader of the coup, Congolese diaspora activist Christian Malanga, who was shot by the DRC Armed Forces (FARDC) during the events.
Also sentenced to death was Jean-Jacques Wondo, a political and security researcher in the Great Lakes region of Africa with Belgian and Congolese nationality, who had been hired by Human Rights Watch (HRW) in the past.
During the early morning of 19 May, dozens of Congolese and foreign attackers led by the activist attacked the presidential palace with the aim of deposing the country’s president, Félix Tshisekedi.
The attackers had sophisticated equipment, including drones, said FARDC spokesman Sylvain Ekenge.
Autor: OSG
Fuente: EFE-Africanews
