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A military court in Kinshasa has sentenced former Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) President Joseph Kabila to death in absentia after finding him guilty of war crimes, treason, and crimes against humanity.
The case centred on allegations that Kabila supported the M23 rebel group, which has launched deadly offensives in eastern Congo with alleged backing from Rwanda. The charges included murder, sexual assault, torture, and insurrection.
Delivering the ruling, tribunal president Lieutenant-General Joseph Mutombo Katalayi said the court was applying Article 7 of the Military Penal Code, which mandates the harshest sentence in such cases. Kabila was also ordered to pay approximately $50 billion in damages to the Congolese state and victims.
The former president, who was not present in court and was not represented by legal counsel, has dismissed the trial as politically motivated, accusing the judiciary of being used as an “instrument of oppression.” His current whereabouts remain uncertain, though reports suggest he has been living mainly in South Africa since 2023.
Joseph Kabila, 54, ruled the DRC for 18 years after the assassination of his father, Laurent Kabila, in 2001. He stepped down in 2019 after mass protests and a power-sharing deal with his successor, Félix Tshisekedi, though their relationship later broke down.
Earlier this year, as M23 forces advanced on key eastern cities, President Tshisekedi accused Kabila of orchestrating and sponsoring the insurgency. Congo’s Senate stripped Kabila of his legal immunity, paving the way for prosecution.
The M23 rebellion has escalated violence across North Kivu and South Kivu provinces. In February 2025, the group seized Bukavu, Congo’s second-largest eastern city, as well as strategic airports and large stretches of mineral-rich land. Thousands have been killed and hundreds of thousands displaced in the fighting.
Although a U.S.-brokered peace deal was signed in June, both the government and rebels have accused each other of violating the agreement, with reports of reinforcements on both sides.
The United Nations and several Western countries have accused Rwanda of backing M23 with troops and weapons, a charge Kigali denies. Rwanda insists its military actions are aimed at protecting its borders from Congolese forces and Hutu militias linked to the 1994 genocide.
Kabila’s party has condemned the ruling as politically driven. Meanwhile, Tshisekedi’s government has moved to suspend the party’s activities and seize the assets of its top officials.
Observers warn that the verdict could further deepen divisions in the DRC, a country already grappling with decades of instability and violent power struggles.
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