A military court in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has pronounced death and jail sentences in a high-profile case involving the killing of over 50 protesters in the city of Goma in August. The court has sentenced one army officer to death, while three other officers have received 10-year prison terms.
Details of the Case
The case pertains to an incident that took place in Goma in August, wherein more than 50 protesters were killed during an army crackdown on anti-UN demonstrations. Colonel Mike Mikombe, who was heading the Republican Guard unit in the city at the time of the incident, was among the six soldiers put on trial. He has been found guilty of murder and other crimes related to the killings and has been sentenced to death. However, the death penalty is generally commuted to life imprisonment in Congo, as the country no longer carries out executions.
Three other soldiers involved in the incident have been sentenced to 10 years of servitude. Mikombe’s deputy and another soldier, who were also on trial, have been acquitted.
Background of the Incident
The incident took place during a period of increased tensions in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. The UN peacekeeping mission in the region, known as MONUSCO, had been facing protests since the previous year, with complaints that it had failed to protect civilians against militia violence that had lasted for decades. An anti-MONUSCO protest in July 2022 had resulted in over 15 deaths, including three peacekeepers, in Goma and the city of Butembo.
In the wake of the sentencing, Thomas Fessy, a senior Congo researcher at Human Rights Watch, called for a full and impartial investigation into the incident. He urged the government to look higher up the chain of command to ensure real justice and to release civilians who were arbitrarily arrested in the aftermath of the protest.
Other Cases
This is not the first time that the military court in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has issued severe punishments. The court has previously sentenced 51 people to death in a mass trial over the 2017 murder of two UN experts in a troubled central region. Capital punishment is frequently pronounced in murder cases in the DRC, but it is routinely commuted to life imprisonment since the country declared a moratorium on executions in 2003.
Response and Appeal
Lawyers representing the officers have stated that they will appeal against the verdicts. The legal team of Colonel Mikombe has expressed their disagreement with the court’s decision, arguing that the trial was a setup. The verdict is also subject to further appeal at the high military court in Kinshasa, the DRC’s capital.