PH
A military court in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s war-torn east sentenced eight soldiers, five of whom were commanders, to death on Friday for desertion and cowardice while battling M23 rebels.
Prosecutors had sought the death penalty for 11 troops on trial in the same case, but the Goma court acquitted three of them, stating that the charges against them were “not established”.
The military were fighting the primarily Tutsi M23 (March 23 movement) rebels, who regrouped in late 2021 and seized major swaths of North Kivu region.
“They never fled from the enemy nor abandoned their position—on the contrary,” said Alexis Olenga, a lawyer for one of the five officers charged.
According to Olenga, the soldiers were stationed at Lushangi-Cafe, a federal army facility near the important town of Sake, around 20 kilometers (12 miles) from North Kivu’s capital, Goma.
These were the first capital punishment sentences imposed since March 13, when authorities lifted a moratorium on executions imposed in 2003.
The army’s and its allies’ failure to halt the M23 rebels’ advance has raised the possibility that security troops have been infiltrated.
Several military people, as well as members of parliament, senators, and corporate leaders, have been arrested and charged with “complicity with the enemy”.
For the past 20 years, death sentences have been handed down in the DRC, particularly in cases involving the military or armed organizations, but they have been progressively reduced to life imprisonment.
Human rights groups and the Catholic Church have urged the government to eliminate capital punishment for all crimes.
