Trial against DR Congo’s ex-chief of election body set to begin

By Byobe Malenga

KINSHASA, DR Congo (AA) – The trial of DR Congo’s former head of the Independent Electoral Commission (CENI) Corneille Nangaa Yobeluo will commence on Wednesday, according to a statement.

Yobeluo and his colleagues are accused of conspiring against the state.

Justice Ministry said in a the statement the hearing will begin on Wednesday at the Gombe military court in the capital Kinshasa.

The former electoral body head openly allied himself with several rebel movements including the M23, which is accused of crimes and conspiracy against the government in Kinshasa.

Yobeluo is current coordinator of the political-military movement Alliance Fleuve Congo which was launched in Kenya in December 2023, a few days ahead of DR Congo’s presidential election.

“This trial is part of terrorist activities, war crimes, and high treason perpetrated in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo,” said the statement.

The Congolese government has reinstated the death penalty since March 15.

This sentence applies to soldiers accused of treason and to “collaborators or accomplices of the enemy,” in particular M23 rebels.