Why Joseph Kabila’s Death Sentence Marks a Turning Point for Congo

On 30 September 2025, a military court in Kinshasa sentenced former Congolese president Joseph Kabila to death in absentia. The tribunal’s president, Lt‑Gen Joseph Mutombo Katalayi, found Kabila guilty of war crimes, treason, and crimes against humanity for allegedly backing the Rwanda‑supported M23 insurgency in eastern Congo. The charges listed by the court included murder, sexual assault, torture, and insurrection. He was not present in court and had no lawyer; his whereabouts were unknown. Kabila, who ruled the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) from 2001 to 2019, has denied wrongdoing and says the judiciary has been politicised

The verdict imposes the most severe penalty available under Article 7 of the military penal code: death by firing squad or hanging. Beyond the death sentence, the tribunal ordered Kabila to pay massive damages. Reuters reports that he must pay about $50 billion to the Congolese state and to victims, while the Associated Press says the court demanded $29 billion to the state and $4 billion to North and South Kivu, either way, a sum far exceeding Congo’s annual budget. Given that Congo had observed a de facto moratorium on executions since 2003, the sentence is legally possible but politically heavy. A March 2024 cabinet decision lifted the 20‑year moratorium, allowing executions for wartime crimes and treason.

The crimes: treason, war crimes, and insurrection

The case stems from Kabila’s alleged role in supporting the M23 rebel movement, which seized large parts of North and South Kivu in early 2025. According to the court, Kabila collaborated with Rwanda and M23, helping the rebels capture strategic cities like Goma and Bukavu. The indictment accuses him of treason, conspiracy, organising an insurrection, and war crimes. He was convicted of murder, sexual assault, and torture, reflecting the atrocities committed during the insurgency’s advance. The tribunal ordered his immediate arrest, but Kabila remains in hiding, reportedly somewhere in southern Africa

A long record of repression

Violent crackdowns on dissent

Kabila’s presidency spanned 18 years. Although his early years brought some stability after the Second Congo War, the later period was marked by repression and abuses. Human Rights Watch documented that when Kabila stalled presidential elections scheduled for December 2016, his security forces banned opposition demonstrations, arrested scores of activists and opposition leaders, and used teargas and live ammunition against peaceful protesters. In January 2015, security forces killed at least 38 people in Kinshasa and five in Goma during protests against a proposed law that would delay elections. The Republican Guard shot protesters and even fired on Kinshasa’s general hospital, injuring patients. HRW reports that some victims were buried in a mass grave outside Kinshasa, and the government shut down radio stations and blocked the internet to stifle dissent

Recruiting rebels to suppress protests

To cling to power, Kabila’s government reportedly turned to foreign rebels. A Human Rights Watch report summarised by JURIST reveals that during December 2016 protests, former M23 rebels from Rwanda and Uganda were recruited into Congo’s forces and given authority to use lethal force against demonstrators. At least 62 people were killed and hundreds arrested as these fighters, authorised to shoot protesters, helped Kabila’s regime suppress opposition. Journalists were detained to prevent reporting on the crackdown. This “special mission” linking M23 to Kabila illustrates how his government blurred the lines between state security and insurgent militias.