The burning news in the Democratic Republic of Congo continues to arouse everyone’s interest and curiosity. Today, we look at a new hearing held at the High Military Court concerning MP Edouard and the M23 affair. This case, which has fueled debate for some time, experienced a new development last Tuesday.
Lawyers for the accused argued that their client has Congolese nationality and questioned the validity of the results of a Covid test carried out by the Rwanda Biomedical Center (RBC). According to the defence, the test mentioned Edouard’s Rwandan nationality based on his facial features and his spoken language, Kinyarwanda. The lawyers pointed out that the computers used for these tests are generally configured in Kinyarwanda, which could explain this administrative error.
Faced with these arguments, the High Military Court decided to continue the discussion today on the validity of this Covid test which mentioned two different nationalities for the accused. It should be noted that the court has reiterated on several occasions that it does not rule on nationality disputes, but that it judges a Congolese national deputy.
This case is of crucial importance, as it involves charges of treason, participation in an insurrectionary movement, espionage and illegal possession of weapons of war. The presumed links between Edouard and the M23 rebels bring heavy accusations against him.
It is essential to recall that these charges were brought following the discovery of weapons of war in Edouard’s residence in Kinshasa and in the premises of his company SMB in Masisi in North Kivu. Military intelligence played a crucial role in these discoveries and fueled the case against the accused.
The outcome of this hearing will be decisive for the future of Edouard and his co-defendant. If the validity of the Covid test is questioned and evidence is found to be insufficient, this could have a significant impact on the rest of the trial.
We will follow this case closely and keep you informed of future developments