News: The question of the nationality of Edouard Mwangachuchu continues to be debated before the High Military Court. During last Tuesday’s hearing, the lawyers raised contradictory elements regarding the defendant’s nationality, in particular by referring to the Covid test documents he carried out at the Rwanda biomedical center (RBC). These documents recognize Édouard Mwangachuchu as having two different nationalities, which raises questions as to his true identity.
Mwangachuchu’s lawyers have insisted that the Covid tests cannot be taken as proof of nationality, when the file includes Congolese passports which attest to the contrary. According to them, the possession of Congolese passports constitutes a solid proof of one’s nationality.
“There is also other evidence apart from the test, such as the six Congolese passports held by Mwangachuchu, one of which is even of a diplomatic nature. In the face of the Covid test he carried out, can we really speak of his Rwandan nationality? Can the test really be considered as an element of identification? Could Mwangachuchu have foreseen, as early as May 2021, that he would be arrested in March 2023 by Demiap for having presented a false test? by claiming to be Congolese?” asks one of the lawyers.
Édouard Mwangachuchu is currently being prosecuted, alongside another defendant, for charges of treason, participation in an insurrectionary movement, espionage and illegal possession of weapons of war. These prosecutions follow the discovery of firearms in the residence of Mwangachuchu in Kinshasa, as well as in the premises of his company SMB in Masisi, in North Kivu.
The question of the defendant’s nationality is therefore crucial in this case, as it may have an impact on the charges against him and on the way in which the trial will proceed. Debates continue before the High Military Court, while lawyers strive to present evidence in favor of the Congolese nationality of Edouard Mwangachuchu.
It therefore remains to be seen how the court will decide this delicate question and what consequences this could have on the outcome of the trial. In the meantime, the case continues to fuel discussions and raise many questions as to the real identity of the defendant. We will have to wait for the decision of the High Military Court to find out more about this complex and controversial case