Nico Kabund, the bodyguard of the late national MP Cherubin Okende, continues to languish in detention at Makala Central Prison. His lawyer, Maître Jules Bongombe, has not given up and recently filed a request for provisional release with the Kinshasa-Gombe general prosecutor’s office.
This request comes after the initial rejection of the request for provisional release almost two weeks ago. Faced with the extension of his client’s detention, the lawyer therefore chose to take legal action again to obtain his release.
The investigation into the assassination of Cherubin Okende remains at an impasse. Despite the autopsy carried out in collaboration with foreign experts and the presence of the United Nations Observer Mission for the Stabilization of Congo (MONUSCO), the results of the investigation are still awaited. Investigators have not yet been able to determine the exact circumstances of his death and the victim’s body is still in the morgue.
Chérubin Okende was found dead, riddled with bullets, aboard his vehicle on Avenue Produits-Lourd in Kinshasa/Gombe, after being kidnapped. Since then, justice has taken up the case, but the truth about the circumstances surrounding his death remains to be clarified.
The case of Nico Kabund, symbol of this affair, testifies to the importance of carrying out a thorough and transparent investigation to shed light on this crime. In the meantime, his lawyer will fight to obtain his provisional release, in the hope of finally seeing justice done. But the path still seems long and strewn with pitfalls.
The Cherubin Okende affair also recalls the importance of independent and effective justice in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The population must be able to have confidence in its institutions and be assured that the perpetrators of crimes will be judged and punished in accordance with the law.
In conclusion, the investigation into the assassination of Cherubin Okende is still awaiting results while Nico Kabund remains in detention. It is now up to the Congolese justice system to move this case forward and provide justice to the victim’s family. The population is waiting for the truth to come out and those responsible for this crime to be brought to justice.