In the heart of the Democratic Republic of Congo, a military tribunal handed down death sentences last Friday to 37 individuals, including three American nationals, finding them guilty of attempted coup d’état.
This verdict, handed down after several months of trial, has stunned the international community. Among those convicted were mainly Congolese, alongside a Briton, a Belgian and a Canadian. Accused of conspiracy, terrorism and criminal association, these individuals now have five days to appeal the decision. It should be noted that fourteen people were acquitted during the trial that opened last June.
The court session, held outdoors in the capital Kinshasa and broadcast live on television, was presided over by Major Freddy Ehuma, who declared that “the most severe sentence, that of death”, was pronounced against the 37 accused. The three U.S. nationals, dressed in blue and yellow prison garb and seated on plastic chairs, appeared resigned as a translator explained their sentences.
The failed coup, orchestrated in May by a little-known opposition figure, Christian Malanga, left six people dead. The attack targeted the presidential palace and a close ally of President Félix Tshisekedi. Malanga was shot dead during his arrest, shortly after livestreaming the assault on social media.
Malanga’s son, Marcel Malanga, 21, a U.S. citizen, and two other U.S. nationals, Tyler Thompson Jr., 21, and Benjamin Reuben Zalman-Polun, 36, were convicted of their involvement in the attack. Marcel Malanga’s mother, Brittney Sawyer, says her son is innocent and was simply following his father, who considered himself the president of a government in exile.
The decision by Congolese authorities to reinstate the death penalty earlier this year, ending a moratorium that lasted more than two decades, comes as the country struggles to contain violence and militant attacks. The country’s penal code allows the president to designate the method of execution. In the past, executions of activists in Congo have been carried out by firing squad.
The judgment resonates with deep societal issues and raises critical questions about security, justice and human rights in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The implications of these convictions are cause for concern and highlight the complexity of the challenges facing the country.