**Embezzlement in the DRC: The Public Prosecutor’s Office requests exemplary sentences for Mike Kasenga and François Rubota**
At the heart of a resounding financial scandal in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the trial on the project to build boreholes and streetlights has reached a crucial point. On December 23, the Public Prosecutor’s Office requested severe sentences against the economic operator Mike Kasenga and the former Minister of Rural Development, François Rubota.
The allegations of embezzlement of public funds are indeed damning. Of the $71 million allocated by the public treasury to Mike Kasenga for the project, only $24 million was actually allocated to the work. The rest was allegedly embezzled, according to the Public Prosecutor’s accusations.
In this case, the prosecutor is requesting a sentence of twenty years of forced labor for Mike Kasenga. He is also seeking a deprivation of his civil and political rights for a decade after serving his sentence, as well as a ban on early release or rehabilitation.
For his part, François Rubota is accused of complicity in embezzlement and faces a five-year prison sentence, with ineligibility for five years after his release.
The defendants’ defense team is proclaiming their innocence, thus launching the Court of Cassation into a crucial phase of deliberation.
This financial scandal erupted following the contract concluded between Mike Kasenga, representative of the CVR Construct Sarl consortium, and the Congolese government for the construction of water and energy works. Overbilling, embezzled payments and irregularities aroused the suspicions of the authorities, leading to this sensational trial.
The Court’s final verdict is expected on January 22, 2025, leaving palpable tension throughout the country.
This case of embezzlement of public funds in the DRC raises essential questions about the transparency of financial transactions, the responsibility of political and economic actors, as well as the importance of citizen control to stem such abuses. The outcome of this trial will undoubtedly mark a major turning point in the fight against corruption and good governance in the DRC.