During the hearing on June 2, the lawyers of Édouard Mwangachuchu, a Congolese deputy, accused the administration of being responsible for the weapon of war which was allegedly given to their client by the Ministry of the Interior. The lawyers claimed that their client had requested a weapon of self-defense, and not a weapon of war. They wondered why the Ministry had given him a weapon of war, which apparently comes under the jurisdiction of the President of the Republic. The lawyers insisted on the fact that Édouard Mwangachuchu is not responsible for the errors of the administration.
The Ministry of the Interior must therefore respond and explain why it gave Édouard Mwangachuchu a weapon of war. This weapon has not been found to this day, which prompts the High Military Court to wonder if it should conclude that it is lost.
Édouard Mwangachuchu and his co-defendant are being prosecuted for high treason, participation in an insurrectionary movement, espionage and illegal possession of weapons of war, suspected of links with the M23 rebels.
At the same time, the defense wishes the appearance of the former Minister of the Interior Richard Muyej, to explain the conditions for granting the “weapon of war” to the defendant. Taxi drivers in Kinshasa have also staged a strike in protest at authorities’ inaction, while attacks by the Codeco militia have displaced many civilians in Djangi province.
Finally, the DRC and China are strengthening their economic relationship through a comprehensive strategic partnership, and the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, has carried out a peacekeeping mission in the DRC