The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has witnessed yet another political scandal erupt into a legal drama, as former Justice Minister Constant Mutamba has been convicted of embezzling millions of dollars that were earmarked for some of the country’s most vulnerable citizens-survivors of war crimes in Kisangani. The case has shaken Congo’s political establishment and sparked fierce debate over accountability, corruption, and the politics of justice in a nation long plagued by instability.

On August 30, a Congolese court sentenced Mutamba, 37, to three years of forced labour after finding him guilty of diverting $19 million in public funds. These funds were intended as reparations for victims of atrocities committed during the wars that ravaged the northeastern city of Kisangani, where Ugandan and Rwandan forces clashed on Congolese soil in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

According to the court, the money was illicitly transferred from the Ministry of Justice’s bank account to a company named Zion Construction. Investigators alleged the firm had no legitimate claim to the funds and acted as a vehicle for siphoning off state resources.

The ruling was delivered by the Court of Cassation, Congo’s highest judicial body. In addition to imprisonment, Mutamba was stripped of his political rights. For five years after completing his sentence, he will be barred from voting or running for public office. He has also been ordered to repay the full $19 million.

The sentencing has reignited debates about Congo’s penal system. Though “forced labour” is officially outlawed in the DRC, the term remains on the books as a classification of punishment. In practice, it translates into a........

© Blitz