AFRICA/DR CONGO – Bishops react to the death sentence handed down against former President Kabila

Kinshasa – “The death penalty is not compatible with the Gospel and does not promote national cohesion,” the bishops of the Democratic Republic of Congo stated after the death sentence handed down by the High Military Court against former President Joseph Kabila.
In their statement, members of CENCO declared themselves “shocked by this sentence,” calling it a step backward “in contradiction with the protection of life and the values of the Gospel.”
“Aware that the death penalty and its retributive logic are not compatible with the Gospel, and eager to restore peace, national cohesion, and guarantee the integrity of the territory, we are horrified by the verdict of the High Military Court of Kinshasa at the end of the summary trial against Honorary President Joseph Kabila,” reads the statement signed by Bishop Fulgence Muteba Mugalu, Metropolitan Archbishop of Lubumbashi and President of CENCO.
CENCO recalls that on March 22, 2024, it spoke out against the revocation of the moratorium on the execution of the death penalty, in force since 2003, a decision taken on March 13 by the Congolese Ministry of Justice. The bishops emphasize that “the moratorium should naturally lead to the abolition, not to the resumption of this inhumane measure, which, in addition to representing a failure for a community worthy of the name, offends the dignity of the human being created in the image of God.” The capital punishment, the prelates emphasize, is also incompatible with the Congolese Constitution, which recognizes the sanctity of human life.
On September 30, former President Joseph Kabila—who governed from 2001 to 2019—was sentenced to death in absentia by the High Military Court, accused of treason. Kabila had left the country in 2023, but had recently reappeared in Goma, capital of the eastern province of North Kivu, occupied by M23/AFD guerrillas. The court considers him an accomplice in the rebellion.
In their statement, the bishops call for a national dialogue that includes Joseph Kabila and the rebel groups, in order to resolve political differences and, above all, put an end to the wars and instability that have plagued the eastern provinces of the DRC for 30 years.

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