It is not every day that a country puts one of its former presidents on trial. The case against the former leader of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Joseph Kabila, before the high military court on suspicion of "complicity" with the armed rebel group Congo River Alliance-M23 (AFC-M23), could have been historic for that reason alone. But with the defendant in exile and no lawyer to defend him after a rushed investigation, the expedited trial felt incomplete.

On Tuesday, September 30, Kabila – president from 2001 to 2019 – was sentenced to death, in line with the request of Lieutenant General Jean-René Likulia Bakulia, who represented the prosecutor's office. The charges were severe: "treason," "participation in an insurrectional movement," "crimes against the peace and security of humanity," "intentional homicide by gunfire," "rape," "torture," "deportation," and "forcible occupation" of part of eastern DRC, which came under AFC-M23 control at the beginning of 2025.

All these charges implicitly relied on the supposed authority Kabila is said to have exerted over the rebellion. The Congolese authorities have suspected him of being behind the armed movement since its resurgence in November 2021, after 10 years of dormancy. They therefore hold him partly responsible for war crimes – and even crimes against humanity – committed by the insurgents and documented by human rights organizations. According to Likulia Bakulia, there was no doubt: "He is the boss [of the M23]."

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