On August 22, 2025, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) found itself at the center of a political and legal firestorm as its military prosecutor demanded the death penalty for former President Joseph Kabila. The move, announced by General Lucien Rene Likulia, the country’s military auditor general, marks an extraordinary development in Congo’s decades-long struggle with conflict, political rivalry, and questions of justice.
Kabila, who led the DRC from 2001 to 2019 after the assassination of his father Laurent Kabila, is being tried in absentia. The charges against him are sweeping and severe: treason, war crimes, homicide, torture, rape, and organizing an insurrection. The prosecution’s case alleges that Kabila played a central role in supporting the Rwanda-backed M23 rebels, whose resurgence since 2021 has plunged eastern Congo into renewed chaos. The charge sheet, seen by multiple news agencies including AFP and Reuters, also accuses him of plotting to overthrow current President Felix Tshisekedi and of being responsible for atrocities in the mineral-rich provinces of North and South Kivu.
The trial, which began in July 2025, comes after a dramatic year for Kabila. Having spent nearly two years outside the DRC—mostly in South Africa—he announced in April his intention to return home and help push for peace in the war-ravaged east. His reappearance in the rebel-held city of Goma in May, where he was seen meeting local religious leaders alongside M23 spokesperson Lawrence Kanyuka, only fueled speculation about his role in the ongoing conflict. Shortly after his return, the DRC government moved swiftly: Kabila’s political party was banned, his assets were seized, and in May, the senate voted to lift his immunity from prosecution, a move widely interpreted as paving the way for his current trial.
The government’s case paints Kabila as the mastermind behind the M23’s recent offensive. According to President Tshisekedi, Kabila is "the brains behind the armed group" that has seized significant swaths of the country’s resource-rich eastern territory, reportedly with support from Rwanda. The charge sheet further describes Kabila as "one of the initiators of the Congo River Alliance" (AFC), the political arm of M23, and accuses him of colluding with Rwanda to "overthrow by force the power established by law." These allegations are particularly explosive given the region’s history—eastern DRC has been plagued by violence for more than three decades, with the latest unrest intensifying since the M23’s resurgence.
For its part, Rwanda has consistently denied providing military backing to M23. Yet, United Nations experts have stated that Rwanda’s army played a "critical" role in the rebels’ recent offensive. Meanwhile, the AFC and M23’s executive secretary, Benjamin Mbonimpa, have sought to distance the movement from Kabila, dismissing the trial as part of a "malevolent strategy" against him. In July, they told journalists in Goma that Kabila was not involved in their operations and that the charges were politically motivated.
Kabila has fiercely denounced the proceedings, calling the courts "an instrument of oppression." His political party’s secretary, Ferdinand Kambere, echoed this sentiment in comments to Reuters, describing the trial as "an act of relentlessness and persecution against a member of the opposition." Kambere further told The Associated Press, "What we saw was truly a disgrace for the Republic." These statements reflect the deep polarization within Congolese politics, where accusations of political vendetta and score-settling are never far from the surface.
The legal campaign against Kabila has unfolded against a backdrop of shifting laws and heightened tensions. Last year, the DRC lifted a longstanding moratorium on the death penalty, although no executions have yet been carried out. On Friday, General Likulia did not stop at the death penalty; he also requested a 20-year sentence for what he described as Kabila’s "apologetic behavior for war crimes" and an additional 15 years for conspiracy. The general, however, did not elaborate on the details of those specific charges, and as of August 22, no date had been set for sentencing.
The trial’s political overtones are impossible to ignore. Kabila, who once extended his own mandate by delaying elections for two years after his term ended in 2017, remains a powerful figure in Congolese political life, despite his self-imposed exile since 2023. He has repeatedly criticized President Tshisekedi’s government as a "dictatorship," and his supporters argue that the legal proceedings are less about justice and more about neutralizing a political rival. As Henry-Pacifique Mayala, a researcher and coordinator of the Kivu Security Tracker, told the AP, the prosecution’s demands seem to be "more of a settling of scores session than a quest for truth."
Yet the gravity of the allegations cannot be dismissed. The charge sheet lists the "forcible occupation of the city of Goma," which was captured by M23 fighters in January 2025 before a ceasefire was agreed to in July. Kabila is also accused of being responsible for atrocities committed by the movement in North and South Kivu provinces, including homicide, torture, rape, and the massacre of civilians. These are crimes that, if proven, would mark a dark chapter not only in Kabila’s legacy but in the DRC’s ongoing struggle for peace and accountability.
Observers both inside and outside the DRC are divided. Some see the prosecution as an overdue reckoning for a leader whose nearly two-decade rule was marked by allegations of corruption, repression, and human rights abuses. Others, however, view the proceedings as a dangerous escalation in the country’s perennial power struggles, with the risk of further destabilizing an already fragile region. The fact that Kabila’s current whereabouts remain unknown only adds to the intrigue and uncertainty.
Meanwhile, the people of eastern Congo continue to bear the brunt of the violence. For more than thirty years, the region has been ravaged by conflict between various armed groups, with civilians often caught in the crossfire. The M23’s resurgence since 2021 has only worsened the situation, displacing countless families and fueling a humanitarian crisis that shows no sign of abating.
As the trial of Joseph Kabila unfolds, the DRC faces a critical moment. Whether the proceedings will deliver justice, deepen divisions, or simply mark another chapter in the country’s long history of political turmoil remains to be seen. What is certain is that the stakes—for Kabila, for Tshisekedi, and for the people of Congo—could hardly be higher.
