The court, which delivered the verdict on September 30, 2025, designated Kabila as the “undisputed leader” of the AFC/M23 coalition. He was accused of directing staff meetings, overseeing training centers, and participating in hostilities in the country’s restive east.
The High Military Court ordered an immediate arrest warrant for Kabila, but the enforcement remains uncertain as his current location is unknown.
The trial began on July 31, 2025, after the Senate lifted the former head of state’s parliamentary immunity. The proceedings took place without the defendant. Prosecutors presented video and witness testimonies purportedly establishing Kabila’s involvement in M23 atrocities in North and South Kivu. The Congolese military’s Auditor General had sought the death penalty on August 22, citing massacres and grave crimes committed in those regions.
Kabila, who has reportedly been in exile since 2023, was recently sighted in Goma, an M23 stronghold, where he publicly opposed the regime of current President Félix Tshisekedi.
In addition to the death sentence, Kabila was ordered to pay $33 billion in damages, with $29 billion owed to the Congolese state and $2 billion each to the civil parties, which include the provinces of North Kivu and South Kivu.
The verdict comes one year after the DRC lifted a moratorium on the death penalty that had been in place since 2003. While no executions have occurred since the reintroduction, the ruling is a major political and judicial milestone in the history of the country.
Charlène N’dimon
