Democratic Republic of Congo soldiers sentenced to death for fleeing fighting

By Yassin Kombi

BENI, Democratic Republic of Congo (Reuters) – Twenty-five soldiers have been sentenced to death by a military court in the Democratic Republic of Congo for fleeing fighting against M23 rebels and committing theft, their lawyer and an army spokesman said on Thursday.

Congo’s army has been fighting the Rwandan-backed M23 insurgency for more than two years and is also facing violence from other militias. Around 2.7 million people have been displaced in North Kivu province. The rebels advanced into strategically important territory last week.

On Tuesday, the army arrested 27 soldiers after they abandoned their positions in the province’s villages of Keseghe and Matembe. Army spokesman Reagan Mbuyi Kalonji said the fugitives were caught stealing goods from shops in the nearby village of Alimbongo.

They were arrested along with four of their wives who lived in the village and received the looted goods, Kalonji said.

To try them, a military court was convened in Alimbongo on Wednesday and sentenced 25 of them to death on charges including theft, fleeing from the enemy and disobeying orders.

One soldier was sentenced to ten years in prison, while the four wives and another soldier were acquitted.

All denied the charges, except one of the 25 who pleaded guilty.

Her lawyer, Jules Muvweko, said he would appeal the verdict.

Congo’s military, which has long suffered from internal divisions, inadequate resources, poor logistics and rampant corruption, has become acutely dysfunctional as a result of the crisis.

Eight officers were sentenced to death in May for cowardice and other crimes, revealing the damaging chaos in Congo’s armed forces that is hampering the fight against M23, army officials told Reuters.

Congo lifted a moratorium on the death penalty in March, citing treason and espionage in recurring armed conflicts.

The Central African country introduced a moratorium on the death penalty in early 2000, but never abolished it.

(Reporting by Yassin Kombi; Writing by Sofia Christensen; Editing by David Holmes)