Kinshasa court jails ex-Justice Minister Mutamba over Sh2.5 billion corruption scandal
Prosecutors argued that the money was diverted from a fund intended to pay reparations to victims of the 2000 clashes between Ugandan and Rwandan troops during the Second Congo War.
A court in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has sentenced former Justice Minister Constant Mutamba to three years of forced labour for embezzling public funds, including reparations intended for war victims.
Heavy security was placed around the Court of Cessation in Kinshasa as Mutamba arrived for the hearing on Tuesday. He had been placed under house arrest a day earlier, after already being barred from leaving the capital since June amid investigations.
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The court later determined that Mutamba wrongly approved the transfer of $19 million (approx. Sh2.5 billion) to a company called Zion Construction SARL for the construction of a large-scale prison in Kisangani meant to ease congestion. Mutamba has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Prosecutors argued that the money was diverted from a fund intended to pay reparations to victims of the 2000 clashes between Ugandan and Rwandan troops during the Second Congo War.
According to Judge Jacques Kabasele, Mutamba tried to benefit the company at the expense of the state. The judge subsequently ordered the money to be repaid and also banned the 37-year-old from holding public office for five years.
Mutamba's lawyer, Joel Kitenge, criticised the ruling, arguing that the judgment was unfair and legally unsound.
"The people are informed of the way in which the case was handled. Mutamba did not steal the money. Our client did not benefit from any mitigating circumstances," he said, according to AFP.
In May, the DR Congo Parliament voted to strip Mutamba of immunity following a request from the Attorney General to investigate irregularities in the Kisangani prison contract.
MPs cited contradictions in his defence and approved the move by 17 votes to 2.
At the centre of the inquiry was a $39 million (approx. Sh5 billion) project to build a modern prison in Kisangani. Prosecutors alleged that nearly half the budget, about $19 million (Sh2.5 billion), was funnelled to Zion Construction, a company registered only weeks before the deal was signed and awarded without a public tender.
Civil society groups in the DRC were quick to denounce the lack of transparency, while Prime Minister Judith Suminwa froze the contract pending review.
Mutamba, who ran for president in 2023, was appointed Justice Minister by President Félix Tshisekedi in June 2024, before resigning a year later amid the embezzlement probe.
He gained prominence for taking a tough stance on corruption, often targeting officials linked to the former regime in his investigations.
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