Ex-DRC PM Augustin Matata jailed for 10 years with forced labour over graft scandal
He allegedly colluded with former DRC Central Bank Governor Deogratias Mutombo to illegally divert funds set aside for an agricultural project aimed at addressing the country's chronic food shortages.
Former Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) Prime Minister Augustin Matata Ponyo has been handed a 10-year prison sentence with forced labour after being found guilty of corruption.
Matata was deemed to have embezzled around $245 million (Sh31.7 billion) in public funds during his tenure as prime minister, between 2012 and 2016.
More To Read
- AU’s Faure Gnassingbé leads renewed push to mediate DRC crisis amid rising external influence
- Sexual violence surges 700pc in eastern DRC as armed conflict intensifies – ActionAid
- More than 100 dead after flooding in eastern DR Congo village of Kasaba, official says
- Congo, Rwanda submit draft peace plan as US pushes for deal tied to mining investment
- Returning farmers face land disputes, hardship in rebel-held eastern DR Congo
- Africa's diplomatic setback: How external powers took over the Rwanda-DRC peace talks
He allegedly colluded with former DRC Central Bank Governor Deogratias Mutombo to illegally divert funds set aside for an agricultural project aimed at addressing the country's chronic food shortages.
Launched in 2014, the Bukanga-Lonzo Agro Industrial Park, one of Africa's largest agricultural investments, was intended to boost large-scale food production, create tens of thousands of jobs and help alleviate widespread hunger in the DRC, where millions suffer from severe food insecurity due to decades of conflict and instability.
Matata, who currently leads the Leadership Governance and Development (LGD) party, was sentenced by the Congolese Constitutional Court on Tuesday, alongside Mutombo, who was handed a five-year jail term with forced labour.
The court had initially dismissed the case in November 2021 on the grounds that it did not have the jurisdiction to hear cases involving past prime ministers.
Forced labour is allowed under DRC law when imposed by a court as part of a criminal sentence.
Before becoming Prime Minister, Matata served as the country's Finance Minister, earning praise from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for his role in stabilising the DRC's economy.
The duo has also been barred from holding public office for five years following the completion of their sentence.
The case has dragged on for nearly four years, following a 2020 report by the country's Inspectorate General of Finance detailing the misappropriation of funds from the Bukanga-Lonzo Agro-Industrial Park.
Matata, who initially ran against DRC President Felix Tshisekedi in the 2023 polls before withdrawing, has constantly denied the corruption allegations, with his lawyers maintaining that the sentencing was unfair and politically motivated.
Mutombo, on the other hand, has not commented on the ruling in public.
Top Stories Today
