Former President Kabila’s immunity is lifted: Following the decision on Thursday, Senate Speaker Jean-Michel Sama Lukonde declared, “The Senate authorises the prosecution and lifting of Joseph Kabila’s immunity.”
The former president is charged with “treason, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and participation in an insurrectional movement” in the eastern half of the country, according to Justice Minister Constant Mutamba.
The attorney general of the Congo’s army requested earlier this month that the Senate remove Kabila’s lifetime protection from prosecution due to his honorific designation as senator for life.
The long-running battle in eastern Congo intensified in January when the M23 rebels, supported by Rwanda, advanced and gained control of the strategically important city of Goma. In February, they also took control of the town of Bukavu.
Human Rights Watch reported on Friday that the “Wazalendo,” a paramilitary group supported by the Congolese army, had beaten, killed, and extorted residents in the eastern region of the war-torn nation. Congo claimed earlier this month that M23 had killed hundreds, abducted thousands more, and engaged in rape, torture, and looting.
Kabila disputes the accusation made by Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi last year that he was aiding the rebels and “preparing an insurgency” in eastern Congo with them.
Kabila took office at 29 and extended his term by postponing elections for two years after it ended in 2016. He commanded Congo from 2001 to 2019. His father, former President Laurent Kabila, died in 2001.
About 100 armed groups, including M23, are fighting for control of the mineral-rich eastern Congo close to the Rwandan border.
According to U.N. experts, some 4,000 troops from neighboring Rwanda are helping the rebels.
Fighting is still going on in the eastern region of South Kivu, even though earlier this month the M23 and Congo’s army agreed to work toward a truce.
