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The people of Masuika hears two verdicts

On March 10, the military court of Kasai Central sentenced the two men prosecuted for the murder of a traditional chief in May 2017 to 20 years in prison on appeal. Chief Mbangu had been murdered and his body dismembered by militiamen of the Kamwina Nsapu insurgent group. Marcel Tshilumba and Emmanuel Mukini were again found guilty of war crimes, based on a video of the crime, numerous testimonies and after the two defendants accused each other of these atrocities. But while the court had sentenced them to death at first instance, the court of appeal significantly reduced their sentence. The two convicts will also have to pay damages to the tune of 80,000 dollars, in Congolese francs. The judges therefore took into account mitigating circumstances related to their young age at the time of the crime, their status as first-time offenders, their low level of education and the influence of their environment. For each of the parties, the word “relief” dominates. “We have mixed feelings. It's a relief for us, but the sentence is still heavy,” said Alidor Mampuya, lawyer for Tshilumba. “We are totally relieved by the convictions. We believe that our clients will be restored to their rights. We congratulate the court for this quality work, done here in Masuika,” saidSamy Lukusa, one of the civil party lawyers.

The Kamwina Nsapu insurrection bloodied this region between 2016 and 2019. The crimes committed during this war are the subject of several trials before the military courts of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). From March 3 to 10, judges, prosecutors and lawyers met to judge the facts in the midst of the victimized population. Throughout the week, the inhabitants of Masuika, a small town in Central Kasai, turned out in large numbers to attend the hearings. Because in parallel to the trial of Chef Mbangu's murderers, the military court held another, in which four individuals were prosecuted for the murder of two students, at the same time in the same town when it was caught up in the conflict.

The military court, in a traveling court hearing in Masuika, handed down nuanced judgments after the very heavy sentences handed down in the first instance.

The military court, in a traveling court hearing in Masuika, handed down nuanced judgments after the very heavy sentences handed down in the first instance. Photo: © Joseph Mbuyi

Katuala Katuala, Robot Lushimba (so nicknamed because he was a taxi driver who never got tired, according to the population), François Kamilonga and Munyinyi Musapu have already been sentenced to life imprisonment at first instance for criminal association, participation in the insurrectionary movement and war crime of murder. A fifth suspect, Milonga, is still at large. The events took place in May 2017 when the Kamwina Nsapu militia entered the region. A young teenager, a “finalist” student (i.e. in his final year of secondary school) was sent by his parents to buy coffee in Wulongo, a village near Masuika. The boy invited a friend to keep him company on the trip. But the two students – whose names were never disclosed by the court – were arrested by a group of militiamen, local men who are now being tried before their community.

Why did they join the insurrection?

When the boy's mother heard the news of his arrest, she went to plead with the militiamen for her son and his friend to be set free. The request was rejected and the crowd was dispersed by a shot fired into the air. According to the mother, whose testimony in the first instance under the pseudonym TB was recalled by a lawyer since she did not want to return to the witness box on appeal, even the village chief intervened for the release of the two boys, without success. Panicked, the boy's parents released a sum of money which was given to a certain Milonga, still at large to this day, to request the release of these children. To no avail. Back at home, there was only despair. The children were taken elsewhere. They were never seen again and are presumed to have been murdered.

In 2018, when the Congolese armed forces were in control of the situation in Masuika, the parents of the missing boy saw Katuala, one of the militiamen they believed had arrested their child, walking around as a free man. They alerted the authorities and this first suspect was arrested. During his interrogation, Katuala named three other individuals: Kamilonga, Musapu and Lushimba, who were all arrested. Before being tried and sentenced to life imprisonment by the garrison military court in October 2023.

During the appeal trial, the court asked each of the defendants to explain what had prompted them to join the rebel movement. For Katuala, it was the suffering of his family, the lack of money and food, and the hope of finding a way to earn a living. Kamilonga, who claims his innocence in this case, says he joined the Kamwina Nsapu movement to get treatment for the hernia that had been bothering him for several years. For Musapu, it was out of necessity, so as not to lose his life. He had been identified as a Swahili speaker by the militia, and all those who spoke a language other than Tshiluba and the local dialects were suspected of being enemies, supporters of Kabila's regime, which the militia was fighting. Musapu therefore preferred to agree to join the movement, he said.

Lushimba's mother and his wife were present at the hearing. They wished to make their statements without being protected. Lushimba “was forced to join the militia, he was not there when the two teenagers were arrested,” his mother said. “He was also in the bush, he had fled, as they were looking to kill him because he speaks Swahili. When he came out, he found a bicycle that allegedly belonged to the captured children and he returned it to the owner. That's why he was arrested. He doesn't know anything,” adds his wife.

Lushimba, Kamilonga and Musapu all accused Katuala and Milonga, the fugitive. They claim that these two are the ones who arrested and killed the two students. Katuala rejects the accusation and proclaims his innocence.

Debate over who is responsible and the procedure

The appeal proceedings were not without a certain amount of technical confusion. “Article 464 of the Code of Criminal Procedure requires the public prosecutor to lodge an appeal in the event of a life sentence or the death penalty,” explained the senior military prosecutor at the beginning of the trial. But during his closing speech, he asked the court to declare the appeal unfounded and to confirm the judgment at first instance. This caused a stir. “We didn't understand the position of the public prosecutor. It's unclear. How can you request an appeal to demand that the work of the first judge be confirmed?” asked a law student who was attending the trial. “We don't understand this attitude of the public prosecutor. We think that the court could rule taking into account the arguments raised by us,” explains a defense lawyer who requested anonymity and believes that the prosecutor has not studied the case properly. The lawyers for the four defendants have pleaded not guilty and are seeking the outright release of their clients, due to insufficient evidence.

Among the population, the murder of the students is an accepted fact, but doubt seems to remain as to the responsibility of each of the defendants. “I don't think they're all involved in this case. May the court punish the real culprits,” said a notable from Masuika. But for Jean Malhis Lungala, lawyer for the civil parties, the case is clear: ‘May the convictions be upheld and may the damages also be upheld,’ he pleaded at the close of the hearings.

Finally, on March 10, the judges handed down a nuanced judgment in this case. First, they duly amended the qualification of the crime: as proof of the death of the two teenagers was never provided, they reclassified the crime as forced disappearance. Then they amended the life sentences to 20 years for Lushimba, 15 years for Musapu, 10 years for Kamilonga and 8 years for Katuala.