Congo ex-justice minister sentenced to 3 years of forced labor for embezzling public funds

By JEAN-YVES KAMALE
Associated Press

KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — A high court in Congo on Tuesday sentenced a former justice minister to three years of forced labor in after convicting him of embezzling $19 million in public funds intended to finance a prison project in the country.

Constant Mutamba, who resigned over the case in June, was found guilty of embezzling funds meant to finance the construction of a local prison in the northern city of Kisangani. Such sentences on hard labor in Congo have been served in prison in the past, but it wasn’t immediately clear if the former minister’s case would be an exception.

The Court of Cassation ruled that Mutamba acted with the intention of illicit enrichment and didn’t follow due process in the project.

The ex-minister had pleaded not guilty to the embezzlement charges brought against him by state prosecutors. His case was seen as a flashpoint of the Congolese government’s crackdown on chronic corruption that has stifled the country’s development.

Mutamba’s lawyer, Joel Kitenge, condemned the decision and suggested that it was flawed.

“The people are informed of the way in which the case was handled,” he said. “Mutamba did not steal the money. Our client did not benefit from any mitigating circumstances.”

Major roads leading to the court in the capital, Kinshasa, were barricaded, while dozens of security force members were deployed before the ruling in case of any unrest.

Mutamba, appointed justice minister in 2024, was a presidential candidate in 2023 and has previously positioned himself as an anti-corruption figure. He took some steps seen as contentious while in office, including his push for the death penalty for journalists who covered the actions of Rwanda-backed M23 rebels in the conflict-hit east.