Overview

• The High Military Court in Kinshasa convicted Joseph Kabila of treason, war crimes and complicity with the M23 rebellion, ordering his immediate arrest despite his absence and lack of legal representation.
• Judges cited testimony linking Kabila to alleged coordination with M23 leaders, while UN experts have reported Rwandan backing for the group that Kigali denies.
• The ruling includes roughly $33 billion in damages to the national government and to North and South Kivu, where M23 has seized territory and set up administrations.
• Kabila’s party denounced the proceedings as a political move, and Human Rights Watch criticized the trial-in-absentia before a military tribunal as violating fair-trial standards.
• Analysts doubt the sentence can be enforced given Kabila’s unknown whereabouts and Congo’s history of unenforced death penalties, warning the verdict could complicate ongoing peace efforts in the east.