Overview

• The Court of Cassation convicted Constant Mutamba over public funds tied to a Kisangani prison project and ordered him to repay the roughly $19.9 million.
• Judges found he transferred the money to Zion Construction SARL without required government authorization.
• The sentence includes a five-year ban from holding high public office in addition to three years of forced labour.
• Security forces barricaded roads and deployed around the Kinshasa court for the hearing, and Mutamba had been under house arrest following a June travel ban.
• Mutamba resigned in June and denies wrongdoing, with his lawyer criticizing the handling of the case as flawed and Mutamba alleging a political plot.