Colonel Mike Mikombe leaves the court at the military auditorium in Goma, North Kivu province, Democratic Republic of Congo, September 5, 2023. ARLETTE BASHIZI / Portal
The images circulating on social networks in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) testified to the violence of the events: we saw soldiers in the uniforms of an elite unit throwing ten lifeless bodies in the back of a military vehicle after the violent suppression of one Demonstration in the east of the country.
On Monday, October 2, Colonel Mike Mikombe was sentenced to death by the military justice system, which tried him for this intervention, which, according to the latest official report, killed 57 civilians in Goma on August 30. Three other soldiers were sentenced to ten years in prison, two were acquitted.
The lawyers of the convicts, who had pleaded for acquittal, announced that they would appeal. The death penalty is widely used in the Democratic Republic of Congo, but has not been used for twenty years. It is systematically converted into a life sentence.
In his indictment on Friday, the senior public prosecutor representing the prosecution did not call for the death penalty but rather a life sentence against Colonel Mike Mikombe, the main defendant. The court did not accept the accusation of “crimes against humanity”, but rather that of “murder”. The public prosecutor’s office also requested prison sentences of between ten and twenty years for the remaining five defendants.
Also read: Democratic Republic of Congo: Soldiers on trial after the bloody crackdown on a demonstration in Goma
Since September 5, the six soldiers (including two high-ranking officers) of the Republican Guard have had to answer for this deadly operation against a religious sect that had called for demonstrations against the presence of the United Nations (UN) in the region of the Force East Africa Regional Council and international NGOs. This intervention led to renewed tensions in Goma, in the heart of a region subject to violence by armed groups and insurgencies.
Unanswered questions
After the events, the government quickly announced the arrest of soldiers and promised that justice would be done. However, the trial did not answer all questions about the circumstances of the killing.
Interior Minister Peter Kazadi said the Republican Guard intervened in retaliation for the lynching of a police officer by followers of the sect. However, the witnesses, including two colonels, confirmed at the hearing that the operation had begun before the policeman’s death. The same witnesses also confirmed that negotiations between the army and the believers were progressing well before the killing, but that the soldiers opened fire on the unarmed supporters in the middle of the discussions.
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The question remained whether Colonel Mikombe, the main accused, had given the order to shoot and whether he had done so on orders or on his own initiative. At trial, he alleged that he was misled by an “operational order” from the 34th Military Region (North Kivu), which portrayed the sect’s followers as “complements” of the M23 and the Rwandan army, the whole parts occupy the province – responsible for “facilitating the enemy’s entry” by “sowing unrest in the city.”
He then requested in the hearing that the military governor of North Kivu, who was recalled for “consultations” in Kinshasa after the murder and has since been replaced by another officer in Goma, be heard by the court. “We cannot tarnish the unity of the Republican Guard before this august court, because we must protect the governor!” he said.