DR Congo lawmaker arrested, put on trial for various charges

DR Congo lawmaker arrested, put on trial for various charges

Josue Mufula being prosecuted for offences including provocation and incitement and contempt towards army

By Aurore Bonny

DOUALA, Cameroon (AA) - A deputy lawmaker in the Democratic Republic of Congo was arrested Tuesday by security services and faces various charges, according to a local source.

Josue Mufula, a member of parliament for the Common Front for Congo (FCC), former President Joseph Kabila’s party, was brought before a military court in North Kivu province, according to Juvenal Munubo, a prominent lawywer and member of parliament for the Union for the Congolese Nation (UNC) opposition party who is assisting him.

The source said Mufula is being prosecuted for offences ranging from "provocation and incitement to breach of public authority and contempt towards the army."

He was arrested in the city of Goma, which he represents, as he was preparing to board a flight for the capital Kinshasa at the end of his parliamentary vacation.

Mufula has also reportedly criticized the state of siege decreed in the province of North Kivu province.

Goma is located in the country’s east, an area that includes North Kivu and Ituri provinces, which are regularly attacked by armed groups.

According to the prosecution's case against Mufula, his driver "drove his car past curfew hours and called police officers ‘dogs’," Munubo said.

Munubo also pointed out the constitutional objections raised by the defense against the trial, in particular, the fact that Mufula is not being judged by the Court of Cassation, the authority constitutionally designated to judge national deputies.

The law states that "the privileges of jurisdiction remain, even in a state of siege."

Therefore, there is "a risk of violation of the constitution" according to Munubo.

Days before the trial, Mufula made public statements criticizing the state of siege.

He deplored the “military regime" and the growing insecurity in the east targeting many youths, who were found dead despite the security measure.

-UN concerns

"The state of siege is military terror," Mufula was quoted by the local media outlet Journal des Nations as saying, while he acknowledged that his latest interventions and criticisms "have been so embarrassing.”

In the Democratic Republic of Congo, 5.6 million people have been forced to flee their homes, 400,000 more than at the beginning of 2021, due to insecurity. While the majority are living in host communities, more than 330,000 are staying in displacement sites, according to the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR).

On Tuesday, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights warned of the risk of reprisals after the massacre of some 60 internally displaced persons who were "shot or attacked with machetes and knives" by militiamen on Feb. 1 in Ituri in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

It called on the country’s authorities to strengthen civilian protection as soon as possible, particularly by ensuring displaced persons' safety.

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