66 soldiers sentenced to death in Congo

Some 66 soldiers have been sentenced to death for cowardice, mutiny, and failure to obey orders in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The Goma Garrison Military Court handed down the sentence last Friday.

The BBC reported on the sentences following the trial of 71 soldiers before the court in Walikale, in North Kivu province, in eastern DR Congo.

The soldiers were arrested in separate incidents related to fighting between the military and rebel groups near the country’s borders with Uganda, Rwanda, and Burundi.

Troops from Congo have been fighting armed groups in the country’s resource-rich east for decades, including the M23 group and the umbrella rebel coalition Front for the Refoundation of the Nation (FRN).

The soldiers were arrested over allegations of abandoning their posts or running away from clashes with FRN rebels.

The troops spent 12 days on trial at a military court. Prosecutors sought capital punishment for 70 of the defendants, and a 10-year jail term for an intelligence officer.

Four soldiers were, however, acquitted. The intelligence officer was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

The army said the trial was intended to improve discipline among troops as they battle armed groups in eastern DR Congo

The army’s head of communications in Eastern Congo, Dieudonne Kasereka, said the charges were necessary to reinforce discipline in the country’s embattled North Kivu and South Kivu regions.

Congolese authorities reintroduced the death penalty in March 2024 to fight “treason” within the armed forces.

Last month, 27 Congolese soldiers were sentenced to death for cowardice.

Radio France Internationale estimated that 381 soldiers have been sentenced to death since 2025.

However, there have been concerns over the government’s use of capital punishment on Congolese troops.

Amnesty International pointed out that the country’s justice system was “plagued by numerous problems, and trials rarely meet fair trial standards as documented.”

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“Whether those who have been sentenced to death are in the national army or police, in armed groups, or have been involved in gang violence, everyone has a right to life and for that right to be protected,” said Amnesty’s regional director for East and Southern Africa, Tigere Chagutah.

“The decision will endanger the lives of hundreds of people who have been sentenced to death, including those who were put on death row following unfair trials and politically motivated charges.”