US EditionCongo Ex-Justice Minister Jailed for Embezzling $19 Million in Public Funds
The Court of Cassation also banned Mutamba from election participation for five years after his three-year prison sentence for embezzling public funds.
- The Court of Cassation on Tuesday handed Constant Mutamba, former justice minister, a three-year prison sentence for embezzling $19 million meant for a Kisangani prison project.
- Earlier this year Congo's attorney general was authorized to prosecute Constant Mutamba, who served as justice minister in 2024 and 2025 and resigned while denying the embezzlement allegations.
- The court concluded that the Court of Cassation found Constant Mutamba acted with intent to enrich himself and bypassed procedures, while Mutamba pleaded not guilty and lawyer Joel Kitenge condemned the verdict as flawed.
- Authorities deployed security forces and barricades in Kinshasa ahead of the verdict, as supporters of Constant Mutamba protested and clashes between activists and police last week forced a postponement.
- Observers say the case has become a flashpoint as Mutamba, a 2023 presidential candidate, earlier supported legal action against former President Joseph Kabila.
22 Articles
22 Articles
DRC: Mutamba graft trial exposes justice system fault lines
Former Congolese Justice Minister Mutamba vowed to come down hard on embezzlers. Now, he has been sentenced to three years, with hard labor, for allegedly stealing funds intended for the construction of a prison.
Congo ex-justice minister sentenced to forced labor for corruption
In a high-profile corruption crackdown, a top Congolese court has sentenced former Justice Minister Constant Mutamba to three years of forced labor after convicting him of embezzling $19 million in public funds.
News24 | Anti-corruption justice minister gets 3 years forced labour for $20m embezzlement in DRC
Firebrand former Democratic Republic of Congo justice minister Constant Mutamba was sentenced on Tuesday to three years of forced labour for embezzling public funds, including reparations for war victims, an AFP journalist saw.
The Straits Times
WTVBCongo ex-justice minister convicted of embezzlement in construction project
KINSHASA - A former justice minister in Congo was convicted for embezzling millions of dollars earmarked for a prison construction in the northern city of Kisangani and sentenced to three years forced labour on Tuesday, a court ruled. Read more at straitstimes.com.
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Constant Mutamba was sentenced on Tuesday, 2 September, to three years of hard labour and five years of denial of access to any public office for misappropriation of public funds. The former Minister of Justice was convicted by the judges of the Court of Cassation of Kinshasa. The 37-year-old ex-guard of the Seals was accused of attempting to hijack nearly US$20 million in a contract for the construction …
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