Thirty-seven individuals, comprising three Americans, a Briton, a Belgian, and a Canadian, have received death sentences for their roles in a failed coup attempt to overthrow President Félix Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). In May, the group faced accusations of orchestrating an armed attack on the presidential palace and the residence of a close associate of the president.
Christian Malanga, a US citizen with Congolese roots, has been identified as the architect of the coup plot. He lost his life in the attack, alongside five other assailants. According to local reports, Malanga had been at the forefront of the New Zaire Movement, a political group associated with the attempted coup.
Foreign Nationals Among Plotters
A total of 51 individuals faced trial in a military court, with the proceedings aired on national television and radio. Fourteen individuals were found not guilty and set free, whereas the others faced capital punishment. Among those sentenced was Malanga’s son, Marcel, who provided testimony in court indicating that his father had issued a death threat if he did not participate in the scheme. Tyler Thompson, his friend, also received a death sentence. According to their families, both men in their 20s had grown up together in Utah.
In June, Miranda Thompson, Marcel’s stepmother, informed the BBC that the family was unaware of how he had arrived in the DRC. “We were utterly astonished by the unfolding events and the uncertainty surrounding them.” “All the information we were acquiring came from Google,” she stated.
Another American, Benjamin Zalman-Polun, who had business ties with Malanga, has been sentenced to death. Human Rights Watch characterised another sentenced defendant, Jean-Jacques Wondo, a Congolese-Belgian dual national, as a prominent researcher on regional politics. The organisation indicated that the evidence connecting him to the coup was tenuous.
According to reports from the AFP news agency, the individuals sentenced were Briton and Canadian nationals of Congolese origin.
The Death Penalty
Although death sentences have not been executed in the DRC for almost twenty years, individuals found guilty typically endure life imprisonment as an alternative. In March 2023, the government lifted its moratorium on executions, stating the necessity to eliminate “traitors” from the army. In light of this policy change, there have yet to be any executions carried out.
On May 19, a coup attempt took place in the capital, Kinshasa, where armed individuals dressed in military uniforms assaulted the home of Vital Kamerhe, the parliamentary speaker, subsequently aiming for the presidential palace. Witnesses described a confrontation involving approximately 20 attackers exchanging gunfire with security personnel.
Brigadier General Sylavin Ekenge, serving as an army spokesperson, confirmed that Malanga was shot dead during the attack while resisting arrest. After the incident, the government announced that the coup attempt had been effectively prevented.
President Tshisekedi, having achieved re-election with around 78% of the vote in a contentious election in December 2022, governs a nation abundant in natural resources yet burdened by pervasive corruption and conflict. The eastern region of the DRC continues to be a centre of violence, even with Tshisekedi’s attempts to stabilise the situation through ceasefires and the deployment of foreign troops.
Mimi Mefo Info – DR Congo Coup
