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Former Democratic Republic of Congo President Joseph Kabila has been sentenced to death in absentia for war crimes and treason.<\/p>\n
The charges concern accusations that Kabila has been supporting the M23, a rebel group who have wreaked devastation across the country’s eastern region.<\/p>\n
Kabila was convicted on Friday by a military court of treason, crimes against humanity, and war crimes, including murder, sexual assault, torture and insurrection. He denied the charges, but did not appear in court to defend himself.<\/p>\n
The ex-president rejected the case as “arbitrary” and said the courts were being used as an “instrument of oppression”. His current whereabouts are unknown.<\/p>\n
The 54-year-old led DR Congo for 18 years, after succeeding his father Laurent, who was shot dead in 2001.<\/p>\n
Kabila backed President F\u00e9lix Tshisekedi in the disputed 2019 elections, but they later fell out and Kabila went into self-imposed exile in 2023.<\/p>\n
In April this year, the former president said he wanted to help find a solution to the deadly fighting in the east and arrived in the M23-held city of Goma the following month.<\/p>\n
President Tshisekedi accused Kabila of being the brains behind the M23 and senators stripped him of his legal immunity<\/a>, paving the way for his prosecution.<\/p>\n Decades of conflict had escalated earlier this year when the M23 seized control of large parts of the mineral-rich east, including Goma, the city of Bukavu and two airports.<\/p>\n Pointing to overwhelming evidence, the UN and several Western countries have accused neighbouring Rwanda of backing the M23, and sending thousands of its soldiers into DR Congo.<\/p>\n But Kigali denies the charges, saying it is acting to stop the conflict from spilling over onto its territory.<\/p>\n A ceasefire deal between the rebels and the government was agreed in July, but the bloodshed has continued.<\/p>\nMore BBC stories on DR Congo:<\/h2>\n