Kinshasa, November 13th, 2025 (CPA).- Former rebel Roger Lumbala of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) was absent on Thursday during the second day of his hearing at the Assize Court in Paris, France, the CPA learned from an international media outlet.
«The Roger Lumbala trial in Paris continues on 13 November 2025. On the second day of the hearing, as he had announced the day before, the former Congolese warlord was not in the dock. He is contesting the legitimacy of the French courts to try him, » the international media outlet reported. According to this source, at 9 a.m. this morning, upon his arrival, the president of the Assize Court noted the absence of the accused. He was in custody and refused to appear.
The president of the court had announced yesterday that he would be brought before the court by force if necessary. According to the source, the defendant is the first Congolese national from the DRC to be tried in France under universal jurisdiction. The source also noted that the former rebel’s lawyers have also challenged the jurisdiction of the Paris Assize Court. ‘I consider France to be incompetent to judge me. I consider the proceedings to be unfair. I challenge my lawyers,’ he said on the first day of the trial. ‘I refuse to be represented by another lawyer. I refuse to appear and I ask to be removed from the courtroom and not to return,’ he said.
It should be noted that former Congolese rebel leader Roger Lumbala is being tried by the French courts under universal jurisdiction for complicity in crimes against humanity committed between 2002 and 2003 in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). ACP/