Kinshasa, July 2nd, 2025 (CPA).- A complaint has been filed in Brussels, Belgium, by the interim Minister of Justice of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) against the spokesperson of the Rwanda-backed rebel movement Alliance fleuve Congo (AFC) for defamation, the ministry announced on Wednesday.
‘Mr. Samuel Mbemba is filing a complaint in Brussels against Jean-Jacques Mamba, the spokesperson for the AFC, who defamed him by claiming that he does not have a law degree, which would allow him to claim the title of lawyer,’ according to a statement from the Ministry in charge of Justice. The Deputy Minister in charge of Justice, who is acting in place of the outgoing minister, practiced law in Brussels between 2009 and 2012 before returning to Kinshasa to work as an advisor to the same ministry. ‘The current Minister in charge of Justice was therefore registered with the Brussels Bar,’ the statement said. Jean-Marc Picard, former president of the legal aid office at the Brussels Bar, said on a radio station broadcasting in Kinshasa that he would also file a defamation suit against Jean-Jacques Mamba. Samuel Mbemba was registered with the Brussels Bar from 2009 to 2012. Jean-Marc Picard announced that he had requested a duplicate of the Congolese minister’s diploma from the bar and the faculty, and had agreed to take the matter to court because he knows Samuel Mbemba well.