Kinshasa April 24th, 2025 (CPA).- Twenty (20) years of hard labor were demanded on Wednesday by the Public Prosecutor’s Office against former Prime Minister Matata Ponyo, prosecuted for embezzlement of funds allocated to the Bukanga-Lonzo agro-industrial park project, during a hearing before the Constitutional Court of the Democratic Republic of Congo. “20 years’ hard labor for Matata Ponyo and 10 years’ ineligibility; 20 years’ hard labor and 5 years’ ineligibility for former central bank governor Deogracias Mutombo and 20 years’ imprisonment for Christo Goebler, and permanent expulsion from Congolese territory at the end of his sentence”, said Prosper Moke Mayele, Attorney General at the Constitutional Court. He also requested that South African businessman Christo Gobler, prosecuted for “criminal participation” with former Prime Minister Matata, be permanently expelled from Congolese territory after serving his sentence. These sentences were requested after a demonstration of the various relationships linking the defendants, the shell companies and unjustified payments.
After the closing arguments, the case was taken under advisement. The court will deliver its verdict on May 14th.
The defendants absent from the hearing
The three defendants accused in this trial were absent from the hearing for various reasons, which did not prevent the Constitutional Court from continuing with the examination of the merits of the case. “The accused Matata sent us a letter to demand respect for his parliamentary immunities; Kristo Goebler justified his absence by a fall down the stairs which caused damage to his knee, but with documents signed by a doctor abroad; and Deogratias Mutombo’s counsel justified their client’s absence by a medical stay abroad”, said presiding judge Dieudonné Kamuleta. On this occasion, the Court decided to continue the hearing in the absence of the defendants. “The court retains the default with regard to all the defendants. But for the benefit of defendant Goebler, we remind you that the law requires three doctors to sign a medical report for it to be taken into account. As for the defendant Matata, the court recalls that the National Assembly has not taken any position and knows that it cannot interfere with justice,” said Dieudonné Kamuleta. Reacting to Matata Ponyo’s letter, the Attorney General, Prosper Moke, stated that “this trial has no political character”.
“If that were the case, the Court would not allow a remission of more than six months to be granted to the defendant to enable him to campaign and stand in the elections. This same Court validated his candidacy as President of the Republic, his candidacy as national deputy and his election to the national deputation. We believe that the defendant is making a mockery of justice, and this is unacceptable. One should not take refuge behind immunities to give oneself a form of impunity”, he added.
In a letter to the Constitutional Court, Augustin Matata, through his lawyers, announced that he would no longer be taking part in the hearings “in view of the irregular, illegal and unconstitutional nature of the procedure initiated by the Constitutional Court”.
Hearing of inspectors from the Inspectorate General of Finances
The Constitutional Court subpoenaed three inspectors from the Inspectorate General of Finance as “informants” to explain the whys and wherefores of their report. They said that they had been seized in September 2020 by former Prime Minister Matata Ponyo following public outcry, and that the Inspectorate General of Finance had appointed inspectors Désiré Wangi, Thierry Mutombo and Dieudonné Tutondele to investigate the matter. As part of their mission, the inspectors selected Africa Commodities (Africom) as the manager of the US$287 million Bukanga-Lonzo project. The inspectors also presented their report, which forms the basis of this investigation, demonstrating the multiple over-invoicing that characterized this project and the multiplicity of shell companies created for the purpose in order to facilitate the misappropriation. The judges put numerous questions to the inspectors, but also to the Public Prosecutor, who went on to specify the offences for which the defendants are being prosecuted: “We are prosecuting the defendants Matata and Goebler for criminal participation; the former Prime Minister being the designer, authorizer and executor of all the payments without going through the supervisory ministry for 115 million dollars, with the indispensable help of Goebler”. “With regard to the second prevention of former Prime Minister Matata Ponyo and Deogracias Mutombo, they are being prosecuted for having released $4,800,000 each month in emergency procedure; the Central Bank paid 13 times $4,800,000 US dollars for the construction of the Kinshasa International Market. That’s $80 million that Goebler has never received”, explained Public Prosecutor Prosper Moke Mayele. Former Prime Minister Matata Ponyo, South African businessman Kristo Goebler and former Governor of the Central Bank of Congo, Déogracias Mutombo, are charged with embezzlement of funds allocated to the “Bukanga-Lonzo” agro-industrial park project, amounting to 204 million dollars, of which only USD 34 million could be justified, according to the indictment briefly read out at the hearing. ACP/