Kinshasa, June 8th, 2026 (CPA).- The High Military Court of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) on Monday acquitted two national army officers who had been tried for violation of orders during a hearing held at its headquarters in Kinshasa.
“Acting as the lower court should have done, the High Military Court finds that the offence of violation of orders has not been established in fact or in law against the two aforementioned defendants. Consequently, it acquits them, dismisses all charges without costs and orders their immediate release,” declared Brigadier General Martin Kalala, magistrate and presiding judge, in the final ruling. “Having examined the matter, the Court admits the appeals filed by Captain Jean-Adelard Nzondo and Second Lieutenant Jonathan-Hilaire Kabange Numbi and finds them well-founded,” the bench ruled while reading its appellate judgment. During the hearing, defence lawyers firmly maintained that the alleged orders had never been communicated to their clients.
“The orders were never brought to our attention. It was only during the hearing before the former Katanga Military Court on December 26, 2025, that the prosecution presented us with two notes referring to an alleged order,” the defense argued. The High Military Court shared the same reasoning in its judgment. “It is true that the order existed, but it was never communicated to the defendants,” the Court held. “The defendant, Second Lieutenant Kabange Numbi, stated that at the time of the events he was only a trainee and that all procedural acts performed by him were under the responsibility of his supervising officer, Captain Nzondo, Acting Garrison Military Prosecutor of Kolwezi, capital of Lualaba Province,” the Court recalled. It should be noted that in this case, Captain Jean-Adelard Nzondo and Second Lieutenant Jonathan-Hilaire Kabange had each been sentenced to five years’ imprisonment by the former Greater Katanga Military Court for the offence of violation of orders.