Kinshasa, June 18th, 2025 (CPA) – The Minister of State in charge of Justice of the Democratic Republic of Congo has officially tendered his resignation to the Head of State, after the National Assembly lifted his immunities following the indictment by the public prosecutor at the Court of Cassation, an official source has said. ‘As a republican who respects the Constitution and the laws of our country, I am submitting my resignation today, not without regret, in the face of this political plot by the Rwandan Minister of Foreign Affairs, who gloated in his tweet, and the leaders of the AFC/M23, whose ultimate aim is to have me physically eliminated’, Constant Mutamba, the outgoing Minister of Justice, said in his letter of resignation to the Head of State.
After thanking President Tshisekedi for his appointment as head of the Ministry of Justice, Constant Mutamba defended his achievements, referring to the reforms undertaken in this sector. ‘These bold reforms, carried out after many sacrifices and despite the resistance of conservatives hostile to change, have made it possible, on the one hand, to rehabilitate thousands of our compatriots, and on the other hand, they have helped to protect the State and its branches (companies, services and public establishments) from the predation of their assets by mafia networks’, he wrote.
In this context, the former Minister of Justice listed a number of measures taken to protect investors and stabilize the business climate.
These include the revitalization of the one-stop shop for business start-ups, which now allows people to set up a business in two days; the unsuitability of company assets in the State portfolio; and the creation of a joint commission to ensure that the justice system is properly enforced, which has helped to reduce the number of cases of private individuals’ assets being plundered by unfair court rulings handed down by mafia networks.
Constant Mutamba also mentioned a number of dissuasive legal actions that have been taken, including those against the perpetrators and accomplices of the Rwandan aggression, which have resulted in sentences of penal servitude and the confiscation of the property of certain Rwandan accomplices, as well as the holding of mobile courts as part of the fight against urban banditry. The Estates General on Justice, a therapy adapted to the DRC With a view to implementing the resolutions of the Estates General on Justice of November 2024, the former Congolese Minister of State for Justice argued that these meetings were the appropriate therapy for the illness from which the Congolese justice system is suffering. In this context, he cited the tabling in the National Assembly of the law creating the economic and financial criminal court and the attached public prosecutor’s office, the decongestion of prisons and the improvement of living conditions for prisoners, and the reform of the Inspectorate of Judicial and Penitentiary Services.
In addition, the School of Criminology has been relaunched to train Inspectors of the Judicial Police, pastors and churches are gradually being identified through the issuing of permits to practise their faiths, popular consultations and open days are being organised to give the public a chance to have their say, and Ministry of Justice staff and executives are being provided with means of transport.
Integrity and commitment
In his letter, Constant Mutamba emphasised his degree of commitment and integrity to his country and his loyalty to President Félix Tshisekedi. He said he was ready to continue the fight for fair and equitable justice for all. ‘I cannot repeat here the extent of my integrity and my commitment to our mother country; my loyalty to your authority is unwavering, and that is what I am a victim of today. I have never compromised my values and I never will. I have not taken any state dollars. I promise you that I will not give up the fight for a justice system that is fair and equitable for all, free of all its current defects, and not one that is used to settle political scores. I also promise not to abandon the fight against the invaders’, he said.
Constant Mutamba is accused of allegedly embezzling 19 million dollars intended for the construction of a prison in Kisangani. Despite his challenge by the public prosecutor’s office, he will probably have to appear on Thursday before the magistrates he is challenging.