Kinshasa, August 13th, 2025 (CPA).- Ten (10) years of hard labour were requested on Wednesday against former Justice Minister Constant Mutamba, accused of embezzling funds allocated for the construction of a prison in Kisangani, the capital of Tshopo province in the north-east of the Democratic Republic of Congo. « It is therefore up to your honourable court to establish, in fact and in law, the offence of public embezzlement charged against the defendant Constant Mutamba. You will sentence him to ten (10) years of hard labour, accompanied by a ten (10) year ban on voting and standing for election, » has said Floribert Vola, public prosecutor. ‘You will also prohibit him from holding public office at any level, and you will also deprive him of the right to parole and rehabilitation. You will also order the full return of the embezzled sum; this money must be returned to the account from which it came,’ he has added. In his speech, Prosecutor Vola described the defendant as a ‘criminal,’ arguing that he had betrayed the Republic. « This criminal, despite being entrusted with the sacred duty of ensuring justice, is suspected of having seriously betrayed the Republic. We are indeed talking about the former Minister of State, Minister in charge of Justice and Keeper of the Seals, Constant Mutamba Tungunga. The facts are serious, the facts are damning. This is a case of embezzlement of public funds, but not just any funds, » he said. The public prosecutor explained that the embezzled money came from Uganda as part of the decision handed down by the International Court of Justice for the compensation of victims of the six-day war between Uganda and Rwanda in the north-east of DRC in 2000. « This money is not just a budget line item. It is the blood money of innocent people. It is the price of memory. It is an act of recognition of the martyrdom surrounded by the populations that the state had abandoned. Embezzling these funds is truly trampling on the dignity of the victims. It is insulting history. It is committing a second act of aggression, » he deplored.
Continuing his closing speech, Prosecutor Vola insisted, demonstrating the defendant’s intention to embezzle the money by transferring it to the account of a fictitious construction company. He described the evidence against the defendant as ‘overwhelming’, notably the failure to comply with the principles of private contracting; the lack of authorisation for the award of this contract; the non-existence of the construction company ‘Zion’; and the non-existence of the land to house the Kisangani prison building. In response, the defendant’s lawyers pointed out that the public prosecutor’s closing speech was ‘hasty’ in view of the latest statement by the Rawbank informant, who confirmed the existence of a current account opened under the name ‘Zion Construction SARL’. They therefore pleaded for their client’s acquittal in these terms: ‘The defence asks only one thing of you: to acquit Mutamba, this worthy son who sacrificed his entire youth for a noble cause, accepting to bear the burden of an entire generation.’
Constant Mutamba reveals himself to be a descendant of Lumumba
Speaking last, Constant Mutamba revealed himself to be a descendant of Patrice Emery Lumumba, Fidèle Castro, Nelson Mandela, Etienne Tshisekedi and many others who, according to him, were unjustly imprisoned at a young age. He also quoted Psalm 34, which says: « Misfortune often befalls the righteous, but the Lord always delivers them, » in order to prove his innocence to the Court.‘I would like to start by telling you that I am a believer, and on that basis, I quote Psalm 34, which says: Misfortune often befalls the righteous, but the Lord always delivers them,’ he has said.
Considering itself sufficiently informed, the Court of Cassation, sitting in first and last instance, set Wednesday August 27th, 2025 as the date for the verdict. Former Justice Minister Constant Mutamba is being prosecuted for embezzling US$19 million in funds intended for the construction of a prison in Kisangani, the main city of Tshopo Province in the north-east of the Democratic Republic of Congo.ACP/