Involuntary homicide in Kinshasa: the cases returned to the court registry for compliance with the law

Kinshasa, June 11^th, 2025 (CPA).- The files of four defendants prosecuted before the military prosecutor’s office of Kinshasa/Gombe in the Democratic Republic of Congo, notably for involuntary homicide, have been returned on Wednesday to the court registry to comply with the law, during a hearing in the Ndolo prison. « For the simple reason that, as you are aware, the aforementioned defendants have  been brought before the court for specific acts (homicide and failure to assist a person in danger) and, in principle, according to legal requirements, the summons, which is the work of the court, should have been issued inexperso. (…) Since this has not been done, the court declares that it has not seized (…) and returns it to the clerk’s office so that the clerk can summon each defendant to appear in accordance with the requirements of the law, » has declared Chief Magistrate Mohamed Daniel, presiding judge.  This non seized of the cases has been explained by the judge president. He has indicated that it has been difficult for the court to proceed with the reading of the charges that the public prosecutor has retained for each of the defendants. “You would have appeared individually if you had been summoned. Unfortunately, you have not been summoned. For the moment, it is difficult for the court to proceed with the reading of the charges that the public prosecutor has brought against each of you,” he has said. “We cannot do this. We can only proceed with the reading if and only if you are summoned to each hearing where the court reviews the charges against each of you. This is the work of the public prosecutor’s office, not the court,” he has added before concluding and adjourning the hearing until the next June 25^th. The four defendants, Decostar Jean Numbi, Roger Kayembe Mukanya, Jose Mboyo, and Pene Mujanayi, are all charged with homicide (involuntary homicide) and failure to assist a person in danger.