Kinshasa, November 19th, 2025 (CPA).- A call for a “fair” and “credible” verdict was made on Wednesday at the High Military Court by a Congolese association ahead of the appeal trial for the murder of Zaida Catalán and Michael Sharp, two UN experts, according to a statement received by the CPA.
“The Congolese Association for the Defense of the Right to Truth in Memory of Innocent Civilian Victims (ACDDV-DH) calls for a fair and credible verdict, in accordance with international law, which will serve as a lesson to the perpetrators of human rights violations,” read the document signed by Richie Lontulungu, executive director of the association. “We call on the High Military Court to hold all those involved in this double murder accountable, including the instigators named in the official investigations,” the text added. According to the source, long-awaited justice will be served not only in the name of Zaida Catalán and Michael Sharp, but also in the name of all the victims of the Kamwena Nsapu tragedy. The same source reported that the ACDDV-DH is closely monitoring developments in the appeal trial concerning the murder of UN experts Zaida Catalán and Michael Sharp, with a verdict expected in the coming days.
According to the source, the ACDDV-DH has expressed concern about delays, procedural problems, and poor evidence management over the past eight years. The Congolese association’s statement reminded human rights activists of their moral obligation to seek the truth and defend the right to existence of vulnerable groups. In March 2017, Swedish-Chilean Zaida Catalan and American Michael Sharp disappeared while in Kasai (Center) investigating mass graves linked to the armed conflict that broke out after the death of traditional leader Kamuina Nsapu. Their bodies were found two weeks later. This conflict left 3,400 people dead and tens of thousands displaced between September 2016 and mid-2017. These UN experts were executed by militiamen from the Kamuina Nsapu sect.