Trial of General Dibwe: two-week postponement granted to the defence

Kinshasa, May 28^th, 2025 (CPA) – A two-week postponement has been granted on Wednesday to the lawyers of the defendant, Brigadier General John Dibwe, who is on trial before the High Military Court of the Democratic Republic of Congo for desertion, to allow them to prepare their case, according to judicial sources. « We are adjourning this case for two weeks to allow all parties to examine the arguments of the high military court contained in the two interim rulings it has handed down. The case is adjourned for two weeks to allow the defendant’s lawyers to prepare their client’s defence, » has said Brigadier General Jean-Paulin Ntshayikolo, president of the court. This postponement is in response to a request made by the defence lawyers to the high military court to allow them to obtain the two judgments handed down in this case before the final verdict. ‘Mr President, it is true that this hearing is devoted to the prosecution’s closing arguments and our pleadings, but we request that your high court grant a two-week postponement to allow us to obtain the two judgments you have handed down in this case, thereby ensuring a better defence for our client,’ has said one of General Dibwe’s lawyers. Furthermore, the High Court has reminded the assistance of the rejection of the defence’s request for the provisional release of General Dibwe. ‘The High Military Court had justified its ruling before ruling on this request for provisional release by noting that the offences for which the defendant John Mulongo Dibwe, a general in the army, is being prosecuted, namely violation of orders and desertion abroad, fall under Title II of the Military Penal Code, which provides for and punishes military offences,’ has said the presiding judge. And to add : ‘These two offences constitute serious violations of military discipline. (…) The High Military Court considers the arguments presented by the defendant’s counsel in support of their request for provisional release to be weak and unconvincing, given the extreme seriousness of the charges against him.’  The defendant, Brigadier General John Dibwe, a former member of the Republican Guard and deputy commander of the military region assigned to Lubumbashi, is being prosecuted on two counts, namely desertion abroad, specifically in Zambia, and violation of orders.