The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has lifted its 21-year moratorium on the death penalty and capital punishment executions following a surge in violence and attacks from militants. This substantial measure targets a rising trend of citizens engaging with M23 rebels, a situation which has raised a considerable amount of concern in the country’s eastern regions for some time. The official announcement of this lift emerged on Friday.
Adopted initially by a council of ministers earlier this year, the lifting of the death penalty moratorium was made public through a justice ministry circular circulated on Friday. Justice Minister Rose Mutombo Kiese justified the reinstatement as an essential step toward managing an increase in gang-related rebellion, violence, and association between locals and insurgent factions. This is particularly prominent in the DRC’s eastern region, which has faced significant unrest due to the presence of Rwanda-supported M23 rebels since 2021. Here, a UN peacekeeping mission has been deployed.
This controversial reinstatement will allow for the death sentence to be given to those charged with war crimes, treason, participation in banned groups or insurgency movements, crimes against humanity and a range of other crimes, as the shared document detailing this new directive informed.
However, the decision has faced significant backlash domestically within the DRC and amongst the international community, particularly noteworthy Human Rights NGOs. Amnesty International’s Regional Director for East and Southern Africa, Tigere Chagutah, labeled the decision as a step backward for the country, while calling for a halt to any execution plans and abolishment of the death penalty.
Local citizens’ rights movement in the DRC, LUCHA, similarly voiced their disappointments on X (formerly Twitter), calling out this move as unconstitutional while warning against possible summary executions without a functioning justice system.
It remains unconfirmed whether the lifting of the moratorium will take immediate effect or whether the Justice Ministry will follow a transitional phase before full reinstatement occurs.
DRC first established a moratorium on capital punishment in the early 2000s, with the last known execution carried out in January 2003. Though executions were halted, death sentences continued to be given, with sentences typically commuted to life imprisonment.