The former chief of staff of President Félix Tshisekedi, Vital Kamerhe, was acquitted this Thursday, June 23 by the Court of Appeal of Kinshasa / Gombe, in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), in the file concerning the diversion of several million US dollars allocated to the emergency program of the first 100 days of the head of state at the head of the country.
Kamerhe was sentenced to 20 years in prison and 10 years of ineligibility for corruption and embezzlement, at first instance, in June 2020. During a first appeal trial, in June 2021, his sentence was reduced to 13 years of imprisonment, before being canceled by the Court of Cassation and sent back to the Court of Appeal.
The Court of Cassation had considered that the appeal judge had “violated the right of defense” of Kamerhe by rendering his decision sentencing him to 13 years in prison, while “the case was not ready” to be judged.
“My client Vital Kamerhe was totally acquitted today by the Court of Appeal. There is no evidence against him…. It’s definitely over with this case,” his lawyer, Me Jean-Marie Kabengela, told AFP.
Within his political formation, the Union for the Congolese Nation (UNC) of which he is the president, the verdict was favorably received. Moreover, his relatives had always claimed his innocence.
By OMA Newsletter N° 757 of 06/24/2022
Article published under the direction of Dr. Najib Kettani
The OMA, NGO with an Intercontinental vocation
For the development of cultural exchanges
Valuing human potential
The promotion and consolidation of Africa’s development, and
Inter-African integration
