The former chief of staff to the president of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Vital Kamerhe, saw his sentence, to 13 years in prison for embezzlement of public funds, canceled by the Court of Cassation on Monday, April 11.
At the end of a public hearing, judge Christophe Mukendi declared that “the Court of Cassation (…) accepts the appeal [of Vital Kamerhe] and says it is founded, breaks with reference the contested judgment. Return the case to the otherwise composed Kinshasa-Gombe Court of Appeal”.
Prosecuted for embezzlement of nearly 50 million dollars allocated to President Félix Tshisekedi’s “100-day program”, concerning the construction of prefabricated houses for soldiers and police, Kamerhe was sentenced in April 2020 to 20 years in prison. He had seen his sentence reduced on appeal to 13 years of forced labor, in June 2021.
But the former President of the National Assembly had challenged the judgment of the Kinshasa Court of Appeal before the Court of Cassation. This considered that the appeal judge had “violated the right of defense” of the detainee in rendering his decision. The case is therefore sent back to the reconstituted Court of Appeal.
His political formation, the Union for the Congolese Nation (UNC), of which he is the national president, welcomed the decision of the court of cassation, spoke of a “battle won”, and squarely hopes for his acquittal. She will thus prepare to face the Court of Appeal. Kamerhe’s defense plans to appeal to the Court of Appeal this week.
By OMA Newsletter N° 664 of 11/04/2022
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
