Lt.Gen Lucien-René Likulia Bakumi the Auditor General at the Military High Court is scheduled this afternoon to appear before the plenary Assembly to substantiate the treason charges and the suggested request to lift immunities off former President Joseph Kabila.
Taarifa has learned that a Special commission selected last week to handle this matter in the senate has 72 hours from Monday, May 19, 2025, to submit its report to the Plenary Assembly.
This Special Commission does not rule out the possibility of hearing Joseph Kabila. It will be up to the bureau of the upper house of parliament to decide on this, added our source familiar with the internal workings of the senate.
Lt.Gen Lucien-René Likulia Bakumi previously while appearing in plenary session accused Kabila of having committed acts and facts constituting the offenses of participation in the insurrectional movement by assuming the communications of the M23 insurgents, offenses provided for and punished by articles 136 and 137 Code 3 of the Military Penal Code, of treason.
He also accused the former leader of maintaining intelligence with a foreign power or with its agents, the AFC/M23, in this case to engage this power to undertake hostilities against the DRC or by providing it with the means, acts provided for and punished by article 182 of the Congolese Penal Code, book 2, as well as participation in war crimes as provided for and punished by articles 21 bis point 2 as well as article 223 point 1 a and 2 point 2, e, b and z of Law No. 15/022 of December 31, 2015, amending and supplementing the decree of January 30, 1940 establishing the Ordinary Penal Code.
According to the DRC’s Military High Court Prosecution, it prefered to charge the former leader subject to the provisions of Article 104 paragraph 7, 107 paragraph 2 and 153 of the Constitution of the DRC of 18 February 2006, as amended by Law No. 11/002 of 20 January 2011 revising certain articles of the Constitution.
The Prosecution said it also prefered charges against Kabila based on Article 120 b of Law No. 023/2002 of 18 November 2002, on the Code of Military Justice, Article 109 of Law No. 18/021 of 26 July 2018 on the status of former elected Presidents of the Republic, Article 76 paragraph 1 of Organic Law No. 13/010 of 19 February 2013 on the procedure before the Court of Cassation and Article 6 of Ordinance No. 21/016 of 3 May 2021 on the implementation measure of the state of siege in part of the territory of the DRC.
Meanwhile, Article 153 of the Constitution grants the Court of Cassation criminal jurisdiction for criminal acts committed by members of the National Assembly and the Senate during the exercise of their functions.
However, when they commit acts provided for and punished by the Military Penal Code, they fall under the jurisdiction of the Military High Court under Article 120 b of Law No. 023/2002 of 18 November 2002, establishing the Code of Military Justice.
The referral to the Senate seeking authorization to initiate proceedings against the senator for life, Joseph Kabila, is justified, not because he was President of the Republic, but because he is a senator.
Joseph Kabila’s fate will be known in the next 72 hours from today (Monday).