KINSHASA – State prosecutors in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have requested the High Military Court to sentence former President Joseph Kabila to death, accusing him of treason and falsifying his identity.

During a hearing, Chief military prosecutor, Gen. Lucien René Likulia argued that Kabila should be convicted for allegedly claiming Congolese nationality while, according to the prosecution, he was born to a Rwandan father and a Congolese mother under the name Hypollite Kanambe.

Prosecutors further allege that he supported the M23 rebel movement, which has been blamed for insecurity in eastern Congo.

The trial is being conducted in absentia, as Kabila has not appeared before the court. Lawyers representing the state contend that he falsely declared himself to have been born in Fizi, South Kivu, and that he was not the biological son of the late President Laurent-Désiré Kabila, who led the country from 1997 until his assassination in 2001.

According to the prosecution, Joseph Kabila assumed a false identity that enabled him to succeed Laurent-Désiré Kabila as head of state in 2001 and later serve as president until 2019.