Democratic Republic of Congo’s ex-leader Joseph Kabila went on trial in absentia Friday on charges including treason over alleged support for Rwanda-backed militants, an AFP reporter at the court said.

He stands accused at a military court in Kinshasa of plotting to overthrow the government of President Felix Tshisekedi – a charge that could carry a death sentence.

He faces charges including homicide, torture and rape linked to the anti-government force M23, the charge sheet said.

Other charges include “taking part in an insurrection movement”, “crime against the peace and safety of humanity” and “forcible occupation of the city of Goma”.

Kabila arrived in May in that eastern city, seized by the M23 in January before it and the government in July signed a pledge to seek a permanent ceasefire.

The court opened his trial at 1020 GMT in the Gombe district of the capital.

Kabila’s successor as president, Tshisekedi, has branded him the brains behind the armed group, which has seized swathes of the resource-rich Congolese east with Rwanda’s help.

The charge sheet seen by AFP described him as “one of the initiators of the Congo River Alliance”, the M23’s political arm.

He has been accused of colluding with Rwanda to try to overthrow Tshisekedi by force.

The charge sheet accused him of being responsible for atrocities committed by the movement in North and South Kivu provinces in the mineral-rich east.

Rwanda denies providing military backing to the M23, but UN experts say its army played a “critical” role in the group’s offensive in that region.

Kabila, 54, took power following his father Laurent Kabila’s assassination in 2001 and governed DRC until 2019, before leaving the country in 2023.

He has branded his successor’s government a “dictatorship”.

Source: AFP