Death Sentence for 38 in DR Congo Coup Plot

38 Sentenced to Death in DR Congo

The high-profile trials were broadcast on national TV and radio, underscoring the gravity of the situation.

38 sentenced to death for failed coup in DR Congo, including 3 Americans & 1 Briton; Human Rights Watch raises concerns over weak evidence against Congolese-Belgian scholar.

A Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) military court sentenced 37 individuals to death on September 13 for involvement in a coup attempt against President Félix Tshisekedi.

Those sentenced include three Americans: Christian Malanga, Marcel Malanga, and Tyler Thompson, as well as a British national whose identity remains undisclosed.

The group also includes a Belgian and Canadian who were arrested for their roles in the attempted coup.

A DR Congo court sentenced 38 individuals to death for plotting an attack on the presidential palace and Vital Kamerhe's residence in May 2024.

The defendants, including US citizen Christian Malanga, alleged leader of the plot, were found guilty. However, Christian was killed during the attack.

Two additional US citizens, Marcel Malanga (Christian's son) and Tyler Thompson, both in their 20s from Utah, received death sentences.

Marcel testified that his father coerced him into participating, threatening death if he refused.

Another US citizen, Benjamin Zalman-Polun, with business ties to Christian Malanga, was also sentenced to death.

Jean-Jacques Wondo, a Congolese-Belgian scholar, received a death sentence despite concerns from Human Rights Watch about the strength of evidence linking him to the coup attempt.

Of the 51 individuals tried, 14 were acquitted due to insufficient evidence connecting them to the attack.

The high-profile trials were broadcast on national TV and radio, underscoring the gravity of the situation.

Convicts have a five-day window to appeal their sentences.

Although the Democratic Republic of Congo hasn't enforced the death penalty in 20 years, it was reinstated in March 2024 to target "traitors" in the military.

Despite the reinstatement, executions remain rare, and death sentences are often commuted to life imprisonment.

On May 19, armed men in military attire launched a coup attempt in Kinshasa, attacking Vital Kamerhe's residence before advancing on the presidential palace.

The assault on the palace involved around 20 attackers, leading to a intense gunfight.

An army spokesperson announced on national TV that security forces had successfully foiled “an attempted coup d'état.”

Local media identified the attackers as members of the New Zaire Movement, a political faction linked to Christian Malanga, who had been living in exile.