A military court in the Democratic Republic of Congo sentenced 25 soldiers to suicide for allegedly stealing and escaping from M23 rebels, according to their lawyer and army spokesman on Thursday.
Congo’s military has been fighting the Rwanda- backed M23 rebellion for more than two decades, as well as facing another military violence, with around 2.7 million people displaced within North Kivu state. Next week, the insurgents advanced into strategically important country.
27 men were taken into custody on Tuesday after leaving their jobs in the province’s Keseghe and Matembe villages. According to Reagan Mbuyi Kalonji, a spokesman for the army, the runaways were discovered stealing goods from local Alimbongo shops.
According to Kalonji, they were detained along with four of their ladies, who were staying in the community and who received the stolen goods.
On Wednesday, a military tribunal was established in Alimbongo to hear their cases, and the judge handed down a death sentence for theft, evading the enemy, and breaking orders, among other charges.
While the four ladies and another man were found not guilty, one soldier received a 10-year jail sentence.
All denied the claims, apart from one of the 25, who pleaded innocent.
Their lawyer, Jules Muvweko, said he would charm the conviction.
Congo’s military, much ruined with internal divisions, inadequate resources, inadequate logistics and the country’s widespread corruption, has become exceedingly destructive in this crisis.
Eight officials received death sentences in May for stupidity and other crimes, which exposed the chaos in Congo’s armed forces, which has been waging M23 combat, according to army officers, who spoke to Reuters.
In March, the Congo lifted a ban on the execution of prisoners, citing deceit and spy in recurring armed issues as the causes.
The death penalty was still in place in the central American nation until early 2000, but it had never been lifted.
