In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), 37 individuals, including three Americans, a Briton, a Belgian, and a Canadian, have been sentenced to death for their involvement in a failed coup attempt against President Félix Tshisekedi.
The accused were charged with orchestrating an attack on the presidential palace and the residence of Vital Kamerhe, a close ally of the president, in May. Christian Malanga, a U.S. citizen of Congolese descent and alleged leader of the coup, was killed during the attack, along with five others. His son, Marcel Malanga, and two other Americans, Tyler Thompson and Benjamin Zalman-Polun, are among those sentenced to death.
The coup attempt was thwarted on May 19 when security forces intervened swiftly. The plotters, dressed in military uniforms and displaying the old Zaire flag, had declared their intention to restore Zaire, the former name of the DRC.
Marcel Malanga testified that his father had coerced him into participating in the coup. Thompson and Zalman-Polun, both with connections to Christian Malanga, were similarly convicted. Jean-Jacques Wondo, a dual Congolese-Belgian citizen, and British national Youssouf Ezangi were also among those sentenced, though Wondo’s links to the plot were deemed tenuous.
On the 51 on trial, 14 were acquitted. The convicted have five days to appeal their sentences. Although executions have not been carried out in the DRC for over two decades, a moratorium on the death penalty was lifted in March, but no executions have yet occurred. The attack on May 19 targeted both the residence of parliamentary speaker Vital Kamerhe and the presidential palace, resulting in gunfire exchanges before being repelled.
President Tshisekedi, re-elected in December 2023, won approximately 78% of the vote in a contested election.
