DR Congo’s Catholic Bishops Fault Death Sentence against Former President, Reaffirm Opposition to Capital Punishment

Kinshasa, 07 October, 2025 / 8:42 AM

Catholic Bishops in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have denounced the decision of the High Military Court of Kinshasa to sentence the country’s former President, Joseph Kabila, to death.

In a statement issued Monday, October 6, members of the National Episcopal Conference of Congo (CENCO) describe the court’s verdict as a “horrifying” act that contradicts both the Gospel and DRC’s Constitution.

“We are horrified by the verdict of the High Military Court of Kinshasa, which, following a summary criminal trial against former President Joseph Kabila, has sentenced him to death,” CENCO members say in the statement shared with ACI Africa.

On September 30, Mr. Kabila was, in absentia, sentenced to death for his alleged role in backing the advance of Rwanda-backed of March 23 Movement (M23) rebels in DRC's volatile East, Reuters reported.

The report further indicates that the former President, who was at the helm of DRC from January 2001 to January 2019 has denied any wrongdoing and argued that the judiciary has been politicised.

In their October 6 statement, CENCO members say the reinstatement of the death penalty in DRC represents a “moral and societal regression” for the Central African nation.

They recall that following a March 2024 circular from the Ministry of Justice lifting the moratorium on executions, the Church had already urged the government to move toward total abolition of capital punishment. 

“The moratorium should have naturally led to abolition, not to the resumption of an inhumane measure that wounds the dignity of the human person created in the image of God,” CENCO members say.

The Catholic Church leaders emphasize that the DRC Constitution upholds the sacredness of human life and list it among the fundamental rights that must never be violated.

“Indeed, the execution of the death penalty is a violation of the right to life, which the Church defends on the basis of divine law: You shall not kill,” they say, referring to the Sixth Commandments as recorded in Exodus 20:13 and Deuteronomy 5:17.

CENCO members add, “Faithful to the mission of the Catholic Church, which is not identified with any political system but is called to defend the transcendent dignity of the human person, we express deep concern at this culture of death and the grave risk of the Balkanization of our country.”

In the statement that CENCO President, Archbishop Fulgence Muteba Mugalu of the Catholic Archdiocese of Lubumbashi, signed, the Catholic Church leaders call for spiritual communion through prayers, entrusting the DRC to the protection of Our Lady of Congo.

“May the Blessed Virgin Mary, Our Lady of Congo, obtain for us divine mercy and peace,” CENCO members implore.