Democratic Republic of the Congo - May 2025

On 20 May, the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Constitutional Court convicted the country’s former Prime Minister Matata Ponyo Mapon of embezzling USD 245 million of public funds intended for a failed agricultural scheme launched in 2014, during his time in office. On the same day, the Court sentenced Ponyo to 10 years of forced labour. He was tried in absentia alongside former central bank governor, Deogratias Mutombo and South African businessman, Christo Grobler, both of whom were sentenced to five years of forced labour. None of the convicts was in custody at the time of sentencing. The case dates back to 2021 and is one of the most high-profile to have been brought against members of former President Kabila’s administration. Ponyo, who now leads the Leadership and Governance for Development (Leadership et Gouvernance pour le Développement, LGD) party, has maintained his innocence and his lawyer dismissed the verdict as being politically motivated.     

Sources: Jeune Afrique, Reuters, Radio France Internationale, The Africa Report