In a landmark ruling on appeal, the High Military Court in Kinshasa has found Congolese army Colonel Jean de Dieu Mambweni guilty of the war crime of murder for directing the killings of United Nations experts Zaida Catalán and Michael J. Sharp.
The pair were abducted and executed in March 2017 while probing mass atrocities in Kasai Central province. The court handed death sentences to Mambweni and 53 alleged members of the Kamuina Nsapu militia. Although the Democratic Republic of Congo lifted a de facto moratorium in 2024, the country has not carried out an execution since 2003.
Human Rights Watch praised the advances in securing accountability in the case while reiterating its firm opposition to capital punishment.
