DR Congo : Ex-President Kabila’s Immunity Lifted

Upper House lawmakers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have voted overwhelmingly in favour of lifting the immunity of ex-President Joseph Kabila. In a secret ballot on May 20, 2025, the Senate voted by 88 votes to five to make Kabila liable for prosecution. The decision comes following a request by the Attorney General of the Congolese Army demanding that honour be lifted.  “The Senate authorizes the prosecution and lifting of Joseph Kabila’s immunity,” Senate speaker Jean-Michel Sama Lukonde said after the vote. The former head of state has been accused of treason and war crimes, linking him to the Rwandan-backed M23 rebels, which has taken control of swaths of territory in eastern DRC.
Earlier this month, Kinshasa authorities said they had amassed clear evidence implicating him in “treason, war crimes, crimes against humanity and participation in an insurrectionary movement”. Kabila, who denies any ties to the rebel group, stepped down after almost 20 years in power in 2019, yielding to protests. He however enjoyed immunity from prosecution thanks to an honorific title as Senator for life. 
Responding to Thursday’s decision, the former President Joseph Kabila on Friday, lashed out at the government of his successor, calling it a “dictatorship”. In a 45-minute speech live on YouTube from an unspecified location, the 53-year-old said, he had broken his silence because he felt the unity of the country was at risk. Mr Kabila also hit out at the president for trying to undermine the constitution, a...