Ugandans Among 14 Handed Death Sentences in Eastern Congo
A military tribunal in Beni has handed down death sentences to six Ugandans and eight Congolese nationals after finding them guilty of criminal association and qualified theft in connection with a string of robberies across the region.
The ruling, delivered after a week-long trial, followed evidence that the group had been operating between April and August 2025, targeting shops, cooperatives, and money transfer outlets in the conflict-affected area.
According to prosecutors, the gang’s most daring raid occurred during the night of August 8–9, when they stormed the Païdek cooperative.
They escaped with more than $100,000 (UGX 356 million) and 76 million Congolese francs, an attack that shook the local business community.
Security forces later intercepted the Ugandan suspects on their way back across the border, recovering $54,350 and 36 million Congolese francs.
In addition to the death penalty for criminal association, the tribunal also issued 10-year prison terms on charges of theft. Two minors who had been implicated in the case were acquitted.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo still maintains the death penalty in its laws, though executions have not been carried out since 2003, creating a de facto moratorium.
Even so, military tribunals regularly hand down death sentences in cases involving armed violence and organised crime.
The sentencing comes against the backdrop of ongoing insecurity in Beni, where communities continue to face deadly attacks linked to multiple armed groups, including the Ugandan-origin Allied Democratic Forces (ADF). The violence has displaced at least 500,000 people since the beginning of 2025.
Kinshasa has recently signaled plans to resume executions as a deterrent measure, particularly in the eastern provinces where insurgencies remain entrenched.
