Sentencing of DRC opposition MP Diomi Ndongala deeply regrettable political act

IPU deeply regrets the sentencing of opposition leader and MP Diomi Ndongala by the Supreme Court in the Democratic Republic of Congo to 10 years imprisonment.

Without any appeal system in place, the sentence on 26th March is the last step in trial proceedings which IPU is convinced were seriously flawed and eminently political. Neither Ndongala nor his lawyers were in court when the sentence on charges of alleged rape against minors was pronounced

In a resolution adopted by IPU's membership last week, the Supreme Court was encouraged to issue an exemplary ruling. It would have ensured there was no miscarriage of justice and that the Law was above politics in a polarized political environment.

IPU, whose Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians has been working on this and other cases involving MPs in the DRC, is also seriously worried about Ndongola's deteriorating health and about reports that he is being denied medical care.

“With no appeal procedure possible, all pressure needs to be put on the DRC to ensure there is retrial that addresses the concerns repeatedly expressed by IPU, his lawyers and many others over the trial and his treatment,” says Rogier Huizenga, head of IPU's human rights programme.

The leader of the opposition Christian Democrats party and an MP in the DRC, Ndongala was allegedly kidnapped and illegally detained from June to October 2012. It was an experience that left him requiring urgent medical attention and recuperation with the full knowledge of parliamentary authorities.

In April 2013, he was imprisoned awaiting trial on alleged rape charges. This was followed in June 2013 by the decision to invalidate his parliamentary mandate for unjustified and prolonged absence from parliament.