In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), a former warlord is facing justice in the province of South Kivu. Donat Kengwa Omari is accused of crimes against humanity that he allegedly committed between 2016 and 2021 when he led a coalition of Mayi-Mayi armed groups called the Popular Peace Force (FPP) in the territories of Shabunda and Kalehe.
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With our correspondent in Bukavu, William Basimike
During the investigation, eleven direct victims, veiled for security reasons, took the stand one after the other. Women testified to their rape by militiamen under the responsibility of Donat Kengwa Omari. Other residents recounted how Mayi-Mayi armed groups killed their loved ones, burned villages and pillaged fields and livestock.
Donat Kengwa has rejected all these accusations. He acknowledges that at the time, he was only responsible for administering the “ magic potion » to the Raiya Mutomboki militiamen of his coalition to make them invulnerable to the bullets of the Rwandan FDLR rebels whom they were fighting in South Kivu, in the east of the DRC. He claims to have never worked in the Kalehe territory where the men and women who testified against him came from.
The civil party’s lawyers hope that this trial, which is being held in Miti in the Kabare territory, about forty kilometers north of Bukavu, will result in reparations for the victims. The defense remains convinced that the main accused is not really responsible. The lawyers recall that this confrontation with the victims was done at his request, in order to be able to prove his innocence.
The trial continues this weekend, facilitated by Trial International as part of the International Criminal Justice Task Force, a network coordinated by the United Nations Joint Human Rights Office.
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