The death sentence previously imposed on Belgian-Congolese security, military and political expert Jean-Jacques Wondo has been upheld by a Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) court. He was suspected of being the "mastermind" behind a failed coup in May last year.
The DRC's military appeal court on Monday upheld the death sentence imposed on Wondo in September last year, Belgium's Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed. The Belgian-Congolese expert on security and military reform was on trial last year, accused of being the "intellectual perpetrator" of an attempted coup in May last year. He has always maintained his innocence.
"Belgium has noted with great disappointment and total incomprehension the sentence concerning our compatriot Jean-Jacques Wondo, given the great weakness of the elements put forward during the hearings and the manifest lack of credible evidence," the ministry said in a statement.
It added that Belgium takes the confirmation of this death sentence "very seriously" and threatened that the conviction will have consequences for the bilateral relations between Belgium and DRC, which will be evaluated.
A protest is organised in support of Jean-Jacques Wondo on Thursday 23 January 2025 in Brussels. Credit: Belga/ Lou Lampaert
Wondo's lawyer told La Libre that the court did not give any argument for upholding the sentence. "There is no doubt today that Jean-Jacques Wondo became a personal prisoner of Félix Tshisekedi [president of the DRC since 24 January 2019]. A bargaining chip with Belgium in a turbulent period the country is currently facing." His family in Belgium have also argued that Wondo was the victim of an internal reckoning.
Deteriorating health
Wondo was invited to the DRC's capital Kinshasa in February 2024 to lead reforms of the Congolese National Intelligence Agency (ANR). He was in the city when an attempted coup took place there on 19 May, directed by opposition figure Christian Malanga, who was shot dead in the coup.
An old photograph of Malanga and Wondo was cited as evidence that Wondo was also involved in the coup. The defence argued that the picture, taken in Brussels in 2016, does not prove that they had a close relationship. The Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said at the time of his initial sentencing that it was "surprised" by the outcome "given the limited elements presented during the trial".
The Belgian-Congolese man has been in prison in Kinshasa for eight months. His family has warned that his health condition has deteriorated badly. "His health remains a major concern for us," the Ministry said. "We will continue to plead with the authorities to ensure that he receives proper care."
The ruling comes less than a week after a European Parliament resolution condemned the first conviction. It also said the charges were based on coerced and unreliable testimony. The EP also called for the death sentence to be overturned and for Wondo to be released immediately.
