Belgian-Congolese military expert sentenced to death in Kinshasa

Belgian-Congolese military expert Jean-Jacques Wondo was sentenced to death on Friday by a military court in Kinshasa for his role in the an alleged coup attempt in the Democratic Republic of Congo earlier this year. The judges consider Wondo to be the “intellectual perpetrator” and “shaper” of the failed coup.

The prosecution had earlier demanded the death penalty for Wondo and 49 others of the total 51 accused. Judges have imposed the death penalty on 37 defendants, including three Americans. The others have been acquitted.

Along with several others, Wondo was arrested in the days after what the army says was a coup attempt. His lawyers suspect he was the victim of a reckoning within the Congolese intelligence services: Wondo was asked from within the regime to help reform the intelligence services as a consultant. His entourage suspects that his plans made him many enemies in Kinshasa.

According to the defence, there is nothing that proves Wondo's involvement. There is only a photo from 2016 that shows Wondo standing next to coup leader Christian Malanga, but otherwise, they say, there is no connection to Malanga or other defendants in the case.

But the judges ruled that Wondo was actively involved in planning this coup, arguing that thanks to his position within the intelligence services, Wondo kept Malanga under the radar.

^{Jean-Jacques Wondo during the verdict session in the case of 51 defendants on trial for the attempted coup in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in May, 13 September 2024 in Kinshasa © BELGA PHOTO ACP}