At least 66 Congolese soldiers sentenced to death for cowardice and mutiny

Sentences handed down in Walikale

A military court in Walikale, in North Kivu province in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, sentenced at least 66 soldiers to death on charges of cowardice, mutiny and refusing to obey orders, local media reported. The verdicts closed the trial of 71 soldiers. Four of the accused were acquitted, and one soldier received a 10-year prison term. One Deutsche Welle report published in Hausa gave Goma as the court's location, while the other reports name Walikale. The army said the trial was meant to improve discipline among troops fighting armed groups in the east.

Arrests on the frontline

Authorities arrested the soldiers on 20 October in Walikale. They were accused of abandoning their positions and fleeing during clashes with fighters of the Front for the Refoundation of the Nation (FRN), a rebel coalition that includes the M23 group. Major Dieudonné Kasereka, the army's communications chief for the region, said the accusations were needed to strengthen discipline in the North and South Kivu provinces, where fighting has continued for decades. Soldiers have complained of low pay and inadequate equipment, and the army has long faced criticism over its professionalism and discipline.

Kabila and the wider war

The FRN fights government forces in the region, and the coalition's origins are traced to the 1994 genocide in Rwanda and the ethnic conflict that followed. Kinshasa has repeatedly accused neighbouring Rwanda of supporting M23, an accusation that Kigali and the rebels deny despite the evidence the government cites. The UN condemned the FRN and Rwandan soldiers in early 2026 for killings, torture, forced recruitment and the use of child soldiers. Former president Joseph Kabila, sentenced to death in absentia in October 2025 on charges including war crimes and treason, is now the FRN's leader. He denies the charges but did not appear in court to defend himself.

Death penalty and its record

In March 2024 the DRC lifted a 20-year moratorium on the death penalty, citing the need to remove 'traitors' from the army. The government said capital punishment would also apply to people linked to armed groups or insurrection, and to those convicted of treason and war crimes. Rights groups condemned the decision, and no formal executions have been carried out since the moratorium was lifted. According to figures compiled by RFI, at least 507 soldiers have been convicted since the start of 2025, including 381 death sentences. The 27 soldiers sentenced to death in October 2026 faced similar cowardice charges after reportedly withdrawing from the front during fighting with rebels.

Total convicted507

Death sentences381

Total convicted

507 people

Death sentences

381 people

Data from the article text

What the reports leave open

The reports do not say whether the new death sentences will be appealed or when any of them might be carried out.