DRC: Jean-Jacques Wondo prosecuted because of the color of his shirt
Jean-Jacques Wondo and 52 others before the military court following the attempted coup on May 19.
Around forty individuals, wearing military uniform flanked by the Zairian flag, had just attacked Vital Kamerhe's property at around 4:30 a.m.; former running mate of Félix Tshisekedi in the 2018 presidential campaign, outgoing Minister of the Economy and future President of the National Assembly; killing two police officers on his guard, without attempting an assault on the main residence.
In the wake of this attack, the motley crew headed for the Palais de la Nation, one of the symbolic places of Congolese presidential power, located not far from there. Without fighting, the attackers entered this place and their leader, Christian Malanga, a former Zairian soldier who had been living in the United States for several years, began a live video to stage the lowering of the national colors and hoisting the Félix Tshisekedi flag. .
A quick trial
Less than three weeks after the events, most of the actors in what was described as an “attempted coup d’état” by the spokesperson for the Congolese army found themselves this Friday before military judges within the Ndolo prison. The defendants must answer: “attack, terrorism, illegal possession of weapons and munitions of war, attempted assassination, criminal conspiracy, murder and financing of terrorism”.
The stated leader of this movement, Christian Malanga, was shot dead with three other attackers during the intervention of the Congolese soldiers at the Palais de la Nation. He will never be able to explain the basis of his approach which targeted a man and a place of power, empty at that time of day on a Sunday. “This operation had no chance of succeeding. By attacking these places without trying to take television, the airport or trying to reach military barracks. The mutineers were leaning against the Congo River, far from everything, it could only be a failure”, explains Colonel P. of the Congolese army who “refuses to believe in the guilt of Jean-Jacques Wondo”. The military expert, of Belgian nationality (article 10 of the Congolese Constitution prohibits dual nationality), trained at the Royal Military Academy, was arrested 48 hours after the events. Mr. Wondo had joined the ranks of the Congolese intelligence services as an advisor several months ago.
”He is criticized for an old photo where we see him with Christian Malanga”explains a member of his family who rather evokes tensions between two major Congolese intelligence services in an attempt to explain the arrest of Jean-Jacques Wondo who was preparing to return to Belgium to give a course to future Belgian officers of the Royal Military School.
“Worse than the Picaros”
“What is incomprehensible in this case is that the attack on State Security is not a charge against the defendants”explains a Congolese lawyer, who prefers to remain anonymous “in the actual context”. “The military authorities explain that they put an end to a coup attempt but there is no reference to the coup in the military court order, it is inconceivable”he continues.
”There is no prosecution, even disciplinary, against the commander of the Republican Guard responsible for securing the Palace of the Nation where the insurgents entered without firing a shot. explains Hervé Diakiese, lawyer and spokesperson for Moïse Katumbi’s Ensemble pour la République party, who adds: “there was more seriousness in General Alcazar's coup d'état in Tintin and the Picaros than in what we experienced in Kinshasa on May 19.”
This Friday, for the first hearing, the public prosecutor read out the elements with which Jean-Jacques Wondo is accused. “There are three points, explains Maître Carlos Ngwapitshi, his lawyer. He allegedly lent his service vehicle to the attackers, which is false and easily demonstrable. His vehicle was seized well after the events in the ANR parking lot. He is then accused of having worn the same shirt on the day of the attack as the one he wore in the photo, taken in 2017, where he is in the company of Malanga. Finally, he is accused of having deleted messages on WhatsApp in a conversation he allegedly had with the leader of the attack. the burden of proof rests with them. Let them demonstrate what they announce. We do not prosecute a person on statements but on facts,” Concludes Me Ngwapitshi.
