The top court in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has sentenced former Prime Minister Matata Ponyo Mapon to 10 years of forced labor after convicting him of embezzling $245 million from a failed corn farming project under former President Joseph Kabila’s administration.

Ponyo, who served as Prime Minister from 2012 to 2016, was tried in absentia alongside former central bank governor Deogratias Mutombo and South African businessman Christo Grobler, who both received five-year sentences.

Authorities believe Mutombo is in Belgium and Grobler in South Africa, while Ponyo remains in Kinshasa, denying any wrongdoing and calling the case politically motivated.

The charges stem from the agricultural initiative launched under Kabila, which collapsed in 2017, sparking investigations in 2021 under President Félix Tshisekedi.

Meanwhile, Tshisekedi’s government has accused Kabila of supporting the M23 rebel group, an allegation his party denies, as the former president remains largely absent from the country since 2023.

IN THIS ARTICLE