(JED/IFEX) – Seven months after the start of the trial of the alleged killers of journalist Franck Ngyke Kangundu and his wife, Hélène Mpaka, the Kinshasa/Matete Military Court gives the unfortunate impression of taking pleasure in endlessly postponing hearings, with the effect of dragging things out, undoubtedly with the expectation that the case will be […]
(JED/IFEX) – Seven months after the start of the trial of the alleged killers of journalist Franck Ngyke Kangundu and his wife, Hélène Mpaka, the Kinshasa/Matete Military Court gives the unfortunate impression of taking pleasure in endlessly postponing hearings, with the effect of dragging things out, undoubtedly with the expectation that the case will be forgotten.
For the umpteenth time, the 7 February 2007 public hearing, announced two weeks earlier, did not even take place, to the great displeasure of the lawyers and family members of the assassinated couple. Asked by a lawyer for the plaintiff about the reason for this latest postponement, the presiding judge stated that the accused could not be taken out of prison due to the lack of transport. As a result, the hearing was put off once again, this time until 14 February.
JED points out that this is not the first time the court has cited the absence of the accused for not conducting a hearing. On 20 December 2006, the same court was not able to meet, declaring in all seriousness that “the prosecutor forgot to take the accused out of their places of detention.” JED also notes that out of some 20 scheduled hearings since the trial began on 12 July 2006, only eight have been able to take place, five of which were devoted to procedural matters. According to observers of the trial interviewed by JED, the only substantive hearing took place on 10 January 2007, during which the accused, under questioning about their roles in the murders, rejected all the charges against them.
At this rate, these observers say the trial could go on for some time despite the president of the republic’s promises of a speedy trial to get to the bottom of the case.
In light of the above, JED:
– denounces the slowness and the stalling tactics that are delaying the trial’s completion
– asks the government to give the Kinshasa/Matete military court the necessary means to complete the investigation of the case
– calls on all of the republic’s institutions to assist the court in finding the truth in this case by accepting the plaintiff’s request that the individuals they have identified appear before the court
