Death sentences¶

The authorities do not publish any official data regarding the application of the death penalty. They informed the UN Human Rights Committee that 27 people were imposed this sentence between 2006 and 2017. However, civil society organisations have confirmed that these figures are far from the truth. Amnesty International documented more than 268 sentences between 2006 and 2017 and more than 156 between 2016 and 2019.

Pregnant women can be sentenced to death, with the execution being postponed until the birth. Prior to the new Military Code of Justice in 2002, children could also be tried and sentenced to death by a military court. It has now become illegal for children to receive a death sentence.

In the cases surveyed, the most frequent grounds for a death sentence were criminal association (48%), unpremeditated or premeditated murder (45%), armed robbery (29%), participation in an insurgent group (12%) and extortion (9%). In 2017, the authorities stated that the majority of sentences were handed down by military courts for premeditated murder, rebellion, crimes against humanity and war crimes.

Executions¶

The country has observed a de facto moratorium since the last executions in January 2003.

Prisoners sentenced to death awaiting execution¶

Up until 2019, civil society organisations estimated that between 250 and 300 people were in prison awaiting execution. Carole Berrih and Liévin Ngondji’s report identified 510 prisoners sentenced to death, after visiting around 15 prisons in 2019. Given that the country has around 80 prison facilities, this number could be even higher.

At least five people were reported to have been sentenced to death despite being minors at the time of their offence: four between 2011 and 2018 and one child-soldier in 2002. Dates of birth are not systematically stated in prisoners’ files.

The report found around twenty prisoners of either Burundian, Ugandan, Tanzanian, Rwandan, Eritrean or Belgian nationality.

The report also stated that 44% of the prisoners interviewed during the fact-finding mission were sentenced to death over the last five years: 23% had been in prison for 6 to 10 years, 17% for 11 to 15 years and 16% for more than 16 years.

Amnesty International reported that in 2019 and in 2020, at least 48 and 67 prisoners sentenced to death were awaiting execution. These non-exhaustive figures only represent the cases that were brought to their attention and therefore may be lower than the real number.

Pardons and commutations¶

The president of the Republic has the power to grant pardons. This right has been exercised several times since 2009. Prisoners who have been pardoned have reported that the prison staff requested a sum of money for the pardon to take effect. Some prisoners stated that others were released in their place. One described how: “Unfortunately someone else was released instead of me. The authorities used this opportunity to benefit someone else from the M23 (note: a rebel movement active in the East of the DRC). Often, they release the wrong people.”

In June 2020, the president signed an ordinance which collectively commuted death sentences for certain prisoners to life in prison (servitude pénale à perpétuité). The ordinance excluded prisoners sentenced for: crimes against humanity, undermining national security, sexual violence, embezzling public funds, corruption, premeditated murder, armed robbery, criminal association and possession of weapons of war. In late 2020, Amnesty International confirmed the commutation of two prisoners’ sentences.

The Constitution stipulates that prisoners can have access to legal assistance at every stage of criminal proceedings. The presence of a lawyer is only obligatory at the start of the trial; it is rare that a defendant will have access to one beforehand. People facing the death penalty rarely request a lawyer when in police custody and during the investigation, due to lack of financial means, contacts or simply not knowing their rights. Certain prisoners also reported that they requested a lawyer and security forces refused. The quality of legal assistance during hearings is poor, with certain court-appointed lawyers having little experience. Prisoners sentenced to death have furthermore reported that their lawyer lacked any independence from the court, plaintiff or prosecution. Others reported that their court-appointed lawyer requested payment for their services: “The lawyer showed up at the first hearing. When he realised that I couldn’t pay him, he left.” A high proportion of prisoners accused of offences punishable by death appeared in court without a lawyer. That was the case for 34% of those surveyed during the ECPM fact-finding mission in 2019.

Legislation guarantees access to an interpreter from the beginning of proceedings. In practice, the provision of an interpreter is left to the authorities’ discretion. Some prisoners sentenced to death explained that either the language in which members of the court spoke or the quality of the interpreting prevented them from following the proceedings. Others described how, in the absence of an interpreter, their lawyer, registrars or even the plaintiffs had to explain the proceedings for them.

The majority of interviewees explained that a sum of money is requested in return for a favourable judgement. One person sentenced in 2017 said that the court demanded 3,000 USD to reduce the severity of their sentence. The outcome of the proceedings is moreover influenced by the defendant’s ethnic origin. One prisoner sentenced to death said: “The judges started to introduce a tribal element into the trial, saying that we, the Hutus, were murderers. I kept silent. The fact that I am Hutu had an impact on my case. People who were accused of the crimes with us were released.”

Military courts regularly sentence civilians to death, which violates international and regional laws on the right to a fair trial. This was the case for 35% of those interviewed during the ECPM fact-finding mission. The report also found numerous instances of death sentences following accelerated proceedings or no proceedings at all. One interviewee said that in 2019 they were sentenced to death 48 hours after their arrest.

“I have never seen a judge. I was arrested by the military and transferred directly to prison. One day, they brought me papers to sign. Later, they told me that I had been sentenced to death.”

— An interviewee sentenced to death in 2018 by a military court.¶

Automatic access to an appeal process for prisoners sentenced to death is mandatory according to the law but limited in practice. Defendants lack information, sums of money are illegally requested in order to begin the process and they are frequently transferred to prison shortly after conviction. Some interviewees said they began the process and paid the money demanded of them but were never brought for a hearing because they had been transferred to a remote prison. Others reported that their appeal resulted in a reduction of their sentence to 10 or 20 years in prison but that the official documents confirming this were never delivered, meaning that they were still considered prisoners sentenced to death by authorities.

Women¶

Prison conditions are similar for both female and male sentenced to death. They do not have access to appropriate bedding and their cells are overpopulated. One incarcerated woman in Ndolo prison said: “In my cell, there are three adults and my baby, a cell normally designed for one prisoner. We have mattresses on the floor, without sheets.”

Foreign nationals¶

Foreign nationals sentenced to death often do not have access to a lawyer or an interpreter. One Tanzanian prisoner said: “We had an interpreter who spoke Congolese Swahili, but that’s not the same as Tanzanian Swahili.” It is rare for such prisoners to receive support from their diplomatic representation; the majority said they had not had any contact with their representatives. Only the Tanzanian prisoners said that they received a visit from their consular authorities.

In the majority of prisons, prisoners sentenced to death share cells with the rest of the prison population. Due to overpopulation and limited resources, prisons are managed by an informal hierarchical social organisation: the “capita”. This system gives significant supervisory power to certain prisoners over the rest. They are responsible for maintaining order, managing access to certain resources and distributing rooms and bedding supplies. Members of the capita team in Angenga prison, where almost half of prisoners sentenced to death are held, wear uniforms and have greater freedom of movement around the facility. The vast majority of prisoners sentenced to death are excluded from this system.

Prisoners sentenced to death are, in the majority of cases, subject to the same detention regime as the other prisoners.

Accommodation. The country’s prisons are very overcrowded. More than 200 people share some cells in Goma prison. The prisons in Osio and Luzumu are less overcrowded and accommodate one to two people in a cell. Beds are allocated based on a prisoner’s financial resources, hierarchy and notoriety within the prison. The majority of prisoners sentenced to death therefore sleep outside their cells.

In Buluwo prison, the number of people in each cell is decided according to a person’s “rank” in the prison hierarchy. Prisoners higher up in that hierarchy are four to an individual cell. That number goes up to eleven for the other prisoners. In certain facilities, the prisoners either have to pay to access a cell or sleep outside in a corridor. They also have to pay for a mattress, or source one from outside the prison. Most of them sleep on mats, cardboard, bags filled with leaves or even the ground. Luzumu prison, which was renovated and reopened in 2019, is the only facility where prisoners sentenced to death have said they have good sleeping conditions. Every prisoner has a bed and a mattress which are in good condition.

Hygiene. There are not enough sanitary facilities. The 600 prisoners in Buluwo prison share six functional toilets and the 500 prisoners in Goma share three. Most incarcerated people use water pipes, showers or buckets for their needs. Several detention facilities moreover have difficulty providing water. Prisoners have to use rainwater or draw water from rivers. Prisoners in Angenga prison are given two litres of water a day to cook and wash themselves and their clothes. Certain prisoners who have the means buy water from villagers. One interviewee even reported they had had to wait three weeks to wash. Due to its renovation, there is sufficient access to water, toilets and showers in Luzumu prison.

Food. Prison administration provide one meal per day for prisoners, a meal made up of fufu (balls of dough or boiled and mashed tubers), manioc leaves, beans or maize. It contains no meat or fish. Only prisoners held in Luzumu prison, and some held in Ndolo military prison, said they received sufficient food from prison rations. Some prisoners get extra food from visitors. As a result, those prisoners whose relatives live close by have a significantly better quality of life.

Activities and work. Most prisoners leave their cell during the day. Prisoners held in Ndolo can only do so for two hours per day. Most incarcerated people do not have access to any activities. The prisons do not have functional libraries and the football fields are not used for fear of prisoners escaping. Certain prisons do offer activities, however. Prisoners in Kasapa facility are offered a variety of professional training, whereas interviewees in Osio prison reported they do crafts, gardening and take part in a choir. For prisoners in Angenga prison, the right to move around the facility and to access activities is decided based on their ethnic origin, not their sentence, with members of certain tribes from the east of the country saying they face discrimination. Some prisoners in this facility practise small trades and sporting or leisure activities. Some of the prisoners sentenced to death even live outside the prison and work as farmers nearby under a restricted-release scheme. However, the criteria for participating in the scheme are vague. Those who do take part have to work for free for the prison staff.

Discipline. Prisoners are subject to a restrictive and arbitrary system from the moment they arrive in prison. Some interviewees reported they were made to do cleaning work and were shut in a cell for several days: “On arrival, we spent 56 days in the private cell (note: solitary confinement cell), because we were newcomers.” Several of them said they had been mistreated. Makala prison has relaxed security measures for prisoners sentenced to death following the ECPM fact-finding mission in 2005. They were being systematically placed in isolation, hooded and handcuffed for periods that could last up to a year. The report shared accounts of insults, verbal assault and the restriction of the prisoners’ movement around the facility. The new 2019 fact-finding mission found a “slight improvement”. Their detention conditions in Makala are now similar to those of the other prisoners.

Prisoners sentenced to death whose families live close by may receive regular visits. Those relatives or loved ones have to pay for visits. The sum, 1,000 Congolese francs in Goma prison (around 0.51 USD), is paid at the police station, to prison staff or to the “capita” team in the prison. Some interviewees reported that women who came to visit them were subjected to “solicitations” from the prison staff and that subjection to sexual violence is a pre-requisite for their visit to go ahead.

The majority of prisoners sentenced to death rarely receive visits because they are imprisoned in remote facilities. Some have not received a single visit during their incarceration. Angenga prison is 25 kilometres from Lisala, the closest town, and 500 kilometres as the crow flies from the capital. This prison holds almost half of all prisoners sentenced to death, most of whom come from other provinces.

Numerous prisoners’ transfers are not documented and families are not always told where their relative or loved one has been imprisoned.

Long-term harsh living conditions lead to numerous illnesses such as malnutrition, tuberculosis, HIV, scabies, etc. There is no limit to prisoners’ access to the prison dispensary. However, these dispensaries, apart from Luzumu’s, lack sufficient medical equipment and medication. Some dispensaries do not even have a thermometer or blood pressure monitor, and the only medications available are malaria and tuberculosis treatments and paracetamol. Prisoners who cannot pay the medical fees or whose families do not visit regularly receive paracetamol whatever their illness may be and cannot go to hospital. Several prisoners’ deaths due to lack of medical care have been reported.

“Knowing that we are going to spend all our life in prison until death causes terrible damage, but prison does not take it into account. Life has no taste and the human being just becomes a worthless animal.”

— A prisoner sentenced to death.¶

Many prisoners sentenced to death have mental health problems. There is no specific monitoring in place for them. The vast majority of prisoners sentenced to death reported suffering from severe psychological distress: anorexia, insomnia, stress, etc. Some prisoners said that despite the moratorium they still live in fear of execution. One described how: “They showed us where prisoners sentenced to death are killed. I am always scared, every day.”

• Carole Berrih and Liévin Ngondji ECPM report, Towards a Silent Death: Conditions of Detention of People Sentenced to Death, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 2019.
• Congolese Prisons Observatory (Observatoire Congolais des Prisons, OCP), DRC: insufficient access to healthcare (in French), 2019.
• Prison Insider, Democratic Republic of the Congo: how do we fight malnutrition and illness in prisons? (in French), 2021.
• Prison Insider, Africa: coronavirus, prison fever / 2021 — Democratic Republic of the Congo, 2021.
• Prison Insider, Africa: coronavirus, prison fever / 2021 — Democratic Republic of the Congo, March to December 2020.
• Prison Insider, DRC: insufficient health care at Makala Prison, 2019.
• Prison Insider, DRC: mistreatment and public humiliation (in French or Spanish), 2019.
• Prison Insider, DRC: “Prison teaches looking backwards”, 2019.
• Radio France Internationale (RFI), DRC : Bukavu prison staff denounce conditions for prisoners (in French), 2019.
• ECPM, Prison conditions of prisoners sentenced to death in the DRC: 5 minutes with Congolese judge George Kishabongo (in French), 2020.
• ECPM, Words from abolitionists - Liévin Ngondji (English subtitles), 2019.
• ECPM, CPJ, The Advocates for Human Rights, World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, The death penalty in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Alternative joint report for the 33rd session of the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review (Examen périodique universel, EPU) (in French), 2018.
• ECPM, The death penalty in the Great Lakes Region: Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda (in French), 2008.
• Deutsche Welle (DW), DRC: prisons seen as places of death (in French), 2020.
• Le Figaro, DRC: Kinshasa, 11 dead in hellish Makala prison (in French), 2020.