EIGHT POLICE officers accused of killing a leading human rights activist in the Democratic Republic of Congo have gone on trial in Kinshasa.
The officers – three of whom are on the run and will be tried in absentia – are accused of killing Floribert Chebeya, head of Voix des Sans Voix (Voice of the Voiceless) in June this year.
Mr Chebeya and his driver Fidele Bazana disappeared on June 1st after going to Kinshasa police headquarters for a scheduled appointment with the chief of police, Gen John Numbi.
Mr Chebeya’s body was discovered tied up on the back seat of his car on the outskirts of the city the following day. The body of his driver was never found. Gen Numbi has since been suspended, but is not on trial.
“It is difficult to say whether we will get justice,” Rosain Manmanketa, deputy executive director of Voix des Sans Voix (VSV) said. “Other trials like this have started in Congo, but the truth never came out in the end.
Gen Numbi cannot be tried in the military court as it can only hear evidence against officers from the rank of colonel down.
Mr Chebeya (47), who was repeatedly targeted for his campaigning work with VSV, was described after his death by UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon as a “champion of human rights”.
In 1996 he spent 10 weeks in prison as the dictatorial regime of President Mobutu Sese Seko came to an end. In January 1999 he was threatened with death and other physical violence because of letters he wrote looking for information about detainees in prison. On the day he disappeared he sent a text message to his wife telling her he had attended the meeting with Gen Numbi. However, both the police and VSV have confirmed the meeting with Gen Numbi did not take place.
The remaining five of the eight accused, who include head of special services Col Daniel Mukalay, were present in court yesterday.