Congo - Kinshasa
2026
- GOVERNMENT
- Republic
- CONSTITUTION
- February 18, 2006
- LEGAL SYSTEM
- based on the Belgian and French systems
- LEGISLATIVE SYSTEM
- bicameral, composed of National Assembly and Senate
- JUDICIAL SYSTEM
- Constitutional Court, Court of Appeal or Court of Cassation; Council of State; Martial Judicial System, military and civil courts
RELIGIONS
50% Catholics, 20% Protestants, 10% Kimbanguist, 10% Muslims, 10% animist minorities and other indigenous beliefs
From the country
FEBRUARY 14, 2023Congo - KinshasaDEATH PENALTYDR CONGO: SEVEN SOLDIERS GET DEATH SENTENCE FOR COWARDICE AGAINST M23 REBELS
A military court in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo on 11 February 2023 sentenced seven soldiers to death for cowardice in the face of the enemy and murder.
DECEMBER 28, 2022Congo - KinshasaDEATH PENALTYDR CONGO: MILITARY COURT UPHOLDS NINE DEATH SENTENCES
Eight soldiers and one civilian in the Democratic Republic of Congo's war-torn northeast have had death sentences for murder and embezzlement confirmed, court documents showed on 27 December 2022.
- OCTOBER 16, 2022Congo - KinshasaDEATH PENALTY
DR CONGO: ARMY OFFICERS GET DEATH SENTENCE FOR MURDER OF 2 CHINESE MINE WORKERS
Six people, including two army colonels, were condemned to death by a Democratic Republic of the Congo military court on 14 October 2022 for the murder of two Chinese mine workers.
MAY 28, 2022Congo - KinshasaDEATH PENALTYDR CONGO: SOLDIERS, CIVILIANS SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR SELLING ARMS
A military court in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has sentenced to death eight soldiers and three civilians for selling arms to a violent rebel group.
- MAY 15, 2022Congo - KinshasaDEATH PENALTY
DR CONGO: POLICEMAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR MURDER OF HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST FLORIBERT CHEBEYA
A Congolese military court on 11 May 2022 sentenced a high-ranking policeman to death for his role in the 2010 murder of human rights activist Floribert Chebeya, which caused national outrage.
- JANUARY 31, 2022Congo - KinshasaDEATH PENALTY
DRC: 51 SENTENCED TO DEATH IN MURDER OF UN EXPERTS BY A MILITARY COURT
A military court in the Democratic Republic of Congo sentenced 51 people to death on 29 January 2022, several in absentia, as well as a 10-year prison term and two acquittals in a mass trial over the 2017 killing of two UN experts in Kasai, central DRC.
MAY 15, 2021Congo - KinshasaDEATH PENALTYDR CONGO: THIRTY SENTENCED TO DEATH OVER ANTI-POLICE CLASHES
Thirty people were sentenced to death in the Democratic Republic of the Congo on 15 May 2021 after a one-day trial for their role in anti-police violence marking the end of Ramadan in the capital.
- MARCH 10, 2021Congo - KinshasaDEATH PENALTY
DR CONGO: AUTHORITIES SHOULD QUASH WHISTLEBLOWERS’ DEATH SENTENCES
Authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo should quash the death sentences imposed in absentia on two whistleblowers who provided information on corruption, Human Rights Watch declared on 9 March 2021.
MARCH 10, 2021Congo - KinshasaDEATH PENALTYDR CONGO: 16 SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR KILLING EBOLA MEDIC
Sixteen people, including a doctor, have been sentenced to death in absentia for the murder of a Cameroonian Ebola expert, lawyers said on 9 March 2021.
- MARCH 8, 2021Congo - KinshasaDEATH PENALTY
DRC: TWO WHISTLEBLOWERS SENTENCED TO DEATH IN ABSENTIA
Two whistleblowers Gradi Koko Lobanga and Navy Malela were sentenced to death in absentia in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in September 2020, the PPLAAF said on 4 March 2021.
JANUARY 4, 2021Congo - KinshasaDEATH PENALTYDR CONGO: PRESIDENT PARDONS TWO KILLERS OF LAURENT-DESIRE KABILA
DR Congo President Felix Tshisekedi’s office said that he has pardoned two men convicted over the assassination of former ruler Laurent-Desire Kabila, the father of his political rival Joseph Kabila, AFP reported on 2 January 2021.
- DECEMBER 5, 2020Congo - KinshasaDEATH PENALTY
DRC: 14 SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR MURDER OF RAPPER TWINS
A court in the Democratic Republic of Congo on 3 December 2020 sentenced 14 men to death for the murder of twin brothers, who were burned alive in a remote community.