Three Americans convicted for their involvement in a failed coup in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) last year have had their death sentences commuted to life imprisonment, the presidency announced. The three individuals were among 37 people sentenced to death by a military court in September.
The Americans were accused of leading an assault on both the presidential palace and the home of an ally of President Félix Tshisekedi in May. The decision to overturn the death sentences comes ahead of a visit to DR Congo by Massad Boulos, the newly appointed US senior advisor for Africa. Boulos, who is the father-in-law of Tiffany Trump, the daughter of former President Donald Trump, is set to arrive in Kinshasa on Thursday. His visit will also include stops in Rwanda, Kenya, and Uganda.
While the US has not labeled the three Americans as wrongfully imprisoned, the State Department previously indicated that discussions have taken place between the two countries regarding the matter. The three Americans were convicted of criminal conspiracy, terrorism, and other charges, all of which they have denied. The alleged leader of the plot, Christian Malanga, a US national of Congolese origin, was killed during the attack, along with five others.
A total of 51 people were tried in a military court, with the hearings being broadcast on national TV and radio. Fourteen people were acquitted and freed after the court determined they had no involvement in the attack. Death sentences have not been enforced in the DRC for about two decades, and those sentenced to death typically serve life imprisonment instead. The government lifted this moratorium in March, citing the need to remove “traitors” from the nation’s troubled army. However, no executions have taken place since then.
On Tuesday, President Tshisekedi signed orders to commute the death sentences of the three Americans, according to a televised statement from his spokesperson, Tina Salama. The three individuals – Marcel Malanga Malu, Tylor Thomson, and Zalman Polun Benjamin – were granted “individual clemency” by the president, Salama added. Ckiness Ciamba, one of Malanga’s lawyers, commented to Reuters that the “presidential pardon is a first step that promises major changes in the future.”
Jean-Jacques Wondo, a dual Congolese and Belgian citizen who was also sentenced to death, was transferred to Belgium in February due to ill health. It remains uncertain whether the three Americans could also be sent back to serve their sentences at home. Furthermore, it is unclear whether other convicts, including a Briton, a Belgian, and a Canadian, will have their sentences commuted.
The attempted coup began in the early hours of May 19, when a group of armed men attacked the home of parliamentary speaker Vital Kamerhe, before heading to President Tshisekedi’s official residence in Kinshasa. Witnesses described a group of around 20 assailants dressed in army uniforms attacking the palace, which led to an exchange of gunfire.
