Former DR Congo PM sentenced to hard labour over corruption charges
A former Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Augustin Matata Ponyo, has been sentenced to 10 years of forced labour after being found guilty of embezzling approximately $245 million (£182 million) in public funds.
The ruling, delivered by the Congolese Constitutional Court on Tuesday, also implicated Deogratias Mutombo, the former governor of the country’s central bank, who received a five-year sentence of forced labour.
Matata’s lawyer described the verdict as politically motivated and unjust in comments to Reuters news agency.
The funds were allegedly misappropriated from the Bukanga-Lonzo Agro-Industrial Park — a flagship agricultural initiative aimed at addressing the DRC's long-standing food insecurity.
The project was touted as one of Africa’s largest agricultural investments, with backing from the African Development Bank and an ambition to create 22,000 jobs.
Matata served as prime minister from 2012 to 2016, following a stint as finance minister, during which he received praise from the International Monetary Fund for helping stabilize the country’s economy.
He currently leads the Leadership and Governance for Development (LGD) party and had planned to run against President Félix Tshisekedi in the 2023 presidential election before withdrawing his candidacy. He has consistently denied the corruption charges.
Mutombo has not publicly commented on the court’s decision.
The case has spanned nearly four years, beginning with a 2020 report by the country’s Inspectorate General of Finance detailing large-scale embezzlement related to the Bukanga-Lonzo project.
According to the U.S. State Department, forced labour is legal in the DRC when ordered as a criminal penalty by a court. Both Matata and Mutombo have been barred from holding public office for five years following the completion of their sentences, AFP reports.
The collapse of the Bukanga-Lonzo project was a significant setback for the DRC, where nearly 28 million people face acute food insecurity amid ongoing conflict that has gripped parts of the country for decades, dating back to the aftermath of the 1994 Rwandan genocide.
