Édouard Mwangachuchu

Édouard Mwangachuchu
National Assembly for Masisi, North Kivu
In office ?
Senate
In office fl. 2007
Personal details
Born	(1953-09-30) 30 September 1953 (age 71) Rutshuru, Belgian Congo
Occupation	Businessman, politician

Édouard Mwangachuchu Hizi (born 30 September 1953) is a Congolese businessman and politician. He is a member of the National Assembly for Masisi, North Kivu. Mwangachuchu previously served as member of the Senate. He was sentenced to death in October 2023 on charges including treason. He has appealed the sentence.

Life

Mwangachuchu was born on 30 September 1953 in Rutshuru.[1] As a politician Mwangachuchu served as an independent senator in 2007. He later became a member of the National Assembly for Masisi, North Kivu.[1] In November 2020 he asked Minister of Mines, Willy Kitobo Samsoni [fr], for explanations regarding the tensions in Kivu.[2]

Mwangachuchu is owner of the Bisunzu mining company (Société minière de Bisunzu, SMB), which mines coltan in the Rubaya mines.[3][4] He is also president of the National Congress for the Defence of the People.[4]

On 1 March 2023, Mwangachuchu was arrested in Kinshasa. After first being held in Makala prison he was transferred to Ndolo military prison.[3] In August 2023 the prosecution sought life imprisonment for Mwangachuchu on grounds of treason and "participation in the M23 insurrectionary movement" (M23), while his defence sought acquittal.[3] The case started after a cachement of weapons was found on an SMB site in the wake of an M23 offensive and counteroffensive in Rubaya.[5] On 6 October 2023, the High Military Court, chaired by Robert Kalala, sentenced Mwangachuchu to death for those charges and "illegal possession of weapons and munitions of war".[3] He was also sentenced to a $100 million fine to be paid within 8 days.[4] His co-defendant, a police captain, was acquitted. His request for a release on health grounds was rejected.[3] Mwangachuchu stated that during his trial he was threatened by both M23 and Congolese security authorities.[3] His lawyer claimed that Mwangachuchu suffered from a ruling "based on ethnic harassment against Kinyarwanda-speaking people in North Kivu" and was medically maltreated.[4] Mwangachuchu remained a member of the National Assembly as the competency to removed him did not lie with the High Military Court but the Constitutional Court of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.[1] Mwangachuchu subsequently appealed his sentence at the Court of Cassation.[6]

References

1. "Verdict dans l'affaire Édouard Mwangachuchu: le député condamné à mort". Actualite.cd (in French). 6 October 2023. Archived from the original on 16 February 2024.
2. "Mining minister Willy Kitobo ordered to explain Kivu tensions". African Intelligence. 30 November 2020. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
3. "DR Congo: Military court sentences MP to death over treason charges". africanews.com. 7 October 2023. Archived from the original on 18 October 2023.
4. "Congolese MP ordered to pay $100m in 8 days, sentenced to death over M23 rebels". The Observer. 9 October 2023. Archived from the original on 16 February 2024.
5. "En RDC, le député Mwangachuchu condamné à mort" (in French). Jeune Afrique. 7 October 2023. Archived from the original on 13 October 2023.
6. "RDC : Mwangachuchu attaque en Cassation sa condamnation à la peine de mort". 7sur7.cd (in French). 11 October 2023. Retrieved 16 February 2024.