Congo’s top court rules it cannot try former PM for failed agriculture project
Court rules it is not competent to try former pm over the alleged misappropriation of $200m meant for Bukanga Lonzo project
15 November 2021 - 16:38
byStanis Bujakera
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
Kinshasa — Democratic Republic of the Congo’s highest court on Monday ruled it was not competent to try former Prime Minister Matata Ponyo Mapon over the alleged misappropriation of $200m in government funds meant for an agriculture project.
A lawyer for Matata, who denies any wrongdoing, said he considered the case closed, though prosecutors could try to pursue it before a different court. Prosecutors could not be immediately reached for comment.
The prosecution alleged more than $200m went missing from the Bukanga Lonzo project. The government touted the venture, one of Africa’s largest ever agricultural investments, as an answer to chronic food shortages when it was launched in 2014.
Production ceased when the South African company operating it left Congo in 2017, saying it had not been paid in months.
Prosecutors had argued that the Constitutional Court should hear the case because it is responsible for trying allegations that involve presidents and prime ministers.
However, Congo’s Constitutional Court dismissed the case, saying in a ruling that its jurisdiction only covered sitting, not former, prime ministers.
“There is no law that identifies the judge of acts that are done by a prime minister when he is no longer in office. There is a legal vacuum. This is what the Constitutional Court found,” Matata’s lawyer, Laurent Onyemba, told Reuters.
“The case, for us, is closed,” he said.
The ruling also applies to Matata’s two co-defendants, former government official Patrice Kitebi and Christo Grobler, the head of the South African operator, Africom Commodities.
Grobler’s lawyer, Jacquemain Shabani, said he was satisfied with the court’s decision but was waiting to see if prosecutors would take the case to a different court.
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
Congo’s top court rules it cannot try former PM for failed agriculture project
Court rules it is not competent to try former pm over the alleged misappropriation of $200m meant for Bukanga Lonzo project
Kinshasa — Democratic Republic of the Congo’s highest court on Monday ruled it was not competent to try former Prime Minister Matata Ponyo Mapon over the alleged misappropriation of $200m in government funds meant for an agriculture project.
A lawyer for Matata, who denies any wrongdoing, said he considered the case closed, though prosecutors could try to pursue it before a different court. Prosecutors could not be immediately reached for comment.
The prosecution alleged more than $200m went missing from the Bukanga Lonzo project. The government touted the venture, one of Africa’s largest ever agricultural investments, as an answer to chronic food shortages when it was launched in 2014.
Production ceased when the South African company operating it left Congo in 2017, saying it had not been paid in months.
Prosecutors had argued that the Constitutional Court should hear the case because it is responsible for trying allegations that involve presidents and prime ministers.
However, Congo’s Constitutional Court dismissed the case, saying in a ruling that its jurisdiction only covered sitting, not former, prime ministers.
“There is no law that identifies the judge of acts that are done by a prime minister when he is no longer in office. There is a legal vacuum. This is what the Constitutional Court found,” Matata’s lawyer, Laurent Onyemba, told Reuters.
“The case, for us, is closed,” he said.
The ruling also applies to Matata’s two co-defendants, former government official Patrice Kitebi and Christo Grobler, the head of the South African operator, Africom Commodities.
Grobler’s lawyer, Jacquemain Shabani, said he was satisfied with the court’s decision but was waiting to see if prosecutors would take the case to a different court.
Reuters
Four police officers in Kenya guilty in death of UK baron’s son
Son of former Libyan strongman Gaddafi to run for president
AU envoy Olusegun Obasanjo pleads for dialogue in Ethiopia
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Most Read
Related Articles
Africa eyes oil and gas reserves as clock ticks for energy transition
Sudan’s army chief appoints himself head of new Sovereign Council
Women in Amhara raped by Tigray soldiers, says Amnesty
Published by Arena Holdings and distributed with the Financial Mail on the last Thursday of every month except December and January.