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Congo Sentences Mambweni to Death for Killing UN Experts

6/10/2026

Summary

Mambweni Sentenced

DR Congo court sentenced Jean de Dieu Mambweni to death for 2017 killing of UN experts Zaida Catalan and Michael Sharp.
Prosecutors appealed the 10-year term handed down in 2022 for failing to assist persons in danger.
The experts were stopped at Moyo-Musila on March 12, 2017, and found dead 16 days later.
Congo has not executed anyone since 2003, so the death sentence is expected to become life imprisonment.

Summary

Kinshasa Court Sentences

The Kinshasa Military Court sentenced 54 accused in the 2017 UN experts killings to death, largest death-penalty verdict.
Fighters from the Kamuina Nsapu militia killed UN experts Zaida Catalan and Michael Sharp in the ambush.
The probe uncovered a pattern of unexplained deaths in Kasai, prompting the Human Rights Commission to open an inquiry.
The interpreter Betu Tshintela and three motorbike drivers vanished after the ambush, their bodies never recovered.

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Mambweni Sentenced

DR Congo court sentenced Jean de Dieu Mambweni to death for 2017 killing of UN experts Zaida Catalan and Michael Sharp.
Prosecutors appealed the 10-year term handed down in 2022 for failing to assist persons in danger.
The experts were stopped at Moyo-Musila on March 12, 2017, and found dead 16 days later.
Congo has not executed anyone since 2003, so the death sentence is expected to become life imprisonment.

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