Democratic Republic of Congo Imposes Death Sentences on Three Americans for Alleged Coup Attempt – DNyuz

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has handed down 37 death sentences in connection with the May coup attempt against President Felix Tshisekedi. Six of the sentenced to death are foreigners and three are Americans.

The coup attempt on May 19, 2024 was masterminded by an eccentric opposition leader and businessman named Christian Malanga, who was killed by security forces during the attempt. Malanga was a naturalized American citizen who had lived in Utah for more than 20 years. He managed to enlist several American citizens in his coup attempt, which he allegedly misrepresented as a lucrative security contract or a luxury vacation to Africa.

Some of the people Malanga tried to recruit were high school football teammates of his son, Marcel Malanga. One of those teammates, Daniel Gonzalez, said Malanga offered him up to $100,000 to work in the DRC as a security guard for four months. Gonzalez turned down the offer because the details sounded vague to him.

Marcel Malanga, now 21, was one of three U.S. citizens sentenced to death Friday. The other two were Tyler Thompson Jr., 21, a classmate of Marcel’s who reportedly thought he was joining the Malanga family on an African vacation, and Benjamin Reuben Zalman-Polun, 36, a business associate of Christian Malanga.

State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said Friday that the Biden administration is aware that three Americans have been sentenced to death, but that there has been no effort to intervene in the case or accuse the DRC of wrongfully detaining American citizens.

“We understand that the legal process in the DRC allows for defendants to appeal the court’s decision,” Miller said, referring to the five-day appeal period allowed by DRC law.

“Embassy staff have been present at these proceedings as they move through the process. We continue to observe the proceedings and monitor developments closely,” Miller said.

Lawyers for the six foreigners on death row sounded far less sanguine about the situation than Biden’s State Department. Attorney Richard Bondo said his clients were not provided with interpreter services when they were being investigated, so they may not have fully understood their danger.

Marcel Malanga testified during his trial that he does not speak the languages ​​spoken in the DRC. He also claimed that he participated in the alleged coup because his father had threatened him with death.

The other three foreigners were a Belgian, a Canadian and a citizen of the United Kingdom. All three were reportedly naturalized citizens of the DRC.

Belgian Jean-Jacques Wondo is a military expert who has alleged that Tshisekedi’s government asked him to advise on reforming the intelligence services. Wondo said he had nothing to do with the coup attempt but was instead framed by opponents within the DRC intelligence apparatus. Prosecutors have maintained that Wondo was a key member of the coup, who used his contacts within the intelligence services to keep Malanga’s operation secret until he was ready to strike.

Wondo’s wife pleaded with Tshisekedi to grant him clemency because his health is “deteriorating” in prison and he “urgently needs medical attention.”

“As all observers have noted, the case against Wondo is flimsy and his arrest was political in nature,” said Broederlijk Delen, the Flemish development agency that employs Wondo.

The British national sentenced to death is reportedly a 53-year-old plumber from London named Youssouf Ezangi. Ezangi is one of the few foreign suspects who appeared to know he was involved in a coup attempt. According to DRC officials, he said Malanga told him the plan to oust or kill Tshisekedi had “American support.”

Little information has been made public about the Canadian suspect. Global Affairs Canada, Canada’s foreign ministry, told CBC News on Saturday that it was “aware of reports that a Canadian citizen has been sentenced to death in the Democratic Republic of Congo” and is providing “consular assistance” to the suspect.

A military court also convicted 31 Congolese and acquitted 14 suspects. The hearing on Friday was held under a tent in the courtyard of a military prison in Kinshasa and was televised nationwide.

The DRC banned the death penalty in 2003 but reinstated it in March 2024 as the government sought to curb militant attacks in eastern Congo. The DRC Justice Ministry said the reinstated death penalty would be limited to “criminal conspiracies, armed gangs, insurrection, treason and war crimes.”

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