Kinshasa, DR Congo – The Democratic Republic of Congo’s National Assembly on Thursday voted to allow an investigation into justice minister Constant Mutamba, who has been accused of misappropriating nearly $20 million in reparations for war victims.
In post since May 2024, Mutamba has achieved national notoriety for tub-thumping statements, including a proposition to punish people who syphon off taxpayers’ money with death.
The 37-year-old firebrand is the latest politician to face allegations of graft in the DRC, which ranks among the world’s most corrupt countries according to the Transparency International group.
Though he acknowledged “errors” in his awarding of a near $40 million contract to build a prison near the central city of Kisangani, Mutamba has denied any personal corruption.
In a TikTok video broadcast on Monday he accused the case’s top prosecutor, Firmin Mvonde, of being part of a “mafia” out to humiliate him.
Mutamba also claimed his detractors were attempting to muzzle his pursuit of ex-president Joseph Kabila, accused of treason over his alleged links to the Rwanda-backed M23 armed group.
Thursday’s vote represents an initial step towards a prosecution of Mutamba.
If the investigation finds enough evidence, the National Assembly will have to vote again to lift his parliamentary immunity to allow courts to pursue the justice minister.
“The plenary assembly adopts the resolution authorising the investigation into Mr. Constant Mutamba,” said Vital Kamerhe, the lower houses speaker, in the session’s broadcast on state television.
– Congo war victims’ fund –
Mvonde, the top prosecutor of the Court of Cassation, which has jurisdiction over sitting lawmakers, asked the National Assembly on May 21 to vote to lift Mutamba’s parliamentary immunity.
Mutamba is suspected of funding irregularities and having violated public procurement rules in the award of the Kisangani prison contract to a Congolese company, Zion Construction SARL.
According to prosecutors, Zion Construction was founded in March 2024 and “has no administrative or qualified staff” with just “a single active partner declared to the tax authorities”.
Mutamba is likewise accused of having released nearly $20 million, around half the budget for the works, without the prime minister’s approval.
On top of that Mutamba released the money from a fund paid to the DRC by Uganda intended to compensate Congolese victims of fighting between the Ugandan and Rwandan armies during a war in 2000, according to prosecutors.
A special National Assembly commission’s report, presented to the plenary session ahead of Thursday’s vote, said Mutamba offered his “apologies” when questioned.
Mutamba, who was elected a lawmaker in 2023, had previously denounced “a campaign of disinformation and manipulation” over an “imaginary and fictitious embezzlement” surrounding the prison project.
© Agence France-Presse
