GOMA — Democratic Republic of Congo has seen a dramatic surge in death sentences handed down by courts since the government lifted a longstanding moratorium on executions last year, according to new data released by human rights organisations on Wednesday.
The report, compiled by a coalition of Congolese and international NGOs, documents a sharp increase in capital convictions — many of them in military tribunals — since President Felix Tshisekedi’s administration ended the pause on executions in mid-2025. The move was framed at the time as part of a broader effort to combat armed groups operating across the country’s volatile eastern provinces.
Since the moratorium was lifted, courts in the DRC have sentenced more than 340 people to death, according to the organisations’ count. The vast majority of cases relate to terrorism charges, murder and robbery — though rights groups say many convictions have relied on confessions obtained under torture or duress, and that military courts have consistently failed to meet basic fair trial standards.
A Tool Against Armed Groups — and Dissent
The DRC government says the death penalty is a necessary instrument in the fight against rebel movements, particularly the M23 Tutsi militia that has seized large swathes of territory in North Kivu and continue to challenge state authority. Tshisekedi has repeatedly pledged to crush the insurgency and has given security forces wide latitude to act.
But critics argue that the expanded use of capital punishment has gone far beyond targeting armed group members. Activists say ordinary citizens, including members of opposition parties and peaceful protesters, have been swept up in the crackdown and sentenced to death on questionable evidence.
"People are being convicted and sentenced to death not because they are genuine threats, but because the system is under pressure to show results," said one human rights lawyer based in Kinshasa who asked not to be named. "The courts are being used as a political instrument."
International Condemnation
The spike in death sentences has drawn condemnation from the United Nations, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, and several Western governments. The European Union issued a statement this week expressing concern and calling on Congolese authorities to reinstate the moratorium, commute existing death sentences and ensure fair trials for all detainees.
DR Congo has not carried out an execution in over two decades, though the formal moratorium was lifted only recently. Death sentences have typically been commuted to life imprisonment or reduced on appeal, meaning the actual number of executions has remained zero despite the legal change. But rights groups warn that the lifting of the moratorium creates a climate of fear and could pave the way for the resumption of capital punishment.
"The political signal sent by lifting the moratorium has been deeply damaging," said a researcher with one of the organisations behind the report. "Even if no executions take place, the threat is now real in a way it was not before. Judges know that. Defendants know that."
Overcrowded Jails, Stalled Appeals
Beyond the legal concerns, the surge in death sentences has worsened conditions in Congolese prisons, which are already severely overcrowded. Detention centres in the east of the country, where much of the judicial activity has been concentrated, are reportedly operating at two or three times their intended capacity.
Appeals in death penalty cases are frequently delayed by months or years, leaving convicted individuals in limbo. In some cases, defence lawyers have been denied access to their clients or have not been allowed to review evidence used against them.
The M23 crisis has also created its own justice backlog. Thousands of people have been detained on suspicion of collaboration with the rebels, and many have spent years awaiting trial in deplorable conditions. Human rights organisations say the death penalty is being used disproportionately against those accused of ties to the armed groups, while genuine accountability for atrocities committed by all sides remains elusive.
For families waiting outside courthouses for news of their loved ones, the situation has become a nightmare of uncertainty. "We don’t know if he is alive or dead most days," said one woman outside a military tribunal in Goma, whose husband has been held for eighteen months on terrorism charges. "They keep telling us the case is delayed. Meanwhile he could be sentenced to die."
The international pressure on Kinshasa shows no sign of easing, but the government has so far rejected calls to reinstate the moratorium, insisting that justice must be served for the victims of violence.