DRC: Trial of former Prime Minister Augustin Matata Ponyo begins

The trial of the former Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Augustin Matata Ponyo, opened on Monday 21 August 2023 before the country's Constitutional Court.

The former prime minister and opposition politician is accused of embezzlement.

Of the $285 million disbursed by the Treasury as part of a pilot project, the politician is suspected of having embezzled $205 million.

The former governor of the Central Bank, Deogratias Mutombo, and the South African businessman Grobler Christo, manager of the company in charge of the project, are also being prosecuted in this case.

Augustin Matata Ponyo, a presidential candidate in the upcoming elections on December 20, is contesting the legal proceedings, which he describes as a plot to damage his campaign.