Kabila faces $24B claim in DR Congo treason trial

Civil parties in the treason trial of the former president of the Democratic Republic of Congo are demanding tens of billions of dollars in reparations.

They say this is in compensation for the violence they have experienced at the hands of rebels in the mineral-rich east of the country.

The charges against Joseph Kabila include murder, rape, and torture linked to his alleged support for Rwanda-backed M23 rebels who control a large part of the region.

Kabila's successor, President Félix Tshisekedi, has accused him of being the brains behind the group.

At a military court in Kinshasa, lawyers for the civil  parties said they are seeking nearly $25 billion in reparations.

They have also described Kabila as a “Rwandan citizen” and are demanding he be convicted of espionage instead.

Meanwhile, the eastern provinces of South Kivu, Ituri, and North Kivu are demanding an additional $21 billion and the seizure of the former president's bank assets.

Following two years of self-imposed exile in South Africa, Kabila  returned to Goma in May after the city was captured by the Rwanda-backed group, but is being tried in absentia.

He denies being the brains behind the rebels or one of the initiators of the Congo River Alliance (AFC), the wider rebel grouping which includes the M23 and other militia.

Kabila has rejected the case describing it as "arbitrary" and said the courts were being used as an "instrument of oppression".

While former presidents serve as senators for life and enjoy lifetime immunity, Kabila was stripped of this protection in May to allow his prosecution.

The army's attorney general is expected to present his closing arguments on the case on Friday.