CCPR/C/130/D/2731/2016
Office on 4 August 2005. This complaint concerned the escape, organized by Lieutenant T.I.,
of the two suspects in the murder of Pascal Kabungulu.
2.5
After the assassination of Pascal Kabungulu, the authors were subjected to threats and
no longer felt safe in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. They therefore had to flee the
country and seek refuge in Kampala, Uganda. The family lived in Uganda, in difficult
conditions, for almost a year before they obtained refugee status and moved to Canada in
September 2006.
2.6
On 5 August 2005, Déborah Kitumaini filed a complaint against a person unknown
with the Bukavu Senior Military Prosecutor’s Office for the murder of her husband. On 6
August 2005, the Vice-Governor of South Kivu Province, D.K.K., set up an independent
commission of inquiry to investigate the murder. On 10 August 2005, the Military Prosecutor
of South Kivu issued a request to the Commander of the Tenth Military Region in Bukavu,
asking that Lieutenant T.I., Lieutenant R. and Major J. be presented at the Senior Military
Prosecutor’s Office. The three soldiers were suspected of having organized the escape of
Lieutenant B.L. and Captain G.S., the two suspects in the murder of Pascal Kabungulu. In
addition to this charge, the three soldiers were accused of disobedience and attempted murder.
In the same request, the Military Prosecutor asked for Captain G.S. and Lieutenant B.L. to
be handed over to the central prison, in accordance with the provisional arrest warrant that
had been issued for them.
2.7
On 11 October 2005, one of Déborah Kitumaini’s lawyers filed a request with the
Bukavu Senior Military Prosecutor’s Office for a copy of the case file.
2.8
On 11 November 2005, the commission of inquiry published its final report, in which
Army Corporal P.L.M. was identified, among the three men present on the night of the attack,
as the one who had shot the victim at point-blank range. The commission condemned the
behaviour of Lieutenant T.I., who, among other things, had tried to pay two soldiers to flee
the country and take full responsibility for the assassination. The commission concluded with
the proposal that “all the alleged perpetrators of the murder of Pascal Kabungulu should be
brought to justice, the appropriate court being the military court at Bukavu garrison”.
2.9
On 28 November 2005, the trial for the murder of Pascal Kabungulu began at the
Bukavu garrison military court. At least four hearings were held in the weeks that followed
and a total of six individuals were indicted on various charges relating to the murder. On 21
December 2005, the court handed down a judgment of refusal to exercise jurisdiction on the
grounds that the defendants included Lieutenant T.I. and Vice-Governor D.K.K., who were
subject to the jurisdiction of the Military High Court or the Supreme Court. 5 After this
judgment was handed down, the judicial proceedings were disrupted and the resumption of
the trial was delayed by a series of acts of intimidation and political manipulation, which
were condemned by several human rights organizations in 2006. In the meantime, despite the
ongoing proceedings against him, Lieutenant T.I. was promoted to the position of Integrated
Brigade Commander in Goma in North Kivu Province.
2.10 Over the months that followed, there was a push for the trial to resume. In May 2006,
Amnesty International sent a letter to the President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo,
Joseph Kabila, calling for the investigation into the assassination of Pascal Kabungulu to
continue and for the perpetrators to be arrested in accordance with the international
instruments that the State had committed to implementing. Héritiers de la Justice
commemorated the anniversary of Pascal Kabungulu’s death every year, reminding people,
through various publications and activities, that justice must be done in this case.
2.11 On 23 May 2007, Lieutenant B.L., who had remained in detention pending trial, filed
a request for the trial to resume promptly, claiming that he had been detained illegally for
more than 22 months. On 31 July 2007, the Réseau national des organisations non
5
GE.21-00792
Reporters Without Borders reported that: “According to the crime scenario presented by the
prosecution, Captain [G.S.] and Lieutenant [B.L.] transported the three murderers in their jeep,
including Corporal [P.L.M.], who allegedly fired the fatal shots. The two soldiers, who served as
lookouts, were allegedly acting on orders, in exchange for payment, at the behest of [T.I.]. The latter
wanted to make the killing look like a violent crime, rather than an act of revenge committed by a
man who was confident of his impunity and attached to his privileges.”
3