While the Congolese authorities still dilly-dally in making progress with investigations in the case, the family of late former Transport Minister Cherubin Okende have taken a possible consequential step in getting justice for the death of their relatives.
Assassinated Former Transport Minister Cherubin Okende’s family have acquired the services of a new Belgian lawyer Alexis Deswaef who has initiated a crucial step in the case after filing an official complaint in the Belgian Court.
Deswaef, a Brussels lawyer specialized in Human Rights cases, has filed a complaint against Congolese military intelligence deputy chief General Christian Ndaywel for allegedly having played a hand in the assassination of the Okende.
Deswaef has backed his complaint file with evidence of General Ndaywel currently holding Belgian citizenship which he obtained in 2005 after having lived in the country for many years.
Therefore, General Ndaywel is liable to stand before the Belgian Court making Deswaef and the Okende family’s complaint admissable before the Belgium bench.
In their complaint, Deswaef and Okende family requests that Belgian legislation institutes prosecution of a Belgian national, General Ndaywel, suspected of having committed a serious crime abroad.
The complaint has been filed in a bid to seek a thorough and serious investigation after several months of hesitations and lack of progress in the probe carried out by the Congolese authorities.
The case could now take a major twist following the complaint filed against General Ndaywel in the context that should the Belgian Court’s investigation result in sufficient evidence, it could mark an important step towards the fight against impunity and the protection of human rights in the DR Congo.
Cherubin Okende was kidnapped and murdered by unknown people in the outskirts of Kinshasa on July 13, 2023 with investigations carried out by the Congolese authorities not able to yield any tangible results even after an autopsy performed on the body last August.
