The Voice of the Voiceless (VSV), a human rights NGO, are the latest to join many others to appeal to DR Congo President Fèlix Tshisekedi to halt critically-ill Salomon Kalonda Della’s trial on humanitarian grounds.
Kalonda Della, a special advisor to popular opposition candidate in the upcoming DRC General Elections Moïse Katumbi, has taken seriously ill in hospital after spending months in the authorities’ custody.
The VSV have since renewed their appeal to President Tshisekedi to use his magistrate supremacy to indefinitely suspend the Kalonda trial for a period of three months, or until he is declared medically fit to take stand in court.
In their appeal sent on 4th November, the VSV calls on President Tshisekedi to save the life of a human being whose health continues to deteriorate, by ordering the suspension of the court hearings until his full recovery.
Meanwhile, the VSV have also thanked the authorities for allowing Kalonda Della to seek proper medical attention at a private health facility.
Kalonda Della’s health has deteriorated in recent days and he has had to depend on a ventilator for his survival while the authorities continue to insist for his presence in court even without the doctors’ clearance.
Katumbi’s spokesperson was on May 30, 2023 kidnapped by unidentified security services at the N’djili International Airport in Kinshasa before it was revealed that he had been detained at the Directorate of Military Intelligence (DRM, ex-DEMIAP) and then transferred to the Ndolo Military Prison.
Kalonda Della has been accused of treason for alleged intelligence connections with Rwandan military officers and complicity with the M23 rebellion in eastern DRC.
Kalonda Della unable to attend the last court hearing on Thursday, November 2, 2023 due to his persistent physical weakness within the highly secure private clinic where he receives care.
