Former Deputy Minister for Water Resources and Electricity in the Joseph Kabila regime, Papy Pungu has been acquitted of his insurrection movement charges.
Papy Pungu, a loyalist and ally of former President Joseph Kabila, was arrested by the military in December, 2023 while on his way to Zambia for vacation on false accusations of having been communicating with exiled former army chief John Numbi and other enemies of the state.
However, the public prosecutor could provide evidence for their case against Papy Pungu who has since been acquitted alongside his co-accused Christian Numbi, husband to former Minister of Labour Néné Nkulu.
“They were all prosecuted for concomitant facts, related facts, they had just been acquitted. They were prosecuted for criminal participation in an insurrectional movement.
“The facts put against them were not proven by the public prosecutor, the The public prosecutor’s office did not provide evidence, firstly one on the communication with General John Numbi and two on their communication with Gédéon de Bakata Katanga to carry out acts tending to endanger the institutions of the country and make Haut Katanga a Independent State had never been proven,” one of Papy Pungu’s lawyers explained on Wednesday, June 19, 2024.
Papy Pungu’s acquittal comes six months in detention the National Intelligence Agency (ANR) headquarters as well as at Makala Central Prison in Kinshasa.
