Briton, Americans among 37 sentenced to death in Congo over coup attempt

A Briton and three Americans have been sentenced to death for their participation in an attempted coup in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

A military court in the DRC handed down “the harshest penalty, that of death” sentences to 37 people after convicting them on charges of taking part in an abortive coup attempt in May.

The three American citizens, along with about fifty others, are suspected of involvement in the failed coup that left six people dead.

The sentences were delivered by the presiding judge Maj. Freddy Ehuma at an open-air military court trial which opened in June and was broadcast on live TV.

Three Americans, one Briton, one Belgian and a Canadian are among the defendants who were sentenced to death. The mostly Congolese defendants have five days to appeal the death penalty which Congo had reinstated earlier this year.

“We will challenge this decision on appeal,” the six foreigners’ lawyer has confirmed. 

Fourteen of the defendants were acquitted during the trial over the attempt to overthrow the president that included terrorism, murder and criminal association.

The son of a little-known US-based Congolese businessman, military officer and political opposition figure, Christian Malanga, the coup leader, is one of the three Americans sentenced to death.

On May 19, Malanga and his armed men targeted the presidential palace and a close ally of President Felix Tshisekedi. Parliamentary speaker Vital Kamerhe’s home in Kinshasa was also attacked.

After briefly occupying an office of the presidency, Malanga was killed by security forces. He reportedly live-streamed the attack on his social media account.

His American son Marcel, 21, had told the court that his father, from whom he had been estranged, threatened to kill him unless he participated in the coup.

The other two Americans, Benjamin Zalman-Polun and Tyler Thompson Jr. are a business associate of Christian Malanga and a high school football teammate of Marcel Malanga, respectively.

Zalman-Polun reportedly knew Christian Malanga through a gold mining company set up in Mozambique in 2022.

Thompson’s family has said they had no knowledge of the elder Malanga’s intentions, or his plans for political activism or even to enter the DRC. They claimed they believed Thompson was traveling to South Africa.

The US government said it was aware of the death verdict and was following the developments closely.

There is no official information about the Briton defendant, who was reported to be a naturalized Congolese citizen.

The death penalty was reinstated in the DRC in March, lifting a 21-year-old moratorium, as authorities struggle to curb violence and militant attacks in the country.

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