The Democratic Republican of the Congo (DR Congo) government just sentenced 37 people to death, including three American nationals, for attempting to overthrow the current president’s administration.
The DR Congo government accused the 37 culprits of trying to overthrow the state by leading an organized attack on the presidential palace of President Félix Tshisekedi and the residence of one of the president’s allies. The alleged coup attempt happened in May and the plot’s suspected leader, Christian Malanga, and five other participants were killed in the process.
A total of 51 suspects directly involved or connected to the plot were put on trial in military court and the hearings were broadcast on radio and on national TV. Fourteen of the 51 suspects tried were acquitted after the court concluded they were not connected to the attack.
Malanga was a US national, and his son, Marcel Malanga, was one of the American citizens who received a death sentence. He previously claimed in court that his father pressured him into participating in the plot by threatening his life if he refused. Another US national, Tyler Thomas, was sentenced to death. He and Marlanga’s son are friends and both in their 20s. The two of them are from Utah and used to play football together there.
Thomas’ stepmother, Miranda, told reporters in June that she was not aware of how her son ended up in the DR Congo or why he was there. She said her family was “in complete shock” when they heard the news about what was happening there and that all of the information they were obtaining at the time was “off Google,” like everyone else. In May, while the events were taking place, they were not even sure if he was alive.
Another American and former business partner of Malanga, Benjamin Zalman-Polun, was also sentenced to death, and a dual-citizen of Belgium and the DR Congo, Jean-Jacques Wondo.
The convicted will have a few days to submit their appeals. The sentences mark the first time in about 20 years that death sentences will be able to be carried out after a moratorium was lifted in March.
