The European Parliament is considering this Wednesday on the case of Jean-Jacques Wondo.
DRC: “Now everyone is convinced of the innocence of Jean-Jacques Wondo”
Two days later, Jean-Jacques Wondo, expert in military matters, returned to the DRC for a mission with the intelligence services (ANR) was heard by his superiors, following the dissemination of a photo, several years old, on showing in Brussels, in the company of Christian Malanga.
Forty-eight later, when he was to take a flight to Belgium where he was expected to give lessons at the Royal Military School, Jean-Jacques Wondo was arrested and transferred to Ndolo prison, an establishment under the supervision of Demiap, the Congolese military intelligence service headed by General Christian Ndaywell, another Belgian national against whom several complaints have been filed in Brussels, notably for crimes against humanity in the context of the assassination of the opponent Cherub Okende, July 13, 2023.
Death sentence
Tried at first instance, with around forty other defendants for their participation in the attempted coup, Jean-Jacques Wondo was sentenced to death.
DRC: The evidence hidden in the Jean-Jacques Wondo file
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On appeal, his lawyer, Mr. Carlos Ngwapitshi, dismantled one by one the elements against Jean-Jacques Wondo. He highlighted the shortcomings of the prosecution by finding in particular the main witness who, according to the prosecution, had disappeared while he was detained in the central prison of Kinshasa. An arrest carried out by the services which put together the case against Wondo. This witness was able to deconstruct the prosecution’s narrative, exonerating Jean-Jacques Wondo point by point. “This trial is first and foremost a political matter. My client is hostage to Congolese power”hammer Me Squirrel.
European mobilization
”We have no guarantee but we would not understand if Jean-Jacques is not exonerated”continues Joël Kandolo, his brother-in-law, spokesperson for the family. “The lawyer clearly demonstrated that Jean-Jacques had no link with what he is accused of. The Belgian authorities have mobilized and, this Wednesday, it is the turn of the European Parliament to take charge of its file. A vote is expected on Thursday, the day before the pronouncement. Will Congolese institutions take the risk of being subject to European sanctions? President Tshisekedi has no reason to persist in an issue that is not worth it, Jean-Jacques represents no risk for his regime.”
DRC: The death penalty, the threat to facilitate the forced passage of constitutional change
The mobilization, which also took the form of a petition launched in Belgium by his friends and colleagues, also highlights the worrying state of health of the inmate. “He is hypertensive, he has severe bouts of fever and he is always coughing up blood”confirms Mr. Kandolo. “The Belgian embassy in Kinshasa asked the prison director last week for Jean-Jacques to have access to a doctor. We were refused on the pretext that the agreement of the Minister of Defense was required. We are very worried and impatient for this ordeal to end.”
