Those close to Jean-Jacques Wondo, this Belgian sentenced to the death penalty in Congo, are very worried. Accused of having participated in the attempted coup d’état last May, the appeal trial took place this week. The family denounces a political trial.
Jean-Jacques Wondo has now been detained in a Kinshasa prison for nine months. The state of health of the Belgian military expert is seriously deteriorating according to those close to him. “His state of health is increasingly critical,” says Joël Kandolo, the detainee’s brother-in-law. “At this point, if we continue like this, we risk losing him.”
Jean-Jacques Wondo was sentenced to the death penalty at first instance. He is accused of having participated in the failed coup d’état of May 19. But the charges are dismantled one after the other, all the witnesses exonerate him. During the appeal trial on Wednesday, even the lawyer for the Democratic Republic of Congo mentioned fragile elements. “They lacked consistency”according to Matadi Wamba, lawyer for the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The Belgian expert’s defense pleads his innocence. “This trial is based on doubt, and in law, doubts benefit the accused”underlines Carlos Ngwapitishi, lawyer for Jean-Jacques Wondo. Before explaining: “The trial against Jean-Jacques is a political trial. You must consider that Jean-Jacques is taken hostage. It is a Belgian soldier who is taken hostage. The situation is degraded on the diplomatic level.”
“More and more worrying”
Pressure from Belgium yielded nothing. Those close to him speak of a settling of scores. Jean-Jacques Wondo was called last February by President Tshisekedi to reform the intelligence services. “Have the people in the services welcomed this reform with good heart? We don’t know”indicates Joël Kandolo, the brother-in-law of Jean-Jacques Wondo. “But from there to still wanting to kill a person, to sentence them to death, we find that it becomes more and more worrying…”
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The Kinshasa Court of Appeal is due to deliver its judgment in the coming days.
Jean-Jacques Wondo
Congo
justice
Belgium
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