Former rebel leader is named Congo’s new Defense Minister

JEAN-YVES KAMALE
Associated Press

KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — Congo’s former rebel leader jailed by the International Criminal Court, Jean-Pierre Bemba, has been appointed Congo’s Defense Minister and Deputy Prime Minister in a Cabinet reshuffle. Bemba’s appointment to the key positions was announced Thursday evening on state television by President Felix Tshisekedi’s spokeswoman. The promotion of Bemba and other Cabinet appointments come less than a year ahead of Congo’s presidential elections. Congo’s former vice president between 2003 and 2006, Bemba was later imprisoned by the ICC for more than a decade, accused of murders, rapes and pillaging committed by his Movement for the Liberation of Congo forces in neighboring Central African Republic. In a surprising ruling, he was acquitted by the ICC in 2018. Bemba always maintained his innocence.