Congo files new complaint to ICC

JOHANNESBURG - Five people accused of helping convicted rapist and killer Thabo Bester escape from a maximum-security prison last year will have to remain behind bars a bit longer after their bail application was postponed for judgment.

Magistrate Motlholo Khabisi postponed the matter to next week Monday, May 29.

During proceedings in the Bloemfontein Magistrates Court yesterday, the defence

CONGO - Democratic Republic of Congo on Tuesday made another formal referral to the International Criminal Court (ICC) to ensure the court will focus on what it calls the systematic pillaging of its natural resources in eastern Congo by the Rwanda Defence Forces (RDF) and the M23 rebel group.

The ICC already has an ongoing investigation into eastern lawyers gave the court their closing arguments.

The accused - Senohe Matsoara, Teboho Lipholo, Motenyani Masukela, Tieho Makhotsa and Nastassja Jansen - allegedly aided Dr Nandipha Magudumana to help her lover, Bester, escape from the Mangaung Correctional Centre last May.

A burnt body was found in Bester’s cell; later it was revealed the body was actually that of Free State man, Katlego Bereng.

Congo since 2004 and it is not clear if the new referral would shift the court’s focus.

Concerned

“The government of the DRC remains deeply concerned about the suffering of the populations in the part of its territory affected by the acts referred to in this case,” Congo’s Justice Ministry said in a statement.

The referral’s goal would be to investigate and prosecute

Advocate Kagisho Moruri, who represents Matsoara and Makhotsa, told the court that when his clients deposed to their affidavits, they did not possess the complete police docket.

“Therefore, they did not know which case to make.”

Moruri argued that had it not been for the testimony of the investigating officer in the case, the accused would not have known how they are alleged to be linked to the crimes they are accused of.

any person involved in human rights violations between 2022 and 2023, it added.

The Tutsi-led M23 rebel group launched a fresh offensive in eastern Congo in March last year, seizing towns and villages in the area that borders with Uganda. The fighting forced more than one million people to flee.

Congo has accused neighbouring Rwanda of backing the M23. The Government of Rwanda has denied any involvement.