Leading Congolese warlord in custody
Publish date: 07 August 2017
Issue Number: 737
Diary: IBA Legalbrief Africa
Category: DRC
A Congolese rebel warlord wanted for crimes against humanity, including mass rape, was detained on Friday. Fabienne Pompey, spokesperson for Monusco, the UN peacekeeping force in the country, said Ntabo Sheka 'has been handed over to the authorities at Kinshasa'. A report on the News24 site notes that he turned himself in to UN peacekeepers in North Kivu in the east of the country on 26 July and was initially held in Goma, the regional capital. The authorities issued the warrant for Sheka's arrest in January 2011 after an attack in which the militia under his command and two other groups allegedly raped nearly 400 people in 13 villages between 30 July and 2 August, 2010. His soldiers are also accused of razing almost 1 000 homes and businesses and leading about 100 people off into forced labour, the report states.