Graft trial judge ‘died a violent death’

A judge who was said to have died of a heart attack while overseeing a corruption trial involving a former top aide to President Felix Tshisekedi actually died of stab wounds to the head, the Justice Ministry has revealed. As previously reported in Legalbrief Today, Justice Raphael Yanyi died shortly after being admitted to a Kinshasa hospital last month. The day before he died, Yanyi had presided over Vital Kamerhe's $50m graft trial in a makeshift court set up within Kinshasa's central prison compound. Justice Minister Celestin Tunda Ya Kasende said a murder investigation has been launched after an autopsy revealed that ‘he died a violent death, due to the blows of sharp points or knife-like objects'. BBC News reports that he added that the corpse also showed signs of ‘toxic substances in non-lethal doses’. Legalbrief reports that Kamerhe is charged alongside two others, Lebanese businessman Jammal Samih and Jeannot Muhima, a senior aide to Tshisekedi. They have all pleaded not guilty to the charges. The trio are accused of siphoning funds intended to finance major works under the plan that Tshisekedi launched after he took office in January last year. The funds were earmarked for the construction of 4 500 pre-fabricated homes.

Full BBC News report