The Kinshasa/Gombe military court sitting in a mobile court at the Ndolo military prison in the case relating to the attempted coup d'état, sentenced 37 defendants to death for the offences of criminal association, attack and terrorism. Among them are Marcel Malanga, son of Christian Malanga, Tyler Christian Thomson, Zalman Pollum Benjamin and Nkele Mbuela Ruffin.

Belgian-Congolese military expert Jean-Jacques Wondo was also sentenced to death for criminal conspiracy and attack. Some of the convicts were given 20 years of penal servitude for illegal possession of weapons of war. But the military court only imposed the harshest sentence, namely the death penalty.

In response, like the Belgian government, the European Union (EU) expressed "its deep concerns" following these new death sentences handed down by the military justice system. In a press release published on Monday, September 16, 2024, the EU reiterated its "total" opposition to the death penalty, in all cases and in all circumstances.

"The death penalty is incompatible with the inalienable right to life and is cruel, inhuman and degrading. It represents the ultimate denial of human dignity, fails to deter criminal acts and makes miscarriages of justice irreversible. The EU also reiterates its commitment to the need to guarantee the right to a fair trial and respect for the rights of the accused, in line with the international law obligations to which the DRC has subscribed," said the European Union statement.

She said she feared a "democratic setback" and urged the Congolese government to reinstate the moratorium banning the death penalty.

"As it has always done, the EU will continue to convey these messages to the Congolese authorities and to make every effort to avoid any death sentences. The EU expresses its serious concerns about this decline in the rule of law, particularly if executions were to be carried out in a country that had until now chosen to maintain a moratorium on the death penalty. The EU calls on the DRC government to reintroduce this moratorium," the statement added. 

The EU had already expressed its concern following the death sentence handed down to Corneille Nangaa and 25 co-defendants, all members of the politico-military movement Alliance fleuve Congo (AFC), notably for terrorism.

In the failed coup case, about ten people, 13 in total, were acquitted, the facts of criminal association, terrorism and financing of terrorism not having been proven. Among them are the defendants known as "Hotel Chez Momo", in particular the owner of the establishment, Mata Maguy, her husband Ephraïm Mugangu, as well as their employees, Judith Mukela Mukubu and Mbayo Adolphe. Also acquitted are the escorts and drivers of the buses that transported the defendants, the manager Faustin Egwake, as well as the cleaner of the Palais de la Nation, Mbemba Ndona Mado. As for the defendant Tikimo, he benefited from mitigating circumstances and was found not guilty. 

The trial on the failed coup of May 19, 2024 opened on Friday, June 7, 2024. A total of 51 of the 53 people cited appeared before the military court. The Public Prosecutor's Office and the court noted the death of two defendants, namely Christian Malanga and Aboubakar, killed on the day of the attack. The legal body then requested the extinction of public action against them, that is to say the end of the criminal proceedings brought against these defendants. This request was received by the court, which decreed the extinction of public action for these persons