Kinshasa – An appeals court in the Democratic Republic of Congo on Monday ordered the release of a former top aide of President Felix Tshisekedi on health grounds, state television RTNC announced.
Former presidential chief of staff Vital Kamerhe, 62, was sentenced in June to 13 years in prison for embezzling nearly $50 million of public funds.
His release was contingent on the payment of $500,000, RTNC said on its Twitter account, describing Kamerhe’s medical condition as “very critical”, quoting the court’s communications arm.
“We expect he will be informed of this decision before confirming anything,” Kamerhe’s lawyer Jean-Marie Kabengela told AFP.
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A dozen previous legal pleas for Kamerhe’s release have been denied.
The former parliament speaker was initially sentenced in April 2020 to 20 years in jail over the embezzlement case involving prefabricated housing for soldiers and police officers, an early initiative in Tshisekedi’s presidency.
The sentence was reduced on appeal to 13 years in prison in June.
Kamerhe’s lawyers claimed that the case was aimed at preventing him from running for president in 2023 under a reported arrangement between the two men.
Congolese law bars anyone with a prior corruption conviction from running for president.
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Source: AFP
Picture: Getty Images
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