Germain Katanga

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Germain Katanga (born April 28, 1978 in Mambasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo ) (aka Simba ) is a former leader of the Forces de Résistance Patriotique d'Ituri (FRPI).

Life

Military career

In the conflict between the Hema and Lendu ethnic groups in the Ituri province, Katanga was one of the most important warlords between 1999 and 2003. Since the beginning of 2003 he was the highest commanding officer of the FRPI. The FRPI was a militia army that consisted mostly of members of the Lendu.

On December 11, 2004, he was promoted to the rank of Brigadier in the Congolese Army. Katanga was arrested in Kinshasa in March 2005.

ICC arrest warrant and legal proceedings

Based on an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court (ICC), he was transferred to the ICC in The Hague on October 17, 2007 . Katanga has been charged with various war crimes and crimes against humanity, including recruiting child soldiers. Among other things, he was charged with an attack on the village of Bogoro, Ituri on February 24, 2003. Over 200 people are believed to have been killed in this massacre of the civilian population. Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui was charged as an accomplice in the same crime.

The main hearing at the ICC began on November 24, 2009 against both defendants. On November 21, 2012, the two proceedings were separated. A month later, the accused accomplice Ngudjolo was acquitted. According to the court, the prosecution could not prove beyond any doubt that Ngudjolo was actively involved in the crimes in Bogoro or was responsible for them as a militia leader.

The ICC found Katanga guilty of aiding and abetting war crimes and crimes against humanity on March 7, 2014. According to the court, on February 24, 2003, Katanga supplied weapons for a massacre in the village of Bogoro ( Ituri district ) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo , as a result of which 200 people were killed and numerous women were raped. On May 23, 2014, he was sentenced to 12 years in prison. Since the International Criminal Court itself does not operate prisons for convicts, Katanga was transferred to the Democratic Republic of the Congo in December 2015 to serve his sentence.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Dominic Johnson: militiaman transferred to The Hague. In: the daily newspaper . October 19, 2007, accessed November 27, 2013 .
  2. ↑ World Criminal Court acquits ex-militia leader Ngudjolo. In: Zeit Online . December 18, 2012, accessed November 27, 2013 .
  3. ↑ http://www.dw.de/den-haag-sprech-kongolesischen-milizenf%C3%BChrer-schuldig/a-17479213
  4. ↑ Two ex-militia leaders transferred to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In: The time . December 19, 2015, accessed December 20, 2015 .
personal data
SURNAME Katanga, Germain
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Simba
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Congolese leader of the Forces de Résistance Patriotique d'Ituri (FRPI)
DATE OF BIRTH April 28, 1978
PLACE OF BIRTH Mambasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo