A Congolese woman has been sentenced to death for the murder of a girl whose mutilated body was discovered near a river in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, as reported by her attorney on Sunday.
Ombeni Malekera, a 30-year-old mother of three, was arrested on Thursday following the discovery of the five-year-old girl’s body two days earlier in Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu province, on August 1.
The child had attended a birthday party at Malekera’s residence, along with other local children, three days prior. She returned on Tuesday to play with a child her age and subsequently went missing. Her body was found about 40 minutes later. Malekera was suspected—without clear evidence, as explained by her lawyer, Me Guy Bauni-Masimango.
After two hearings, the Bukavu High Court handed down a “death sentence” on Saturday evening, following her trial on Friday.
“We are frustrated by this court decision made without any proof of our client’s guilt. We promptly filed an appeal,” added Bauni-Masimango.
The lawyer noted the lack of a comprehensive investigation and questioned why justice permitted the girl’s burial without the availability of the medical autopsy report.
Her husband, Christian Mufariji, who was prosecuted for “criminal association” in connection with the murder case, was “acquitted due to insufficient evidence,” according to Mr. Bauni-Masimango.
The civil party expressed satisfaction with the judgement, which served as an educational trial for the community and brought relief to the child’s family, according to Me David Bugamba Amani, the family’s lawyer.
Although the death penalty is pronounced in the DRC, it is no longer executed and is systematically commuted to life imprisonment, given the prevailing circumstances.
In South Kivu and across eastern DRC, a region afflicted by violence, abductions of both children and adults by armed groups and militias, sometimes for ransom, are not uncommon. Instances of child mutilation are also sporadically reported.