Death sentence for former prosecutor

A former prosecutor of a military court in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Col Charles Alamba, was among 11 people condemned to death on Tuesday after being found guilty of murder, mutilation and extortion. Various human rights groups, including Amnesty International, have singled out Alamba for his abuses during his tenure as prosecutor. As military prosecutor at the time of the assassination of former President Laurent Kabila, Alamba led the trial in which 30 people accused of the crime were condemned to death, the same sentence now imposed on him. Alamba's downfall occurred in September 2003, following the murder of Steve Nyembo, a senior official in the Department of Taxation. The killers ripped out Nyembo's genitals before burning his body. Police arrested the people who admitted to the killing but said that Alamba had ordered them to do it. Alamba was among 22 people charged with murder, mutilation of a dead body, concealing arms and association with criminals, among other crimes, said Brig-Gen Camille Nawele Mukongo, who is the president of the military high court that tried them. All the 11 people condemned to death had been members of the police or army. Five of the accused were sentenced to a four-year prison term each, while six others were acquitted.