Justice: First hearing of Kamerhe appeal trial set for 15 February

On appeal, the national president of the Union for the Congolese Nation, his lawyers are pleading for a live broadcast, however, they say they are not notified until then of the date of the next hearing.

The first hearing of the appeal trial of the national president of the Union for the Congolese Nation (UNC) is scheduled for February 15, according to a court document circulating on social media.

According to Mr. Jean-Marie Kabengela Ilunga, Vital Kamerhe’s lawyer, his client has so far not been notified by the Kinshasa/Gombe Court of Appeal of the date of the next hearing. “We discovered on social media that Vital Kamerhe’s appeal trial would be set for February 15, 2021. At our level, my client has not been notified. This date will be certain when the bailiffs bring it to my client’s attention,” he said.

Vital Kamerhe’s lawyer also expressed his satisfaction that his client would be acquitted to the degree of appeal. He did, however, plead for the appeal trial to be broadcast live on the Congolese National Broadcasting Broadcast (RTNC), as was the case in the first degree.

As a reminder, Vital Kamerhe, political partner of President Felix Tshisekedi, was sentenced to 20 years of hard labour by the Kinshasa Gombe High Court for embezzlement of public funds.