The trial of Ntabo Ntaberi Sheka is the most complex, representative case ever handled by a court in North Kivu province, and the proceedings and the court’s final verdict in 2020 are a compelling example. on how to bring war criminals to justice.
in front of International Criminal Courtof (ICC) International Criminal Justice Daymarked the adoption of the treaty establishing the United Nations, Statute of Rome, UN News took a closer look at a trial that provides an important case study for countries implementing criminal justice around the world.
The case also illustrates the importance of UN peace operations support to national security and judicial institutions.
Crime: ‘On an Unprecedented Scale’
Ntabo Sheka (second from left) leads an armed group in eastern DR Congo. (document)
On July 30, 2010, armed members of the Nduma Défense of Congo (NDC) militia spread out across 13 remote villages in the resource-rich, unstable Walikale, the largest territory in North Kivu , 150 km west of the provincial capital Goma.
Set in a vast equatorial forest, the region has been plagued by two decades of conflict, with countless armed groups fighting for control of lucrative mines, including major mineral deposits. of tin, cassiterite.
Mr. Sheka was 34 years old, a former miner who had formed a year earlier what Goma’s chief military prosecutor called the region’s “most organized” armed group, consisting of units and brigades. , battalion and company – ordered him.
In four days and nights, his recruits discharged them.
“Sheka is not anyone,” says Nadine Sayiba Mpila, Prosecutor in Goma UN News. “Sheka committed crimes on a scale never before seen in DR Congo.”
She describes how his soldiers “will slaughter people and put these people’s heads on stakes and walk through the village streets to say this is what awaits you if you don’t denounce it.” what he calls ‘enemies'”.
By August 2, 2010, armed militias had begun to completely occupy the villages.
Wanted: Wanted for war crimes
An employee of the United Nations Refugee Agency, UNHCR, talks to displaced Congolese women at Camp Lushebere 2012. (file)
Those who can, flee to safety. Some seek medical help from a nearby non-governmental organization (NGO).
Within two weeks, the survivors’ stories reached the authorities. The media reported the attacks as “group rapes”. UN Mission in Vietnam, MONUSCOassisted in the deployment of a police team.
By November 2010, a case had been brought against the warlord. Congolese authorities then issued a nationwide arrest warrant for Mr. Sheka and the UN Security Council added him punishment list.
Committed to protecting civilians and supporting the national government, MONUSCO show Operation Silent Valley in early August 2011, helping people return to the village safely.
‘No choice but to surrender’
Residents of Bunia, DR Congo, protested the capture of Goma in 2012 by the newly formed armed group M23. (document)
Mr. Sheka is now a fugitive.
Also known as the Mai-Mai militia, the NDC continues to operate in the area alongside other armed groups.
Colonel Ndaka Mbwedi Hyppolite, Chief Prosecutor of the North Kivu Military Operations Court, which heard Mr Sheka’s case, said: “Pushed from all sides, he is now weakened and cannot have no other choice but to surrender.
He surrender yourself on July 26, 2017 to MONUSCO, who handed him over to Congolese authorities, who in turn charged him with war crimes, including murder, sex slavery, child recruitment, looting and deflower.
“It’s time to tell the truth and face the consequences of the truth,” said Ms. Sayiba.
Trial: 3,000 pieces of evidence
A crowd watches the trial of Ntabo Ntaberi Sheka. (document)
Before the trial, UN peacekeepers helped build Sheka’s holding cells and the courtroom itself, where military court proceedings took place for more than two years, temporarily. stopped from March to June 2020 due to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Beginning in November 2018, the court will consider 3,000 pieces of evidence and hear from 178 witnesses at 108 hearings.
Ntabo Ntaberi Sheka during the war crimes trial in DR Congo. (document)
Patient Iraguha, Senior Legal Counsel for TRIAL International at DRC, who helped authorities with the case, said their testimony played an important role, representing the “last resort” of the patient. prosecution to prove that a crime was committed.
Still, getting victims to testify is a serious challenge, Congolese prosecutors said.
During the trial, Mr Sheka “approached some of the victims to threaten them”, jeopardizing their willingness to stand trial. However, a joint effort involving the UN and partners like TRIAL International changed that, Ms. Sayiba explained.
Colonel Ndaka agrees, adding that some rape victims also fear social stigma.
He said safeguards have been established and judicial authorities can collect evidence in cooperation with MONUSCO, which has also trained the judiciary in international criminal law procedures, help the court to have enough knowledge to properly investigate the case.
“When Congolese authorities had to enter the scene to investigate or listen to the victims, they were surrounded by a MONUSCO team,” he said. “Victims have emerged, having done so thanks to the support of our partners.”
United Nations peacekeeping force in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. (document)
Tonderai Chikuhwa, UN Chief of Staff Office of the Secretary-General’s Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflictrecall hearing firsthand about the crimes.
“The heartbreaking testimonies I heard from survivors in 7 villages from Kibua to Mpofu in Walikale in 2010 are etched in my mind,” he wrote on social media at that time.
The first witnesses to appear in court were six children, with victims testifying until July 2020.
“After the grand jury testimony, Sheka started to cry,” recalls Sayiba. “The defendant’s tears were a response. I believe Sheka has realized that he is alone now. He must take responsibility for his actions.”
Verdict: Congolese justice ‘done’
The trial of Ntabo Ntaberi Sheka was held in Goma, DR Congo from 2018 to 2020. (file)
On November 23, 2020, the Military Operations Court sentenced Mr. Sheka to life in prison.
“This marks an important step forward in combating impunity for perpetrators of child recruitment and other serious violations,” the UN Secretary-General wrote of the case in his report. report on children and armed conflict in the DRC.
Ms Sayiba said the verdict sent “a wonderful message” and “an assurance to the victims, who can now see that their testimony was not in vain”.
For Colonel Ndaka, the verdict was “a source of pride for myself, for my country, for Congolese justice”.
Today, the United Nations continues to support efforts to end impunity in the DRC, Central African Republic, Mali, South Sudan and other countries. In North Kivu, the Prosecutor’s Office expanded in June, with the support of the United Nations, to Goma . Peace Court.
Mr. Sheka, now 47, continues his life sentence in a facility in the capital, Kinshasa.
Colonel Ndaka said: “The fact that Sheka was tried and convicted is proof that the rule of law exists and that you cannot go unpunished for committing the most heinous, heinous crimes. “Congo justice can do it, with will, determination and means. It did, and it did.”
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and MONUSCO separated the discharged child soldiers when the Mai-Mai militia surrendered to Congolese Government forces. (document)
