Former Congolese Prime Minister Matata Ponyo Mapon was convicted of embezzling $245 million from a failed agricultural project, marking one of the highest-profile corruption cases under President Felix Tshisekedi. Ponyo, who served as prime minister from 2012 to 2016 under President Joseph Kabila, was sentenced to 10 years of forced labor, the Constitutional Court announced on Tuesday.
Alongside him, Deogratias Mutombo, the former governor of Congo’s central bank, and Christo Grobler, a South African businessman, were each sentenced to five years of forced labor. The three were tried in absentia, as none are currently in custody. Ponyo’s lawyer, Laurent Onyemba, stated that the trial was politically motivated and unfair, with Ponyo residing in Kinshasa. Mutombo is believed to be in Belgium, and Grobler is reportedly in South Africa.
The case centers on a large agricultural development project, including a massive corn farm located 260 km southeast of Kinshasa. The venture, promoted as the first of 22 such projects under Kabila’s government, collapsed in 2017 after the hired South African company withdrew, claiming unpaid debts from the government.
Tshisekedi’s administration launched the investigation in 2021, following a probe into the conduct of Kabila’s government. Kabila, who stepped down in 2018 after nearly two decades in power, has been living abroad since late 2023, primarily in South Africa. Tshisekedi’s government has also accused him of ties to the Rwanda-backed M23 rebels in eastern Congo, an allegation Kabila’s party denies.