Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Colonel Kibibi Mutware jailed for mass rape in DR Congo

Lieutenant Colonel Kibibi Mutware. Source: BBC.
Yesterday 21 February 2011, a mobile military court convicted and sentenced Lieutenant Colonel Kibibi Mutware and some of his comrades to jail for mass rape in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo).

According to UN News Centre, Lieutenant Colonel Kibibi Mutware was found guilty for crimes against humanity and jailed - for his role in mass rape that took place in Fizi on 1 January 2011 - when the Colonel deployed troops to loot, brutalize civilians and commit mass rape in the village of Fizi in eastern DR Congo.

The military Court sentenced Lieutenant Colonel Mutware to 20 years behind bars. Five other soldiers under Kibibi Mutware's command were also slammed with jail sentences in connection with the mass rape in Fizi.

This is good news, and of course - a victory for human rights and the rule of law.

The conviction of a commanding military officer for his role in mass rape and other atrocities against civilians sends an unequivocal message that crimes against civilians are unacceptable and perpetrators - irrespective of position of responsibility or rank - will have their day in court and bear the full weight of the law.

DR Congo has been termed the worst place to be a woman  and "rape capital of the world" because of frequent systematic mass rapes and other forms of violence against women and girls. The imprisonment of Colonel Kibibi Mutware signals an end to decades of impunity for rape in DR Congo.

More than 60 women were raped during the military operation under the leadership of Colonel Kibibi Mutware on 1 January, and 49 women testified in court.

3 comments:

  1. OMG... that bastard. Serves him right. I think he deserves more than 10 years in jail.

    ReplyDelete
  2. more than 10?he deserves to rot in jail for the rest of his life along with with the men who carried on under his command.

    ReplyDelete
  3. N2theN, as a matter of fact, Colonel Mutware was slapped with 20 years behind bars. Like you and Songbird, I'm tempted to argue that he deserves more than he got.

    Thanks for weighing in, my friends.

    ReplyDelete

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