Just months after publicly declaring that if he won the presidential election he would start a war with Rwanda and turn it into the 27th province of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Justice Minister Constant Mutamba is now facing imminent arrest for allegedly embezzling state funds.
Note: Company, Blog, Church websites are free.
This development came after the Prosecutor General, Firmin Mvonde, on May 21, 2025, wrote to the Speaker of Parliament, Vital Kamerhe, requesting that Minister Mutamba be stripped of his parliamentary immunity to face charges of misappropriating $19 million USD from a government project meant to build a new prison in Kisangani, in Tshopo Province. The entire project was valued at $29 million.
While appearing in court in Kinshasa on May 26, Mutamba boldly claimed he is not afraid of going to prison. He accused Prosecutor General Mvonde of being a “mafia member” who previously supported former President Joseph Kabila.
He declared: “Tell them he was part of the mafia group that supported Kabila. He tried to disgrace me. Tell them the god of my ancestors is more powerful than theirs. I’m not afraid of prison. I’m ready!”
Mutamba went on to say he would personally investigate Mvonde’s assets, claiming the Prosecutor owns a €900,000 house in Belgium that he cannot justify.
The verbal war between the two men has been ongoing. Last year, Mutamba called for intelligence services to investigate Mvonde.
Mutamba, who recently reaffirmed his controversial pledge to invade Rwanda and arrest President Paul Kagame if he became president of the DRC, is now behaving as if he is above the law.
Back on September 9, 2023, during the official launch of his presidential campaign, Mutamba publicly stated: “If I win the election, I will launch a war against Rwanda to solve the security crisis in the East. My country will annex Rwanda and turn it into the 27th province of the DRC.”
This political stance, which has never received international support, has been widely criticized as reckless warmongering, authoritarian posturing, and a clear misunderstanding of international law.
Currently, the DRC’s Parliament has set up a special commission to determine whether Minister Mutamba should be stripped of immunity. If the commission rules in favor, Mutamba will be tried as an ordinary citizen.
Although Mutamba brands himself as a savior of the Congolese people and a fighter against corruption, he is now being asked to explain how $19 million of public funds disappeared from a prison project that was never properly implemented.
Last year, Mutamba also temporarily suspended Mvonde following a scandal in which prosecutors and police raided the residence of French diplomats while searching for suspects. That incident triggered serious tensions within the justice system.
As tit-for-tat retaliation intensifies among high-ranking officials in the justice sector, both the media and the public are asking a pressing question: “Will the man who vowed to arrest Kagame and capture Kigali even finish the year before facing justice in his own country?”
If found guilty, Constant Mutamba could become one of the first senior officials in President Tshisekedi’s government to be prosecuted for high-level corruption, a development that could derail his political ambitions even before the elections are held.
