Kabila, 54, who
was not present at the trial in the capital nor represented, was found guilty
of complicity with the M23 anti-government armed group, which has seized
swathes of the resource-rich Congolese east with Rwandan help.
He left the
vast central African country in 2023 and briefly reappeared in Goma in the
volatile east in May, causing disquiet in Kinshasa.
Observers say
the death sentence aims to remove the possibility he could unite the opposition
within the country, despite his exact current whereabouts being unknown.
The DRC,
ravaged by violence for more than three decades, lifted a moratorium on the
death penalty last year but no judicial executions have been carried out since.
Military
prosecutor General Lucien Rene Likulia had demanded the death penalty for
Kabila, whose party slammed the proceedings as "a political trial".
Likulia accused
the ex-leader of plotting to overthrow President Felix Tshisekedi and further
charges against him included homicide, torture and rape linked to M23.
Likulia said
Kabila, in coordination with Rwanda, sought to spring a coup against
Tshisekedi, notably with the help of Corneille Nangaa, who presided the
electoral commission during the 2018 presidential election, which Tshisekedi
won.
Kabila ruled
the country between 2001 and 2019, taking power following the assassination of
his father Laurent-Desire Kabila.
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