Click to expand Image Former Democratic Republic of Congo President Joseph Kabila arrives in Goma, May 29, 2025. © 2025 Moses Sawasawa/AP Photo A Congolese military court’s conviction and death sentence imposed on former President Joseph Kabila on September 30 highlights the fragile balance between accountability and political stability in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The trial, for charges ranging from treason to war crimes, had all the trappings of a political vendetta, posing a threat to both the rule of law and the country’s democratic future.There is little dispute that Congo experienced catastrophic human rights violations under successive governments and that past senior officials should answer for their misdeeds. Government security forces committed many abuses during Kabila’s 18 years in power, and Human Rights Watch and others have repeatedly called for justice. But accountability loses all meaning when it is pursued through processes that resemble show trials.The military court tried Kabila in absentia and without defense counsel, in violation of the right to a fair trial under international human rights law. The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, in interpreting the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, has said that military courts “should not, in any circumstances whatsoever, have jurisdiction over civilians.”The timing of the trial is also suspect. Kabila remains a major figure in Congolese politics, and President Felix Tshisekedi may see him as a political threat as the government struggles to confront the Rwandan-backed M23 armed group in eastern Congo. Earlier this year, after Kabila returned from rebel-controlled territory and publicly criticized Tshisekedi, the authorities tried to silence public debate about the former president.The rushed and blatantly unfair prosecution of Kabila looks less like a quest for justice than a calculated strategy to eliminate a political rival, calling the integrity of Congo’s entire justice system into question.This issue goes far beyond Kabila himself. Denying a former president basic due process sends a chilling message that other political opponents can face similar treatment. This trial signals that fair trial rights are conditional and dispensable when inconvenient, corroding the very idea of equal justice under the law.Kabila’s conviction and death sentence shines a spotlight on the need for Congo to build institutions strong enough to hold those responsible for past and present abuses accountable and to stop weaponizing courts to settle political scores. In Congo, where notions of stability and genuine democratic progress remain aspirations, Kabila’s trial is not a triumph of justice. It is a warning flare of deepening authoritarian drift.