Roger Lumbala, 67, a former Congolese rebel leader, has begun a hunger strike to protest his Paris trial on alleged atrocities from 1998–2003. He dismissed his lawyers and refuses to return to court, arguing the tribunal lacks legitimacy. Charged with conspiracy and complicity in crimes against humanity, he faces a possible life sentence and a verdict expected on December 19. Human-rights groups say the strike is an attempt to delay accountability while survivors press for justice.
Roger Lumbala Begins Hunger Strike as Paris Trial Over Congo War Crimes Opens
Roger Lumbala, 67, a former Congolese rebel leader, has begun a hunger strike to protest his Paris trial on alleged atrocities from 1998–2003. He dismissed his lawyers and refuses to return to court, arguing the tribunal lacks legitimacy. Charged with conspiracy and complicity in crimes against humanity, he faces a possible life sentence and a verdict expected on December 19. Human-rights groups say the strike is an attempt to delay accountability while survivors press for justice.
11:14 PM, 11/14/2025Conflict
Roger Lumbala begins hunger strike as Paris war-crimes trial proceeds
KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — Roger Lumbala, 67, a former Congolese rebel commander, announced on Friday that he has started a hunger strike to protest the criminal trial that opened earlier this week in Paris over alleged atrocities committed during the Second Congo War (1998–2003).
After the first day of proceedings on Wednesday, Lumbala dismissed his lawyers and refused to return to court, arguing the French tribunal lacks legitimacy. His decision to fast was disclosed in a statement read in court by Marc Sommerer, head of the Paris criminal court.
French prosecutors have charged Lumbala with criminal conspiracy to prepare crimes against humanity and complicity in crimes against humanity. If convicted, he faces a possible life sentence. The Paris criminal court expects to deliver a verdict on December 19 after the trial concludes.
This case is being heard under French legislation that recognizes universal jurisdiction for crimes against humanity. It marks the first time a Congolese political or military figure has been tried in a national court under that legal principle.
The Democratic Republic of Congo has endured persistent and deadly violence in its mineral-rich eastern provinces since the 1990s, with more than 100 active armed groups. The conflict escalated earlier this year when the M23 rebel group seized two key cities, an advance that international observers say involved assistance from forces of neighboring Rwanda.
Lumbala led the Congolese Rally for National Democracy, a rebel movement backed by Uganda. United Nations reports allege the group committed widespread torture, executions, rape, forced labour and sexual slavery, particularly targeting members of the Nande and Bambuti communities in 2002–2003.
Lumbala was arrested in Paris in 2020 and was formally indicted by a French court in 2023. His lawyers say the Congolese government submitted an extradition request to France. Henri Thulliez, an attorney representing victims, said a first extradition request in 2013 focused on alleged ties to M23 rather than the war crimes now alleged, and that a later request this year lacked essential legal elements and arrived after French judicial proceedings were already under way.
Daniele Perissi, head of TRIAL International's DR Congo program, said the hunger strike was "a distraction and an attempt to escape accountability," and urged the court to ensure "justice delayed is not justice denied."
Claire Thomas, Executive Director of Minority Rights Group, added that Lumbala had tried to obstruct a judicial process "twenty years in the making" and that his actions had unsettled survivors who risked appearing in court.
Neither the Congolese nor the French ministries of justice immediately responded to requests for comment. The trial will continue in Paris, with the final verdict scheduled for December 19.