Yesterday, Constant Mutamba, the reckless, drunken Justice Minister of DRC, returned to his office at the Ministry of Justice like a triumphant hero, not a man recently stripped of immunity and indicted for embezzling nearly US$30 million through illegal tenders tied to prison construction in Kisangani.
The “distributor of death sentences,” as he was nicknamed, returned without an iota of shame or accountability. The man even hired a group of thugs to stage a hero’s welcome at the Justice Palace. Just like that, he reclaimed his chair, unchallenged, untouched, and apparently unbothered. Business as usual in Félix Tshisekedi’s lawless republic.
Mutamba’s populist re-entry into office is a loud statement that Tshisekedi protects his own, and no parliamentary motion will change that. The man who once weaponized the justice system against political rivals now walks free, while the justice system degrades. If Firmin Mvonde, the cassation court prosecutor, still expects to be taken seriously, he must explain why Mutamba is not in court, but in office.
What happened between indictment and this miraculous return? Has the money been reimbursed? Has any investigation concluded with a prosecutorial decision? Or are we now in a theatre where accountability became a subject of mockery, before being buried under the next scandal?
If Mutamba can return to his office without any public declaration from the prosecutor, the same man who had him indicted, what was the point of lifting his immunity? Why waste the nation’s time with debates, investigations, and public declarations?
What we are witnessing is not justice, it is state-sponsored mockery. Tshisekedi’s administration continues to speak of reforms, but it delivers shame. As long as ministers can embezzle and return to power untouched, no citizen should be lectured on the rule of law.
In today’s DR Congo, justice isn’t blind. It’s drunk, compromised, and dancing to the rhythm of political impunity.