The Congolese nationwide turned to the controversial state television channel RTNC for the first time in DRC on Wednesday to watch the court proceedings in the country’s largest embezzlement trial.
Vital Kamerhe, the chief of staff to the president and other co-accused Jammal Samih and Jeannot Muhima were arraigned from Makala Central Prison before the judge for hours of numerous cross-examinations.
This trial of Congo ‘s political elephant is not a joking matter, as it has also led to Judge Raphaël Yanyi’s mysterious death. The trial had previously been postponed after the death of the judge over the weekend. Critics have pointed to potential involvement in poisoning.
Participating witnesses and judges receive death threats repeatedly, and there are fears that anything can happen as the perpetrators are commanding large networks of people with money, power and influence.
The court hearing kicked off Wednesday from 9 a.m. The tone visibly touched by his colleague’s mysterious death has been hardened by a new presiding judge Pierrot Bankenge Mvita. The Judge used the first two hours of reading procedures to be adhered to during the hearing.
The first to be called to bar was Jeannot Muhima Ndole. Before new judges faced tough he shook. Import-export expert of the presidency made disclosures that Vital Kamerhe, Head of State’s Director of Cabinet, had ordered him to clear containers between Tanzania and the DRC with U$1.1 million.
Mr Muhima was pounded by a lot of questions and apparently got confused. He followed a tactic of “non-response,” and declined to respond to a new trial revelation.
However, in a testimony at the prosecutor’s office in Matete, Muhima had admitted to receiving U$2 million to clear containers in Matadi, where he would be joined by Minister John Ntumba.
The Judge called to the docket the powerful Vital Kamerhe. He is highly combative, educational and, above all, a speaker but also adopts a strategy of “no response.”
In this case, Kamerhe was tasked with answering the question of: what are the provisions of the contract binding Jammal Samih’s Samibo Company and the Congolese State, on which President Félix Tshisekedi ‘s Cabinet Director relied to make the customs clearance disbursement money entrusted to Jeannot Muhima.
A cunning Kamerhe didn’t respond directly though. He resorted to hurling a tirade of comments and complaints about the absence of any record showing that he had personally embezzled money. This case is politically engineered for Kamerhe.
The judge appealed to Jammal Samih a Lebanese businessman accused of allowing this massive public-fund fraud. He was asked if he knows the stepdaughter of Soraya Mpiana to the powerful staff chief— Vital Kamerhe.
“I don’t know Soraya, only Daniel,” Jammal told court.
Vital Kamerhe is said to have confided a plot of land to his stepdaughter to get the contract under the 100-day program.
However, the Lebanese businessman admits that he gave “Daniel” a plot, alluding to Vital Kamerhe ‘s cousin Daniel Shangalume Nkingi. He states that “Daniel” is a friend of his family, with whom he has worked frequently. The donation, he explains, was to thank him for the undertaking that has nothing to do with the 100-day venture.
“I am a trader, I have a lot of land and Daniel has done me a favor, so I gave him land. But he was the one who said that I put the name Suraya but I don’t know Soraya! “, He explained.
Regarding the affinity that exists between Daniel Massaro and Vital Kamerhe, Jammal said “do not know the relationship that exists between them”.
“I did not know that Daniel Massaro was a nephew with Vital Kamerhe, I met him by chance at the Presidency and we took a photo. Is it for a photo that I am accused? Even with President Mobutu I have a photo! “He related.
But according to prosecution, “Daniel Massaro” is indeed the link between Kamerhe and Jammal. In addition, arrested on May 15th after nearly a month on the run, he was confronted on May 24th with the former curator of Ngaliema real estate titles around this aspect.
The latter was heard for his role in awarding a registration certificate for “empty land”. The title of donation indeed bears the name of Soraya Mpiana, but the signature is of Massaro in “P.O”, inform judicial sources.
In addition, by taking the floor to refute in particular the fact of having met Jammal Samih, disputing in addition the photos which were published on social networks, Vital Kamerhe points out that the gift that justice accuses him of having received the Lebanese date of January 24th, 24 hours before he came to power.
Another Twist In courtroom as Kamerhe is Pinned down
In the courtroom is a former cabinet minister Justin Bitakwira Bihona-Hayi. At 3P.m, he throws a spanner in the works. He says President Felix Tshisekedi had a 100-day plan after assuming office- to build 900 housing units in 9 provinces.
Justin Bitakwira Bihona-Hayi denied the existence of a contract or endorsement for the payment of $ 57 million to Jammal Samih’s company.
“There is no contract or endorsement,” he said, noting that a contract was signed in 2018 before being questioned. There was then a draft amendment, but this was never validated by the Directorate General of Public Procurement Control.
“The bill for the contract for 900 houses for 9 provinces was supposed to be paid in three instalments. The state had first said that the public treasury had no money. That’s how it happened. This contract did not get started. The story of U$57 million is something else. That makes two different contracts,” he said.
The former minister also revealed that he was “discharged” from the file since “March 3rd, 2019″, on instruction of Vital Kamerhe.
“The management of this project was removed from me to be entrusted to the Minister of Town Planning and Housing. I have not had any more dealing with this file. I don’t know what happened to the project, “he said.
“I learned that the payment of U$57 million was paid only in July when two ANR Intelligence agents came to ask me the question. But at that time, I was no longer in charge of the project, in accordance with Vital Kamerhe’s request, “he said.
However, Vital Kamerhe said the opposite that a contract and an amendment were signed by Justin Bitakwira. The plaintiff and the public prosecutor claimed that there was no contract around this market which led to the payment U$ 57 million.
Furthermore, contrary to Kamerhe’s assertions during the first two days of the trial, the former minister said that he was never associated with the management committee.
“I have never been invited to the presidency on the endorsement regarding prefabricated houses. I never mandated anyone, nor the SG of the ministry even a call, nor SMS “. This version was confirmed by another witness that succeeded Bitakwira, the former Secretary General of the Ministry of Rural Development.
Another witness Michel Ngongo -The Director General of the Directorate General of Public Procurement Control (DGCMP) also pinned Kamerhe in this gross fraud. Ngongo announced that he had received death threats if he did not testify for “the one or the other” accused.
Ngongo denied granting a notice of no objection to his services to the market which led to the payment of U$57 million to the SAMIBO Company; which calls into question the existence of a contract between the Congolese state and the company of Jammal Samih, as Kamerhe claimed.
To make matters worse, Ngongo revealed that Kamerhe had not received authorisation from his organisation to award a second contract to the Lebanese businessman Jammal Samih . According to Ngongo, the DGCMP received a letter from Kamerhe requesting a no-objection notice for a market for prefabricated houses, this time to be entrusted to Husmal SARL, but still belonging to businessman Jammal Samih.
However, this request was never accompanied by a contract; which prompted the regulator to refuse this request.
In addition to the U$57 million fraud through the SAMIBO Company, Kamerhe is also accused of having embezzled more than U$2 million intended for the Husmal Sarl Company for construction of 3000 prefabricated houses for the benefit of the police and military. The plaintiff and the public prosecutor also argued that this second market had no legal basis.
