On Friday, a military tribunal in Congo sentenced 37 individuals to death, including three Americans, after finding them guilty of participating in a coup attempt.
The accused, also comprising a Briton, Belgian, Canadian, and several Congolese nationals, have the option to appeal the ruling. The charges against them included terrorism, murder, and criminal conspiracy. The trial, which began in June, saw 14 people acquitted.
The failed coup, led in May by Christian Malanga, an opposition figure with limited recognition, aimed at the presidential palace and a close associate of President Felix Tshisekedi. The Congolese army reported that Malanga was shot dead while resisting arrest shortly after he broadcasted the attack live on social media.
Prosecutors push for the death penalty against 50 individuals tied to the Congo coup plot Among those convicted was Malanga’s 21-year-old son, Marcel Malanga, a US citizen, along with two other Americans. His mother, Brittney Sawyer, asserts that her son is innocent, claiming he “was simply following his father,” who believed himself to be the president of a shadow government in exile.
The other convicted Americans include Tyler Thompson Jr., who traveled to Africa from Utah with the younger Malanga. His family believed the trip was for a vacation. The third, Benjamin Reuben Zalman-Polun, 36, reportedly had ties to Christian Malanga through a gold mining venture.
This company, founded in Mozambique in 2022, was listed in an official government journal in Mozambique and cited in a report by the Africa Intelligence newsletter.
Thompson’s relatives assert that he was unaware of Christian Malanga’s plans, had no intention of engaging in political activities, and didn’t even plan to visit Congo. According to his stepmother, the original itinerary only included stops in South Africa and Eswatini.
The sentencing was delivered during an open-air military court session and was broadcast live on national television.
Last month, military prosecutor Lt. Col. Innocent Radjabu urged the court to hand down death sentences for all the accused, except one individual who reportedly has “psychological problems.”
Congo reintroduced the death penalty earlier this year, ending a moratorium that had been in place for over two decades, as the government grapples with increasing violence and militant attacks.