This Friday begins the trial of François Beya, ex-“Monsieur security” of Félix Tshisekedi, the Congolese president. The man is accused of conspiracy against the head of state.
Four months after being arrested, François Beya will appear before the Congolese High Military Court this Friday, June 3. At first shrouded in a certain mystery, the affair which involves the former security adviser to President Félix Tshisekedi is becoming clearer. “This is a matter of state security, a matter of this kind is the exclusive competence of the national intelligence agency ANR. It is not in the habits of this service to communicate on these activities, however, in the current state of things, we can say that the investigators have serious indications attesting to actions against national security, "declared, for some time after Beya's arrest, Kasongo Mwema, spokesperson for the Congolese head of state.
It is indeed of “conspiracy against the life or the person of the Head of State” that François Beya is accused. According to the Congolese press, army and police officers have been summoned to appear, all accused of complicity. Arrested on February 5, François Beya had been detained in the premises of the ANR before being transferred on April 4 to the central prison of Makala.
Among the reproaches made to François Beya, that of having created a "sub-police station" not far from his Mitendi farm, but also of being at the origin of a training center which aimed to train a commando. It is a real headache for President Félix Tshisekedi: many voices have been raised to denounce Beya's conditions of detention.
The light shed on the assassination of Kabila?
For Congo specialists, this case is above all a "palace war". However, the case must also highlight another part of the history of the DRC: the assassination of Laurent-Désiré Kabila. According to ANR investigators, Beya did not cooperate during the trial on the death of the former Congolese president. In 2003, around thirty people were sentenced, including the former chief of staff of the intelligence boss Georges Leta and Kabila's special security adviser, Constantin Nono Lutula.
According to the document from the High Military Court, consulted by several media, the co-defendants are targeted for facts spanning “from the year 2020 to February 4, 2022”. All are charged with conspiracy. Like François Beya, several senior Congolese figures – Brigadier Tonton Twadi Sekele, Beya's private secretary, Guy Vanda, or even Colonel David Cikapa – will have to answer the accusations.
This June 3, a whole country will follow a highly publicized affair, the contours of which remain unclear. The trial, which starts tomorrow, should provide answers to Beya's involvement in this alleged plot against Felix Tshisekedi.