Murder probe opened into death of DR Congo graft trial judge

A murder investigation is under way into the death last month of a judge in the Democratic Republic of Congo who presided over the embezzlement trial of a top presidential aide, the justice minister said Tuesday.
Celestin Tunda Ya Kasende said the high-profile judge, Raphael Yanyi Ovungu, had died in the early hours of May 27 of a haemorrhage caused by head trauma, contradicting a police assertion that the cause of death was cardiac arrest.
The death came two days after Yanyi presided over the second hearing in the trial of presidential chief of staff Vital Kamerhe and two co-defendants accused of embezzling more than $50 million (46 million euros) in state funds from a project to build social housing.

Kamerhe is a key political ally of President Felix Tshisekedi.
The judge died from a haemorrhage resulting from head "trauma" and "blows" received "on a very sensitive part of the skull," minister Ya Kasende said, denouncing in the government's name "an ignominious act."
The minister cited the conclusions of an autopsy he said was carried out by a Congolese forensic specialist and one of his colleagues at the UN mission in the DRC, Monusco.

The government "calls on the population to stay calm," he added in the statement.
The verdict in the trial is due to be handed down on Saturday.
Prosecutors recommended on June 11 that Kamerhe and his main co-defendant, a Lebanese entrepreneur, be sentenced to 20 years in prison.
The defendants are accused of embezzling public funds for a project to build 1,500 pre-fabricated homes for poor people, under a "100-day" action plan launched by Tshisekedi after he took office.

'Unexpected death'
Kamerhe claims that he never entered a private contract with one of his co-accused, Lebanese contractor Jammal Samih.
He said he inherited a contract signed by the former Minister of Rural Development, Justin Bitakwira.
Bitakwira, meanwhile, denied having signed an amendment to a 2018 contract to bring the total cost of the project to $57 million.
The justice minister added that the executive "shows its support for the entire body of judges."

The autopsy also revealed the existence of "toxic substances in non-lethal doses" in the dead judge's body, the minister's statement said.

These substances "are not the direct cause of death," the minister told journalists. "The main cause of death are the blows that he received and especially on a very sensitive part of the skull," he added.
Rumours that he was poisoned circulated in Kinshasa when the the judge's death was announced.
About 50 years old, the judge appeared in good health during the first two sessions of the trial that has been broadcast live and captivated the Congolese.
After his death, the trial resumed with a new presiding judge in the courtyard of the cental prison in Kinshasa, where Kamerhe has been held since April 8.
Kamerhe has presented his condolences to the judge's family.

His UNC party has urged the authorities to shed light on "the judge's unexpected death", and denounced "tendentious criticism" against Kamerhe and his lawyers.
The trial has no precedent in the Democratic Republic of Congo's recent history.
It takes place in the context of a broader campaign for the "renewal" of the justice system to help root out entrenched corruption.
The biggest country in sub-Saharan Africa, DR Congo has an abundance of natural resources, but two-thirds of its 80 million people live in poverty.
The country struggles with a long history of conflict, poor governance and graft.