DR Congo Establishes Two Top Courts, Finalizing Judicial Reforms

Kinshasa, June 13, 2018 — The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has moved to complete its long-delayed judicial reform by creating two new high courts: a Court of Cassation and a Council of State, according to an announcement on state television on Tuesday.

President Joseph Kabila signed a series of executive orders establishing the two institutions, a key step in implementing judicial changes first outlined in the 2006 constitution. That constitution had envisioned splitting the former Supreme Court into three distinct entities — the Constitutional Court, the Court of Cassation, and the Council of State — but progress had been slow.

The process began in 2013, when Kabila created the Constitutional Court. With the latest decrees, he has now appointed the officials responsible for setting up the remaining two bodies, as well as their respective prosecutors, the state broadcaster RTNC reported.

Justice Jérôme Kitoko, who previously headed the now-defunct Supreme Court, has been named president of the Court of Cassation, which serves as the country’s highest appeals court for civil, criminal, and commercial matters and handles cases involving political figures. Flory Kabange Numbi, the current attorney general, will become the court’s chief prosecutor.

At the Council of State, which acts as the top authority in administrative justice, Félix Vunduawe — a Constitutional Court judge and former chief of staff under longtime ruler Mobutu Sese Seko — has been appointed as its first president. Mushangalusha Ndoyodeza, a retired former attorney general, has been called out of retirement to serve as the Council’s chief prosecutor.

The move marks a major milestone in DRC’s judicial restructuring. However, the country — despite its vast mineral wealth — continues to grapple with chronic instability, poverty, and political tensions.