Ex-DRC Prime Minister Matata Ponyo Sentenced to 10 Years for Embezzlement

Summary:

• Augustin Matata Ponyo, former DRC Prime Minister, sentenced on May 20, 2025, to 10 years of forced labor for embezzling $245 million.
• The conviction is tied to the failed Bukanga-Lonzo agricultural project, once touted to boost food security and employment.
• Two co-defendants, including a former central bank governor and a South African businessman, also received prison terms.
• Matata’s legal team claims the verdict is politically motivated amid ongoing anti-corruption efforts under President Tshisekedi.

KINSHASA – Former Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Augustin Matata Ponyo, has been sentenced to 10 years of forced labor by the country’s Constitutional Court for his role in the embezzlement of approximately $245 million in public funds.

The ruling, delivered on May 20, 2025, marks a historic conviction in one of the DRC’s most high-profile corruption cases to date.

Matata, who held office from 2012 to 2016 under President Joseph Kabila and was once lauded by international financial institutions for stabilizing the DRC’s economy, was found guilty alongside two others: Deogratias Mutombo, former governor of the Central Bank, and Christo Grobler, a South African businessman. The duo were each handed five-year sentences of forced labor.

At the heart of the case is the Bukanga-Lonzo Agro-Industrial Park, a $285 million project that was intended to transform agriculture in the DRC. Backed by the African Development Bank, the initiative promised to generate 22,000 jobs and feed up to 28 million people.

However, it collapsed amid allegations of corruption and gross mismanagement. The prosecution maintained that Matata and his co-defendants siphoned off hundreds of millions, contributing to the project’s failure and worsening food insecurity.

In addition to his prison term, Matata has been barred from holding any public office for five years following the completion of his sentence. He currently leads the Leadership and Governance for Development (LGD) party and had previously been considered a technocrat with strong economic credentials.

Matata’s legal team has denounced the ruling as unjust and politically driven. Speaking to Reuters, his lawyer described the conviction as retaliation for Matata’s refusal to align with President Felix Tshisekedi’s ruling coalition.

Several commentators on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) echoed these concerns, highlighting what they see as a pattern of political targeting against former officials from the Kabila administration.

This case underscores President Tshisekedi’s broader anti-corruption campaign, which has intensified since he assumed office. It comes amid moves by Congolese authorities to lift the immunity of former President Kabila over alleged connections to rebel groups, indicating a widening probe into past administrations.

As of now, Matata is serving his sentence, although details regarding his detention conditions have not been disclosed. The case continues to stir political debate in the DRC, with many viewing it as a critical test of the nation’s judicial independence and commitment to transparency.