“100 days program” in the DRC: the trial of Vital Kamerhe announced for May 11

Vital Kamerhe, chief of staff to the President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Félix Tshisekedi. RFI / Sonia Rolley

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In the DRC, the accusations against Vital Kamerhe are clarifying. Since April 9, President Félix Tshisekedi's chief of staff has been detained in Makala prison. His trial is scheduled to start on May 11 on the “prefabricated house affair”. His lawyers have received a subpoena.

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According to this document, there will be three co-defendants in this trial . There are of course Vital Kamerhe, the director of the president's cabinet, but also Samih Jammal, the general manager of the companies Samibo Congo Sarl and Husmal Sarl. It is the latter company which represents the Turkish manufacturer Karmod in the DRC. It was to deliver these 4,500 houses for social housing in five provinces. Three thousand were to be used to improve the housing conditions of the police and the military in the capital.

Samih Jammal is accused, with the chief of staff of the president , of having embezzled more than 50 million out of some 60 million dollars disbursed between March and August 2019 on these two projects of the "100 days program". The third co-accused, Jeannot Muhima, is responsible for import-export to the presidency.

In addition to the embezzlement of the 50 million intended for this program, the justice system accuses Vital Kamerhe of having indirectly benefited through his daughter-in-law, Soroya Mpiana, from an important concession on a plot belonging to Samih Jammal.

Thomas Luhaka summoned

For counsel for the chief of staff, there is no evidence underlying these accusations. Vital Kamerhe has never disbursed a penny from the treasury itself, they say. They claim that the chief of staff has never even heard of this plot.

Note that on another aspect of the case, that of the rehabilitation of roads in North and South Kivu by Sococ, the former Minister of Infrastructure, Thomas Luhaka, was summoned on Wednesday by the prosecution.

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  • Ground floor
  • Justice
  • Félix Tshisekedi

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