Kinshasa – The Democratic Republic of Congo’s justice minister Constant Mutamba, who faces investigation for allegedly embezzling public funds, resigned in a letter published Wednesday.
Mutamba, who as minister called for corrupt officials to be punished with the death penalty, stepped down after prosecutors asked parliament Monday to authorise a probe into allegations he misappropriated funds for a $40-million prison in the northeastern city of Kisangani.
The official, who is also a member of parliament, denied the allegations, calling them a “stab in the back” in his resignation letter to President Felix Tshisekedi and the government.
Mutamba, who was named to the post in May 2024, accused neighbouring Rwanda of seeking to smear him.
#RDC‼️ démission du Ministre de la Justice @ConstantMutamba 👇👇👇👇
Il a dit avoir quitté sa fonction pour faire face au complot politique du Rwanda contre lui. pic.twitter.com/LUloow8ygM
— Doux-Jésus BELEDU (@DBeledu) June 18, 2025
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The ex-minister is a fierce critic of the Rwandan government, which UN experts say effectively controls the M23 armed group, which has for years waged a bloody conflict in eastern DRC.
“I am submitting my resignation, not without regret, to confront this political plot,” Mutamba wrote, accusing the M23 of seeking to “physically eliminate” him.
On Monday, authorities barred Mutamba from leaving the capital, Kinshasa, after the National Assembly last month authorised a judicial investigation against him.
Mutamba is accused of transferring $19.9 million to a construction company without proper authorisation.
The money came from a fund for war victims in eastern DRC.
“I did not take a single dollar in public funds,” he said in his resignation letter.
Graft cases involving public officials are frequent in the DRC, which ranks 163rd out of 180 countries on watchdog group Transparency International’s corruption perceptions index.
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Source: AFP
