A military court in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has sentenced 66 soldiers to death for cowardice in the face of the enemy, military mutiny, refusal to obey orders and wasting war munitions. The Goma Garrison Military Court delivered the verdict late on Friday 6 November 2026 in Walikale town, North Kivu, after a 12-day trial held under the fast-track flagrance procedure. One sergeant received 10 years in prison and four soldiers were acquitted, according to the army’s 34th Military Region, whose statement was relayed by the state news agency ACP and by Radio Okapi.
What the court decided
All the accused belonged to the FARDC’s 3415th Regiment. They were arrested on 20 October 2026 at Ngora village over events at Ntoto, in the Wanianga sector of Walikale territory, Major Dieudonné Kasereka, communications officer for the 34th Military Region, told Radio Okapi.
- Defendants: 71. The army statement said 54 were arrested at first, with others from the same regiment added later.
- Prosecution request: death for 70 defendants and 10 years for a military intelligence officer.
- Verdict: 66 death sentences, one 10-year sentence for a sergeant granted “substantial mitigating circumstances”, and four acquittals, including the captain who was the regiment’s head of intelligence.
- Charges: cowardice, military revolt (mutiny), refusal to obey orders and wasting war munitions.
The trial was held in Walikale because Goma, where the court is normally based, has been controlled by M23 since early 2025.
Two accounts of what happened at Ntoto
Reports differ on the incident behind the charges. DW and CBS News, citing Congolese and BBC reporting, say the soldiers were accused of abandoning their positions and fleeing clashes with fighters of the Front for the Refoundation of the Nation (FRN), the rebel coalition that includes M23.
SOS Médias Burundi gave a more specific account. It said the case began with a confrontation between soldiers and military police who were trying to stop troops from leaving their positions without authorisation. According to the outlet, the confrontation turned into an exchange of fire that killed a soldier and a civilian and wounded two others. Defence Mena has not seen the court’s written judgment, and the army statements published so far do not describe the incident in detail.
Discipline as the army’s stated aim
Military authorities said the trial was meant to restore discipline and respect for the chain of command while operations against armed groups continue in eastern Congo. Major Kasereka was quoted by DW as saying the charges were necessary to reinforce discipline in North and South Kivu.
The Walikale verdict follows a similar case in Uvira, South Kivu, where 27 soldiers were sentenced to death in early October for abandoning positions in the Malimba and Masango areas of Bijombo grouping, Radio Okapi and SOS Médias Burundi reported. A count by Radio France Internationale (RFI), published on 9 November and cited by SOS Médias Burundi, says at least 507 Congolese soldiers have been convicted by military courts since the start of 2025, 381 of them sentenced to death. For 2026 alone RFI counts 237 convictions, 114 of them death sentences.
Congo lifted its moratorium on carrying out the death penalty in March 2024, citing treason within the armed forces. A death sentence does not mean an execution has taken place. Amnesty International, which said at the time that Congolese trials rarely meet fair-trial standards, recorded no executions in the country in 2025, according to SOS Médias Burundi.
The front the FARDC is facing
The FRN was launched in Goma on 12 October 2026 with former president Joseph Kabila as its leader. It succeeds the Congo River Alliance (AFC), which formed the AFC-M23 coalition with M23. Corneille Nangaa and Bertrand Bisimwa are vice-presidents, and General Sultani Makenga keeps command of the armed wing, SOS Médias Burundi reported. Our earlier report covers what the FRN announcement confirms.
Walikale is strategically important. It sits on the road west from Goma towards Kisangani and near tin mining areas, and M23 fighters briefly entered Walikale town in March 2025. The FARDC has fought alongside allied Wazalendo militias and, until 2025, with the Southern African SADC mission (see what SAMIDRC’s combat record showed). It has also invested in air power, including Chinese CH-4 attack drones. Repeated mass trials for desertion point to a problem those purchases have not fixed: units that break under pressure. Soldiers have long complained about poor pay and equipment, the BBC has reported, as cited by CBS News.
The United States has sanctioned Rwanda’s defence ministry over its support for M23 (our report). Rwanda denies backing the group.
What is confirmed and what is not
- Confirmed by the army statement: 66 death sentences, one 10-year term and four acquittals; 3415th Regiment; arrests on 20 October; verdict on 6 November in Walikale.
- Disputed or unclear: whether the soldiers fled combat with FRN fighters or clashed with military police while leaving their posts. Accounts differ.
- Not known: whether the defendants will appeal. The verdict was given at first instance.
Sources
- 34th Military Region (FARDC) statement, relayed by Agence Congolaise de Presse (ACP), “North Kivu: 66 Congolese army soldiers sentenced to death for cowardice,” 8 November 2026.
- Radio Okapi, “Tribunal militaire de garnison de Goma : 66 militaires condamnés à mort,” 8 November 2026 (Maj. Dieudonné Kasereka).
- SOS Médias Burundi, “RDC : la justice militaire condamne 66 soldats à mort…,” 10 November 2026 (incident account; RFI count).
- DW, “DR Congo: 66 soldiers sentenced to death for ‘cowardice’,” 10 November 2026.
- CBS News, “Congo sentences 66 soldiers to death for cowardice and mutiny…,” 10 November 2026 (citing Radio Okapi and BBC).
- The Telegraph, “Congolese soldiers sentenced to death for being ‘cowards’,” 10 November 2026.
- Congo Quotidien, “Walikale, 66 militaires des FARDC condamnés à mort,” 10 November 2026.
- Clash Report on X, post of 10 November 2026.