The case opposing Moïse Katumbi to his brother Katebe has taken a new turn. The defense team of the leader of the Ensemble party has denounced a series of irregularities in the procedure of the Court of Cassation. In a letter dated October 28, the lawyer of Katumbi, Me Mazaba wa Bobaka Seignior, exposed the grievances of his client and requested that the alleged dysfunctions be examined. The Court of Cassation had taken the cases RP 25/CR and RP 26/CR under advisement following an audience on October 26.
The defense team reproaches the Court for declaring the case ready to be heard and pleaded without examining the regularity of the citation exploits in the file. The lawyers were also denied the right to speak, while several fundamental questions remain pending. The Court put the case under advisement without ensuring that the accused had been regularly summoned to appear. According to Me Mazaba, this hasty decision infringes on articles 57, 58, and 59 of the Code of Penal Procedure.
The defense team has identified several anomalies in the citation exploits. In one of the exploits, the greffier, M. Ngoie Mwangu, presented himself as a greffier near the Court of Cassation, while in the other, he stated that he was exercising near the Court of Appeal of Haut-Katanga. The defense considers this double quality as a manifest violation of article 57, paragraph 2, of the Code of Penal Procedure. Another grievance is the absence of identification of the person to whom the greffier spoke during the attempt of signification.
The defense team also contests the way the Court handled the issue of the defendant's domicile. The exploits mention that a man, who refused to declare his identity, stated that the interested party no longer resided in the building where the greffier had presented himself. However, the defense argues that Katumbi had officially signaled his change of address since July 2, 2025, and that this information was already in the file.
The defense team questions the competence of the Court of Cassation in this case. According to Me Mazaba, Moïse Katumbi does not fall under the jurisdiction of the Court of Cassation. The lawyer argues that even if one invokes his former quality as governor of Katanga, the argument would not resist the reading of article 82 of the organic law n° 13/010 of February 19, 2013, relative to the procedure before the Court of Cassation.
The defense team also reproaches the prosecutor for not having heard Katumbi before the case was sent to fixation. The team considers this situation particularly prejudicial to an opponent currently in exile, whose absence from the national territory has been brought to the attention of the judicial authorities. Me Mazaba announces a distinct request for the reopening of the debates.
The defense team fears that a decision rendered by a jurisdiction it considers incompetent would deprive Moïse Katumbi of the possibility of benefiting from the double degree of jurisdiction guaranteed by the Constitution. The team claims to have evidence that could change the course of the case.
Key points
- The defense team of Moïse Katumbi denounces irregularities in the procedure of the Court of Cassation.
- The Court of Cassation had taken the cases under advisement following an audience on October 26.
- The defense team questions the competence of the Court of Cassation in this case.
