Vital Kamerhe, a veteran politician and key ally of Democratic Republic of Congo President Felix Tshisekedi, went on trial on corruption allegations on Monday.
Kamerhe was arraigned in a court set up within the compound of Kinshasa’s central prison, known as Makala, in what has been termed a case without precedent in the country.
The high profile case was transferred to Makala despite initially being scheduled to be held at Kinshasa’s high court. Parties to the case who were present wore face masks as part of safety measures against contracting the coronavirus.
Kamerhe, who was wearing an orange jumpsuit, has been in detention in the facility since April 8.
Also present during the first hearing were Samih Jammal, a Lebanese businessman based in Kinshasa, and another presidential official. The hearing was broadcast by the state channel RTNC.
Jammal appeared to be fainting in his wheelchair as he confirmed his identity causing the court session to be temporarily suspended.
Kamerhe and Jammal are accused of embezzling $48.8 million from funds for building 1,500 pre-fabricated homes for poor people under a programme launched by Tshisekedi after he took office in January 2019.
They also allegedly siphoned off $2.13 million from a programme to build housing for police and the military in Kinshasa.
Kamerhe is separately accused of embezzling public funds along with a civil servant in charge of the import-export service in the president’s office.
Kamerhe has denied the allegations against him arguing that all public-sector contracts were “inherited” from previous governments.
Lawyers for Kamerhe revealed that they had filed an application for temporary release, after another request was dismissed in April.
The case against Kamerhe is viewed as a step-up in the fight against corruption in the DR Congo but some see it as a means of settling political scores. His supporters claim it is a ploy to remove him from the 2023 presidential election.
