Seventeen people, including two senior military justice officials, were killed when a small aircraft crashed in Kenge, in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Kwango province.
The Let L-410 aircraft, operated by Tracep Congo Aviation, crashed on Friday while travelling from Kikwit to Kinshasa, according to Congolese authorities. The updated death toll includes 16 adults and a baby.
Among those killed were Lieutenant-General Joseph Mutombo Katalayi Tiende, president of the High Military Court, and Lieutenant-General Lucien-René Likulia Bakumi, the military auditor general. The two were among the country’s highest-ranking military justice officials.
Likulia was the military prosecutor who sought the death penalty against former President Joseph Kabila during his 2025 trial in absentia. Kabila was later sentenced to death by a military court for treason and other charges.
The aircraft crashed near Kenge, more than 200 kilometers east of the capital, Kinshasa. Initial reports said the plane had experienced difficulties before the crash, but authorities have not established the cause.
President Félix Tshisekedi has ordered an investigation into the accident.
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