The Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) parliament has voted to lift former President Joseph Kabila’s immunity over his alleged support of the M23 rebels in the east of the country.
Kabila, who ruled the African nation between 2001 and 2019, has denied the allegations.
In a secret ballot late on Thursday, politicians decided by 88 votes to five to rescind the lifetime immunity Kabila enjoyed as an honorary senator.
The move leaves the former president open to prosecution, something that the DRC’s military attorney general had sought.
Kabila is accused of “treason, war crimes, crimes against humanity and participation in an insurrectional movement” in the country’s east, Justice Minister Constant Mutamba said.
Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi alleged last year that Kabila was helping the rebels to prepare an insurrection.
Last month, the country’s authorities acted against Kabila by moving to suspend his People’s Party for Reconstruction and Democracy (PPRD) and to seize the assets of its leaders.
The PPRD has called the targeting of Kabila “pure theatre,” claiming the government intends to use his prosecution to distract the public from the real challenges the country faces.
Kabila, who has lived for the past two years in South Africa, announced he would be stepping down after mass protests in the DRC in 2018.
The former president, who became the DRC’s leader at just 29 following the assassination of his father, has expressed a desire to end the conflict in the east, where around 100 armed groups are vying for control of mineral resources.
The M23 rebels, who are said to be supported by 4,000 troops from Rwanda, gained territory in the region in January, capturing the key city of Goma.
They later also took the area’s second largest city, Bukavu.
Both the Congolese army and the rebels have been accused of crimes in the war-torn east.
Despite agreeing earlier this month to work towards a truce, the DRC’s army and the M23 rebels continue to fight in the eastern South-Kivu province.
