Congo's President Felix Tshisekedi changed the punishment for three Americans from death to life in prison, a presidential spokesperson said yesterday. The Americans had been found guilty of joining a failed plot to take over the government last year. This decision came more than six months after a military court gave death sentences to these three people plus more than 30 others for their part in the failed attack.
Congo wants to make a deal with the US for minerals in exchange for help fighting rebels in the eastern part of the country. The failed attack last year killed six people. The person who led it, Christian Malanga, died when police tried to arrest him. He had shown the attack live on social media before he died.
One of the Americans who faced death was Christian Malanga's son Marcel, who is 21 years old. The second American was Tyler Thompson Jr., also 21, a high school friend who flew from Utah thinking he was going on a free trip. The third was Benjamin Reuben Zalman-Polun, 36, who knew Christian Malanga through a gold mining business.
Marcel told the court his father made him and Thompson join the attack. He said his dad threatened to kill them if they did not do what he said. Most people on trial were from Congo, but others came from Britain, Belgium, and Canada. They faced charges like trying to take over the government and terrorism. The court found 14 people not guilty.
The US Department of State said Tuesday that President Donald Trump's new advisor for Africa, Massad Boulos, plans to visit Congo starting April 3. He will also go to Rwanda, Kenya, and Uganda. His trip aims to help bring peace to eastern Congo and increase US business investment in these places.
Congo wants to make a deal with the US for minerals in exchange for help fighting rebels in the eastern part of the country. The failed attack last year killed six people. The person who led it, Christian Malanga, died when police tried to arrest him. He had shown the attack live on social media before he died.
One of the Americans who faced death was Christian Malanga's son Marcel, who is 21 years old. The second American was Tyler Thompson Jr., also 21, a high school friend who flew from Utah thinking he was going on a free trip. The third was Benjamin Reuben Zalman-Polun, 36, who knew Christian Malanga through a gold mining business.
Marcel told the court his father made him and Thompson join the attack. He said his dad threatened to kill them if they did not do what he said. Most people on trial were from Congo, but others came from Britain, Belgium, and Canada. They faced charges like trying to take over the government and terrorism. The court found 14 people not guilty.
The US Department of State said Tuesday that President Donald Trump's new advisor for Africa, Massad Boulos, plans to visit Congo starting April 3. He will also go to Rwanda, Kenya, and Uganda. His trip aims to help bring peace to eastern Congo and increase US business investment in these places.
