Eddy Kapend is a former military officer from the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

who served as former president

Laurent-Désiré Kabila Laurent-Désiré Kabila () (27 November 1939 – 18 January 2001) or simply Laurent Kabila ( US: ), was a Congolese revolutionary and politician who was the third President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1997 until his assassinati ...

's close military advisor, and as the second-in-command of the

Congolese army Congolese or Kongolese may refer to: African peoples * Congolese people (disambiguation) * Kongo people, a Bantu ethnic group who live along the Atlantic coast of Africa from Pointe-Noire (Republic of Congo) to Luanda, Angola, primarily defined by ...

. In 2001, Kabila was

assassinated Assassination is the murder of a prominent or important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not have a ...

by Rachidi Kasereka in his office, and Kapend killed Rachidi minutes later. In a trial widely criticized by international human rights organizations, Kapend and 80 others were convicted of participation in Kabila's killing, and were sentenced to death.Reyntjens, p.91Turner 2013a, pp. 46-74Turner 2013b A 2011 investigative film, ''

Murder in Kinshasa ''Murder in Kinshasa'' is a 2011 ''Al Jazeera'' investigative film suggesting that Congolese president Laurent-Désiré Kabila was assassinated in 2001 through the efforts of the Rwandan government, with the backing of the United States.Reyntjens, ...

'', reviewed evidence that Kapend was not involved in Kabila's killing.Zajtman and RabaudZajtman, ''Al Jazeera'' After Kabila was killed, Justice Minister Mwenze Kongolo and Kapend reported that Kabila had named his son

Joseph Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...

as successor should Kabila die in office. In 2021, President

Félix Tshisekedi Félix Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo (; born 13 June 1963) is a Congolese politician who has been the President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo since 24 January 2019. He is the leader of the Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS) ...

released Kapend from prison on humanitarian grounds.BBC, 8 January 2021

References

Citations

References cited

* BBC, 8 January 2021, Laurent Kabila: DR Congo frees soldiers linked to assassination

* Michael Newton, 2014, Famous Assassinations in World History: An Encyclopedia. ABC CLIO, . * Filip Reyntjens, 2013, Political Governance in Post-Genocide Rwanda. Cambridge University Press, . * Thomas Turner, 2013a, Congo. Wiley, . * Thomas Turner, 2013b, Will Rwanda End its Meddling in Congo? Current History, Volume 112, Issue 754, pp. 188–194. * Arnaud Zajtman, 28 October 2011, "Murder in Kinshasa." ''Al Jazeera''

* Arnaud Zajtman and Marlène Rabaud, 9 June 2011, "Murder in Kinshasa." ''Al Jazeera''

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kapend, Eddy People of the Congo Crisis Democratic Republic of the Congo rebels Living people Year of birth missing (living people)