Legal authorities aim for capital punishment for three Americans involved in suspected coup effort in Congo

In Kinshasa, Congo, prosecutors have called for 50 individuals, including three Americans, to potentially face the death penalty over an alleged coup attempt earlier this year. The Congolese army claims the plot was orchestrated by the little-known opposition figure Christian Malanga, resulting in six fatalities during the botched operation in May, which targeted the presidential palace and a close ally of President Felix Tshisekedi.

Military prosecutor Lieutenant Colonel Innocent Radjabu has urged judges to consider the death penalty for most defendants on trial, with an exception for one individual due to reported psychological issues. The charges against the defendants, whose trial commenced in June, include serious offenses like terrorism, murder, and criminal association. Christian Malanga was fatally shot by the Congolese army when he resisted arrest after live-streaming the attack on social media.

One of the accused is Marcel Malanga, a 21-year-old American citizen and the son of Christian Malanga. Marcel’s mother, Brittney Sawyer, has insisted her son is innocent and had merely followed his father, who claimed to be the president of a shadow government in exile. Another American facing trial is Tyler Thompson Jr., who reportedly traveled from Utah with Marcel, believing it was for a vacation funded by the elder Malanga. Thompson’s family asserts he was unaware of the true intentions and had no plans for political activities, intending only to visit South Africa and Eswatini.

The third American on trial is Benjamin Reuben Zalman-Polun, aged 36, who allegedly had connections with Christian Malanga through a gold mining company established in Mozambique in 2022. In an effort to combat violence and militant activity in the country, Congo recently lifted a moratorium of over two decades on the death penalty earlier this year.