Two Congolese rappers were sentenced to jail criticizing the president and the country’s army in their songs.
The two musicians are said to have condemned the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo for failing to stop the bloodshed that has rocked the eastern party of the country.
32-year old Katembo Delphin alias Idengo and 33-year old Muyisa Nzanzu Makasi were handed 10 and two years in jail respectively.
Idengo was accused of insulting the army and calling upon people to arm themselves against the authority of the state. He was arrested in October.
When the trial opened in late November, Idengo said he stood by everything he said in his songs.
“At home, in the eastern city of Beni, people have been killed everyday since 2014, nothing has changed,” he said.
Makasi on the other hand was sentenced for dishonoring the president after his detention in summer.
Relatives of the accused persons were heartbroken following the sentences that was delivered by the military tribunal in the main prison of Goma, capital of the eastern North Kivu province.
The defense however announced that they would appeal the ruling.
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