Congolese militia leader gets death penalty for war crimesA former Congolese militia militia (məlĭsh`ə), military organization composed of citizens enrolled and trained for service in times of national emergency. Its ranks may be filled either by enlistment or conscription. leader was sentenced to death by a military court in southeastern Democratic Republic of Congo for war crimes and other offences, a judicial source said Friday. Kyungu Mutanga, alias "Commander Gedeon", headed a so-called Mai-Mai militia group blamed for numerous attacks on civilians in parts of Katanga province For other uses, see Katanga (disambiguation). Katanga is the southern province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, due under the new constitution to be replaced by four smaller provinces by February 2009. between 2003 and 2006, when the country was wracked by civil war. He surrendered to United Nations peacekeepers in May 2006 at Mitwaba and was transferred to Lubumbashi, the capital of Katanga, pending trial. The court at Kipushi, 30 kilometres (20 miles) southeast of Lubumbashi, handed down the death penalty for war crimes, crimes against humanity, insurrection A rising or rebellion of citizens against their government, usually manifested by acts of violence. Under federal law, it is a crime to incite, assist, or engage in such conduct against the United States. INSURRECTION. and terrorism, the source said. His wife was sentenced to seven years in prison and another defendant to ten years, but five others were acquitted for lack of proof. However the court also ordered the Congolese state to pay 17 million dollars (13 million euros) to 75 families of Mutanga's victims because of its alleged support for his group up to 2003. Lawyers for both Mutanga and the state appealed against the judgements, which came after 64 sessions of the court since the trial began in August 2007. Mai-Mai militia were armed and equipped by Laurent-Desire Kabila, father of current Congolese president, Joseph Kabila Joseph Kabila Kabange (born June 4, 1971), known commonly as Joseph Kabila, became president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ten days after the murder of his father, in January 2001. , in his rebellion against dictator dictator, originally a Roman magistrate appointed to rule the state in times of emergency; in modern usage, an absolutist or autocratic ruler who assumes extraconstitutional powers. From 501 B.C. until the abolition of the office in 44 B.C., Rome had 88 dictators. Mobutu Sese Seko Mobutu Sese Seko (mōb  `tō sā`sā sā`kō), 1930–97, president of Zaïre (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo). , who was toppled in 1997.
They were also used against rebel troops backed by Rwanda in the 1998-2003 war. However at the end of the war some militia leaders refused to hand back their arms, saying they had not been properly compensated for their support for the government. The Congolese military has always denied having any links with Mutanga's group or with the Mai-Mai still active in the western Kivu region. 
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