Top officials among 17 killed in DR Congo air crash

An air crash in southwest Democratic Republic of Congo killed 17 people, including two of the country’s most senior military justice officials, the transport ministry said Saturday.

A small plane carrying a delegation of military justice officials crashed at around 1300 GMT Friday near Kenge, in Kwango province, more than 200 kilometres (125 miles) east of the capital Kinshasa.

Air transport plays an important role in the vast country, where the road network is often in poor condition. But air travel carries its own risk, as some airports and navigation equipment in the country is in a similarly poor condition.

A transport ministry statement said the plane involved was a Let 410 UVP light aircraft operated by Tracep Congo Aviation. The crash killed 13 passengers and four crew members, it added.

The two senior officers killed in the crash were named as Joseph Mutombo, head of the military high court and Lucien-Rene Likulia, the armed forces’ auditor general. Both men held the rank of lieutenant general.

It was Likulia, appointed by President Felix Tshisekedi, who prosecuted former president Joseph Kabila at the September 2025 trial — held in his absence — in which he was convicted and sentenced to death for treason and war crimes.