Accused of tender fraud, 2 ministers and one ex banned from leaving Kinshasa

• Two current and one former minister is being restricted from leaving the DRC's capital because of their alleged involvement in tender fraud.
• The DRC has paid R1.3 billion for solar streetlights and boreholes that are not yet in place.
• The three ministers should not be allowed to leave Kinshasa, a public prosecutor told border officials.

Two senior Cabinet ministers and a former colleague have been banned from leaving the Democratic Republic of Congo's capital because of an allegedly inflated tender for streetlights and the drilling of boreholes, even before they appear in court.

They are Nicolas Kazadi, who heads the country's finance department, State and Rural Development Minister François Rubota, and Guy Mikulu Pombo, a former state and rural development minister.

In the letter, issued to all ports of exit, public prosecutor Firmin Mvonde Mambu said the three were a flight risk.

All three are "accused of having committed the offence of embezzlement of public funds", and border officials should stop them from leaving Kinshasha, said Mambu. 

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It is the State's case that Stever Construct, a company owned by Mike Etienne Kasenga, was granted the tender for the acquisition and installation of 2 594 solar streetlights and the drilling of a thousand boreholes countrywide in 2021.

Three years later, the job still needs to be completed, but most payments have been made.

In their defence, Kazadi said the projects started before he was finance minister during the time of Prime Minister Sylvestre Ilunga Ilunkamba.

He added the payments were then made through the finance ministry, which fell under his predecessor, José Sele Yalaghuli. 

About R1.5 billion was due to be paid in five instalments.