Our team took the Anthem Award’s gold medal in the diversity, equity and inclusion category announced earlier this week. The documentary follows the intricate proceedings that saw the DR Congo’s military court system prosecute Sheka in a landmark case followed around the world.
Trial of Ntabo Ntaberi Sheka.
The verdict: Congolese justice ‘did it’
On 23 November 2020, the Operational Military Court sentenced Mr. Sheka to life in prison.
“This marks an important step forward in combating impunity for perpetrators of child recruitment and other grave violations,” the UN Secretary-General wrote about the case in his 2022 report on children and armed conflict in the DRC.
Yet, in 2022, the country had the world’s highest number of cases of conflict-related sexual violence, his Special Representative on the topic told the UN Security Council last year, presenting the latest related report.
“We must act urgently, and with sustained resolve, to save succeeding generations from this scourge,” said Pramila Patten, adding that “so many” women she met during a visit last year to the DRC “stressed the daily risk of sexual violence while carrying out livelihood activities”.
She had welcomed Mr. Sheka’s conviction, calling it “a formidable example showing that no individual, no matter how powerful, is immune from being held accountable for those violations”.
Indeed, the trial sent “a great message”, said Ms. Sayiba, adding that the verdict was “an assurance to the victims who could now see that their testimonies were not in vain”.
For Colonel Ndaka, the verdict was “a source of pride for myself, for my country, for Congolese justice”.
Today, the UN continues to support efforts to end impunity in the DRC, including with help from the UN Team of Experts on the rule of law and sexual violence in conflict, and in Central African Republic, Mali, South Sudan and other nations. In North Kivu, the Public Prosecutor’s Office expanded in June, with UN support, into the Peace Court of Goma.
Mr. Sheka, now 48, continues his life sentence in a facility in the capital, Kinshasa.
“The fact that Sheka was tried and sentenced is proof that the rule of law exists and that you cannot remain unpunished when you have committed the gravest, most abominable crimes,” Colonel Ndaka said. “Congolese justice could do it, with will, determination and means. It was able to do it, and it did it.”