The move, announced on Tuesday by the presidency's spokesperson Tina Salama, spares the lives of Marcel Malanga, a Utah-born U.S. citizen, and two other Americans who had faced execution following their conviction by a Kinshasa military court in September 2024.
According to Salama, the death sentences have been commuted to life imprisonment, following an executive order from Tshisekedi.
"They will not be executed, as the death penalty is commuted," she stated, confirming the reprieve for Malanga and his co-defendants.
The motive behind the pardon remains unclear. However, the decision comes at a time when Tshisekedi is seeking closer security cooperation with the United States. Recently, he proposed a deal offering minerals in exchange for U.S. military support to counter the M23 rebel group, which has seized large swaths of territory in eastern DRC.
The three Americans were among 37 alleged coup plotters who were sentenced to death last September for their role in a failed coup attempt.
The attack targeted the residence of then-Vice Prime Minister Vital Kamerhe before shifting to the Palais de la Nation, the seat of the Congolese presidency.
The coup was thwarted by security forces, resulting in the deaths of six people, including the plot's leader, Christian Malanga, a former Utah-based car dealer who had returned to the DRC and was father to one of the convicted Americans, Marcel Malanga.
During their trial, Marcel Malanga and his high school friend, Tyler Thompson Jr., both 21, claimed they were coerced into participating in the coup under threat from Christian Malanga. Despite these statements, they, along with a Canadian, a British citizen, and a Belgian national, were convicted and sentenced alongside several Congolese defendants.
The U.S. State Department previously acknowledged the case, and Utah Senators Mike Lee and Mitt Romney had engaged with diplomatic channels over the matter.
Wycliffe Nyamasege
