By Theodore Jones –
Former chief of staff of Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi, Vital Kamerhe has been granted provisional parole, after 20 months in detention.
According to local media sources, the court granted him provisional freedom because to his “critical” health condition.
Mr Kamerhe, who was serving as the President’s chief of staff at the time of his arrest, became the most senior politician in the DRC to face graft charges.
He has been detained since April 8, 2020, and is serving a 20-year sentence for embezzling public funds intended for the construction of dwellings for the Congolese soldiers as part of the Congolese president’s social housing scheme.
In June 2021, his sentence was reduced to 13 years’ imprisonment.
He was imprisoned at Makala central prison in Kinshasa from where he was transferred to a hospital in Kinshasa for medical treatment, before the court released him provisionally.
Even after sentencing, he had reiterated his loyalty to President Tshisekedi.
A veteran power broker, Kamerhe backed Tshisekedi in his successful 2018 election campaign.