Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo of Kinshasa has decried the restoration of the death penalty in the Democratic Republic of Congo, saying it is a “step backwards.”
The country’s justice minister, Rose Mutombo, said that execution is a proper punishment for “acts of treachery or espionage.” But Cardinal Ambongo countered: “when I look at the reality here in the Congo, the great traitors to the country are precisely those in power.”
“I wouldn’t want us to take advantage of a vague notion of traitors to settle political scores,” said the cardinal.