The trial against Lieutenant-General Philemon Yav and the Auditor General of the FARDC, Lieutenant-General Likulia Bakumi Lucien-René, resumed on Tuesday, February 17, in front of the Military High Court, under the leadership of its first president, Lieutenant-General Joseph Mutombo Katalay.
As announced, the Military High Court has appeared as a whistleblower Lieutenant-General Sikabwe Asinda Fall, current Director General of Afridex (African Explosives), former Chief of Staff of the Land Force of the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC) and former coordinator of operations in the province of the Congo. North Kivu.
This appearance followed that of Lieutenant General Constant Ndima. At a hearing on 27 January 2026, the latter claimed that during a 2022 trip to the United States as part of a meeting with African Chiefs of Staff, General Sikabwe Fall was allegedly approached by his Rwandan counterpart, General Mubarakh Muganga. This one would have shown him the will of his country to eliminate certain Congolese general officers who were considered "extremists".
Questioned by the judges, Lieutenant General Fall confirmed that Lieutenant General Philemon Yav was among the six officers Rwanda wanted to see neutralized. Reflecting on the context of the meeting, he explained that, during the work of the meeting of the Chief of Staff of the Land Forces, a brief session of bilateral talks had been opened by the DRC-Rwanda regarding the Rwandan invasion of Kibumba.
Upon permission from the hierarchy in Kinshasa, he specified, a direct dialogue had been engaged and lasted all day, resulting in the withdrawal of Rwandan troops. It was during these discussions that the Chief of Staff of the Land Forces of Rwanda openly asked him that the DRC withdraw from operations six officers considered "extremists", namely:
lieutenant general Constant Ndima;
Lieutenant General Philemon Yav Irung;
Major General Peter Cirimwami (deceased);
Major General Sylvain Ekenge;
Brigadier General Tshinkobo Mulamba Ghislain (deceased);
and Brigadier General John Chinyabuuma Kamukinde.
According to Lieutenant-General Sikabwe Asinda Fall, Rwanda has threatened to eliminate these officers if the DRC did not proceed with lifting them from the operational areas. He claimed to have immediately forwarded this information to the hierarchy in Kinshasa and to the then military governor, General Ndima.
Responding to a question from the Public Department about his interpretation of this message, General Fall believed that the request for the resignation of these officers was part of a strategy to destabilize the DRC. He recalled, historically, that under the time of Mzee Laurent-Désiré Kabila, Rwanda would have used a similar strategy before attacking Kinshasa.
Questioned by the defense, the whistleblower said General Philemon Yav has been the "black beast" of the Rwandan authorities for several years. For having defended Kinshasa and other strategic positions in various battles, he would be considered a "sworn enemy" of Rwanda.
Defense lawyers have sharply exploited the statement to question the coherence of the accusation, questioning how an officer presented as an enemy of Rwanda could today be classified as an ally of that country.
In reaction, Auditor General Likulia Bakumi claimed that adding General Philemon Yav's name on this list created confusion, stating that in reality, he was an ally of Rwanda.
As a reminder, General Philemon Yav is being prosecuted for betrayal and incitement of the military to commit acts contrary to the law. He is among others accused of receiving and concealing a phone call from Rwandan General James Kabarebe, in which he allegedly named Major General Peter Cirimwami as an obstacle to the implementation of the Rwandan plan to destabilize the DRC.
Lieutenant-General Sikabwe Asinda Fall, former Chief of Staff of the Land Force and currently the Director General of the African Explosive Society, appeared before the Military High Court in Kinshasa on Tuesday, February 17, 2026, in the case opposing the Auditor General, Ministry of Public Affairs, to the acting Lieutenant-General Yav Irung Philemon.
The latter, a former Commander of the Third Defense Zone, is being prosecuted for treason and inciting the military to commit acts contrary to duty or discipline.
Heard as a whistleblower, General Sikabwe confirmed the existence of two messages from Rwanda and presented to Generals Peter Cirimwami and Mwehu by the whistleblower General Yav. According to him, the link between Rwanda and General Yav goes back a long time:
"General Yav was the battalion commander when Kinshasa was attacked by Rwanda on 02 August 1998," he said.
Referring to the events that happened in North Kivu in 2022, he added that Rwanda had ordered six general officers, including Lieutenant-General Constant Ndima and Major-General Cirimwami, to withdraw from operations, otherwise they would be executed. These officers would have been described as "extremists."
The defendant's defense collective has asked the Public Ministry to produce evidence that establishes the link between General Yav and the enemy. According to the Auditor General, the defendant admitted to having received messages from the "country of a thousand hills" without informing his hierarchy. Had it not been for General Cirimwami, who passed away today, these messages would never have been revealed.
In his interrogation minutes, the defendant said that the phone containing these messages had the number 0814045590, brand iPhone 8848, but he refused to communicate the different access codes to the device. The prosecution has thus requested that the Military High Court submit the phones of the defendant Yav to an expert to decrypt messages sent by Colonel Senkoko Celestin, special secretary to the Rwandan General James Kabarebe.
Made in Kinshasa, February 17, 2026
Mote Madjambo Baudouin
Head of the Communication Cell of the Military High Court
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