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Two DR Congo army generals killed alongside 15 others in plane crash near Kenge

High Military Court chief Joseph Mutombo and armed forces auditor general Lucien-Rene Likulia among victims

By AFP
September 27, 2026
Rescue workers can be seen at the crash site of a Let 410 UVP aircraft operated by Tracep Congo Aviation. — X/@RaoAmarenda
Rescue workers can be seen at the crash site of a Let 410 UVP aircraft operated by Tracep Congo Aviation. — X/@RaoAmarenda

An air crash in the southwestern Democratic Republic of the Congo has killed 17 people, including two senior military justice officials, according to the transport ministry.

The aircraft went down at about 1300 GMT on Friday near Kenge in Kwango province, more than 200 kilometres (125 miles) east of the capital Kinshasa.

The Let 410 UVP light aircraft, operated by Tracep Congo Aviation, was carrying a delegation of military justice officials returning from a service mission to Kikwit in neighbouring Kwilu province, the armed forces said.

The transport ministry said 13 passengers and four crew members were killed.

The two senior officials were Lieutenant General Joseph Mutombo, first president of the High Military Court, and Lieutenant General Lucien-Rene Likulia, the armed forces' auditor general.

Likulia had been involved in the prosecution of former president Joseph Kabila, who was tried in absentia by the High Military Court in 2025.

In August 2025, Likulia requested the death penalty for Kabila over charges including war crimes, treason and organising an insurrection. 

Kabila was subsequently sentenced to death in absentia in September 2025.

President Felix Tshisekedi has ordered an investigation into the crash.

The authorities have not yet established the cause of the accident.

Air transport plays an important role in the vast country, where the road network is often in poor condition. 

But flying also carries risks, with some airports and navigation equipment in similarly poor condition.