Lt Gen Yav previously commanded the DRC’s third defence zone. He was arrested in September 2022 after M23 rebels captured large parts of North Kivu Province.
The prosecution, represented by Lt Gen Lucien-René Likulia, alleged that Yav had been in contact with an official from the Rwandan government, claiming that messages found on his phone served as evidence of their collaboration.
However, testimony presented in court revealed inconsistencies. Among the witnesses were Lt Gen Constant Ndima, former governor of North Kivu, and Maj Gen Sylvain Ekenge Bomusa, former spokesperson of the Congolese army—but their accounts contradicted each other.
Lt Gen Ndima told the High Military Court that Yav had received a message from retired General James Kabarebe, a senior figure who previously held key roles in Rwanda’s military. When asked whether he had personally seen the message, Ndima admitted that he had not.
In a surprising turn, Maj Gen Ekenge, who also served in North Kivu, stated instead that the message had come from an aide to Gen (Rtd) Kabarebe—not from Kabarebe himself.
The prosecution was further questioned on whether it could present the alleged messages from Yav’s phone, which has been in custody for four years. It responded that accessing the device had been difficult due to multiple security passwords set by the officer.
When pressed to identify anyone who had actually seen the messages, the prosecution cited Maj Gen Peter Cirimwami, a former North Kivu governor. However, it acknowledged that he could not testify, as he died in January 2025.
With the evidence still unverified, the court turned to experts from the national cyber security agency (CNC) to attempt to access the phone and retrieve the alleged messages.
Yav’s lawyer, Charles Ngwapitshi, argued that the inclusion of Gen (Rtd) Kabarebe in the case was intended to exaggerate its significance, given his prominence in Rwanda’s security establishment.
“After what was said by Gen Ndima, it is clear there is a problem from the outset,” Ngwapitshi told the court. “To strengthen their case against Gen Yav Irung Philémon, they had to inflate it by introducing the name of James Kabarebe. I want to understand why there are so many contradictions.”
Although the CNC had been expected to submit its findings after being granted additional time, it informed the court on April 21 that it had not retrieved the alleged messages and requested an open-ended extension.
Ngwapitshi maintained that the prosecution’s case lacked merit, urging the court to reach a swift decision so that his client—who has spent four years in detention—can reunite with his family.
Presiding judge Lt Gen Joseph Mutombo Katalayi ruled that the court could not grant an indefinite extension without a clear deadline. He ordered the CNC to return Yav’s phone, effectively halting the forensic examination.
The decision marked a significant blow to the prosecution. Ngwapitshi reiterated that the case was baseless, describing it as “an empty shell.”
The court set May 5, 2026, as the date when both the prosecution and the defense will present their final submissions, which will inform the final judgment.
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