Sources in Kinshasa indicate that the court has already issued a formal notice to Mutamba, informing him that he must appear on that date.

Mutamba is facing charges of embezzling $19 million that had been allocated for the construction of the Kisangani prison in Tshopo Province.

The court’s decision to proceed with the trial follows a complaint filed by the Prosecutor General, Firmin Mvonde, after Parliament granted permission to continue legal proceedings against Mutamba.

When Mutamba appeared before the parliamentary commission handling his case, he admitted that the $19 million had gone missing, explaining that the funds had been diverted to the account of a fictitious company.

At the time, he apologised but claimed that individuals like Prosecutor Mvonde and Prime Minister Judith Suminwa Tuluka were targeting him in retaliation for the judicial reforms he had initiated.