Kinshasa: April 9, 2025- Three American nationals who had been imprisoned in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) for their involvement in a failed coup attempt last year were repatriated on Tuesday following a commutation of their sentences.
Last week, President Félix Tshisekedi reduced the death sentences of Marcel Malanga Malu, Tyler Thompson, and Benjamin Reuben Zalman-Polun to life imprisonment. The announcement followed a high-level meeting between Tshisekedi and Massad Boulos, senior advisor to U.S. President Donald Trump on African affairs, during Boulos’s visit to Kinshasa. The discussions reportedly included issues such as mineral extraction agreements and investment opportunities.
The three Americans were originally sentenced to death in September 2024, a ruling that was upheld by a military court on January 27, 2025, and became final on March 9. However, according to a presidential statement issued Tuesday, they will now serve their life sentences in the United States.
Their release was facilitated by military and judicial officials, immigration authorities, and staff from the U.S. Embassy in Kinshasa. The statement added that the prisoners were escorted by security personnel to N’Djili International Airport, from where they departed for the United States “to serve the remainder of their sentences.”
The Congolese presidency described the decision as part of an effort to strengthen diplomatic, judicial, and human rights cooperation between the DRC and the United States.
In total, 37 people — including the three Americans, a British citizen, a Belgian, and a Canadian — were sentenced to death in September 2024 for their roles in the attempted overthrow of the Congolese government. They were among 51 individuals tried by a military court, in proceedings broadcast on national radio and television.
The group was accused of launching an attack on May 19, 2024, targeting the presidential palace and the residence of Vital Kamerhe, who at the time was on the verge of becoming Speaker of the National Assembly and now holds that position.
Christian Malanga, a U.S. citizen of Congolese origin and alleged leader of the coup plot, was killed during the attack, along with five others. His son Marcel, one of the three Americans now repatriated, told the court that his father had threatened to kill him if he refused to take part in the assault.
Tyler Thompson, a friend of Marcel’s and fellow soccer player from Utah, was also among those convicted. Both are in their early twenties. The third American, Benjamin Zalman-Polun, had business ties with Christian Malanga.
Although the death penalty has not been implemented in the DRC for around 20 years, those sentenced to death have generally served life in prison. In March 2024, the government officially lifted the moratorium on capital punishment, citing the need to purge “traitors” from the military and address systemic inefficiencies. Nevertheless, no executions have taken place since the change.
Therwandan
