Major General Alengbia Nyatetessya Nzambe Dieu Genti, the senior military officer of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, has died while trying to escape the battle against the M23 group in the eastern part of the country.
Maj. Gen. Alengbia Nyatetessya was previously the commander of the 34th military region, which is in North Kivu.
At the end of January 2025, M23 captured the city of Goma, taking control of the entire region. Alengbia Nyatetessya and the troops he led, along with other commanders who were working together, fled to Bukavu in South Kivu, where they intended to regroup to confront the M23 group.
On the outskirts of Bukavu, those who were chased away were taken over by the M23 group and the Twirwaneho group. The Congolese government went on to arrest Alengbia Nyatetessya Nzambe Dieu Genti, where he was detained along with other soldiers accused of fleeing from those areas, including Brig. Gen. Danny Tene Yangba, who was a security advisor to the governor of North Kivu, and Brig. Gen. Papy Lupembe, who was the commander of the 11th Brigade.
Also included were the commissioner in the Congolese police, Ekuka Lipopo Jean Romuald, who was formerly the deputy governor of North Kivu, and Mukuna Tumba Eddy Léonard, who was also a commissioner, along with those accused of fleeing to Bukavu by boat.
In the early hours of Wednesday, April 16, 2025, it became known that Gen. Alengbia Nzambe Dieu Genti had died. It is unclear whether he died in Ndolo prison where he was held or outside of it.
Information regarding the trial of these soldiers and police officers was not yet known after the Kinshasa military high court made a decision on March 20, 2025, to prevent the disclosure of security secrets.
On March 13, 2025, Gen. Alengbia and his colleagues were presented in court for the first time. Their lawyers requested their provisional release while they were on trial, explaining that they were detained under poor conditions.
