Germain Katanga and his co-accused Mathieu Ngudjolo are charged for crimes against humanity for their alleged role during the attack of the Congolese village of Bogoro on February 24, 2003, where over 200 civilians were killed.
Speaking the last day of the closing arguments, which started on May 15, he reiterated that he was not responsible for the attack. Katanga, 36, reminded the judges of his "young age". The charges against him hurt him deeply, he added.
Coming to the stand after Katanga, Mathieu Ngudjolo was the last to speak. “I was never a member of any military group or militia within Ituri. I never had any soldiers under my command. My work is the work of a humanitarian, I was not a combatant, I was a nurse and I trained community health workers”, he declared in Lingala.
He claimed one more time that the day of the attack he was delivering a baby in another village.
His defence team had argued earlier that the prosecution had failed to prove a link between Ngudjolo and the crimes. His lawyers put the blame for the attack on DRC President Joseph Kabila, who was trying to regain control of the eastern territories.
No judgment is expected before the fall.
SM/ER/GF