{"id":159941,"date":"2026-06-01T10:56:35","date_gmt":"2026-06-01T08:56:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/?p=159941"},"modified":"2026-06-01T16:26:20","modified_gmt":"2026-06-01T14:26:20","slug":"frivao-at-heart-of-a-new-multi-million-dollar-scandal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/159941-frivao-at-heart-of-a-new-multi-million-dollar-scandal.html","title":{"rendered":"FRIVAO at heart of a new multi-million-dollar scandal"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

After ex-justice minister Constant Mutamba<\/a>, former FRIVAO coordinator Chan\u00e7ard Bolukola is now being called to account for his handling of funds meant for victims of the \u201cSix-Day War\u201d. Bolukola has been on trial since April 21 at the Kinshasa Gombe Court of Appeals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

\u201cHow can a fund intended for victim reparations turn into a fund for illicit enrichment?\u201d asks Nestor, a young Congolese man from the Lucha citizen movement. He is talking about this new trial for massive embezzlement of reparations<\/a> which Uganda paid to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) after a ruling by the International Court of Justice (ICJ)<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As well as the main defendant Chan\u00e7ard Bolukola, some high-ranking officials from public institutions have taken the stand as witnesses to try to shed light on what happened to several million dollars embezzled from FRIVAO -- the Reparations and Compensation Fund for Victims of Uganda\u2019s Illegal Activities in the DRC. These include the directors general of the National Electricity Company (SNEL), the Congolese Institute for Nature Conservation (ICCN), and the General Directorate for Public Procurement Control (DGCMP).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An \u201cunsustainable\u201d situation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

On the sidelines of the trial, Justice Minister Guillaume Ngefa was also called before the Senate to explain himself<\/a> over the management of the public institution under his oversight. Responding to a question on May 5, he lamented an \u201cunsustainable\u201d situation. According to Ngefa, FRIVAO has strayed from its mission of providing reparations to become \u201cthe scene of systemic dysfunction and embezzlement of public funds, as painfully evidenced by the first trial that led to conviction of the former Minister of State for Justice and the ongoing trial against the interim coordinator.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of the $195 million paid by Uganda in August 2025, only $28 million was disbursed to victims\u2014whether genuine, fraudulent, or fictitious\u2014and some were forced to pay kickbacks for receiving compensation, the current justice minister lamented.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Compensation payments remain suspended, although Ngefa announced in a cabinet meeting in early January 2026 that they would be resumed. According to him, the number of certified victims rose from 3,000 in 2024 to 14,000 or even 16,000 in 2025, which he says suggests the presence of \u201cfake victims\u201d. On March 19, FRIVAO launched a tender for an audit firm to analyse the victim register. This should allow compensation payments to resume shortly, the current minister maintains.<\/p>\n\n\n\t

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A host of irregularities in contract awards<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The ongoing trial focuses mainly on irregularities in the awarding of public contracts blamed on Bolukola, who was manager of FRIVAO from his appointment in August 2024 to his arrest in July 2025. These include the Kisangani electrification contract signed with SNEL, as well as a contract with Divo SARL for production of a documentary on \u201cGenocost<\/a>\u201d [genocide for financial gain], and a contract for the rehabilitation of the Kisangani Zoological and Botanical Garden managed by ICCN. Added to this is the involvement of \u201cfictitious\u201d companies, according to the prosecution. It estimates that the various contracts under review, concluded between 2023 and 2025, were worth over $30 million.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Institute for Nature Conservation reportedly received a payment of $4 million without the approval of FRIVAO\u2019s board of directors. They were not even informed, according to the board\u2019s interim chairman Dismas Kitenge, who testified before the court on April 24. In addition, he said, even if the ICCN were to receive compensation, the money should not come from money allocated for victims but rather the 18% allocated to compensate damage to natural resources, in accordance with the ICJ order.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A six-minute documentary worth its weight in gold<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

At the same hearing on April 24, Teddy Lwamba, the current director general of SNEL, testified in his capacity as former Minister of Water Resources and Electricity. He talked about the $14 million contract signed between FRIVAO and the Congo Energy company for rehabilitation of the Kisangani hydroelectric power plant on the Tshopo River. Lwamba said he had identified irregularities in this contract. But he declined to give further details, referring the matter to \u201cthe competent authority for contractual matters\u201d, i.e. the \u201cPortfolio Ministry\u201d responsible for managing all public enterprises.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Congo Energy was in fact selected by former minister Mutamba, and he is the one who authorized this payment, Bolukola argued in his defence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Divo SARL CEO Rudy Molamba then took the stand to explain the production of a six-minute documentary for which FRIVAO paid $1.6 million, according to the prosecution. This was a \u201cmistake\u201d, Molamba assured the court, adding that \u201cthe overpayment has already been refunded\u201d and that the initial contract was for $640,000 excluding tax.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As for Bolukola, he said he received a \u201cverbal payment order\u201d from Mutamba.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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#RDC<\/a>\ud83d\udea8 : D\u00e9couvrez en avant-premi\u00e8re le film documentaire des guerres de 6 jours de #Kisangani<\/a> dans la Tshopo. @Chancardbol<\/a> @sergesindani01<\/a> #CIJ<\/a>@Presidence_RDC<\/a> @ConstantMutamba<\/a>
Suivez\u2935\ufe0f pic.twitter.com\/tAGdSbMS2j<\/a><\/p>— Junior Ledy LEPIEUX \u270d\ufe0f (@Junior576Ledy) June 1, 2025<\/a><\/blockquote>