DRC: Senior military commander arrested for spying for foreign country

Philémon Yav, a General in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s armed forces, was arrested and detained on charges of connivance with a foreign country that authorities have refused to name amid tensions with neighboring Rwanda.

Also dubbed “Le tigre katangais [the tiger of Katanga]”, Yav was summoned and immediately put in detention at the country’s prison of Makala, French media RFI reports.

Authorities have not revealed the country but Communication Plus, a news website indicated that the senior army official was in steady communication with General James Kabarebe, the top security advisor of Rwandan President Paul Kagame.

The media further revealed that Yav broke his SIM card to destroy all evidences. Authorities also allegedly accuse the General for the death of another General, Ghislain Tshinkobo Mulamba, who passed away in August from poisoning as revealed by the autopsy carried out on his corps.

Tension has risen between the central African country and Rwanda. Kinshasa accuses Kigali of supporting militias who have been causing mayhem.

Kagame has brushed aside the blame. Yav heads the country’s third defense zone that spans across Ituri, North-Kivu and Maniema.