Youssouf Ezangi extradited to the United Kingdom to serve life sentence over 2024 DRC

Kinshasa, April 2, 2026 - British national Youssouf Ezangi, a former plumber originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo, has been extradited to the United Kingdom to serve a life sentence for his role in the May 2024 attempted coup in Kinshasa.

Ezangi, 53 at the time of the events, was transferred from Ndolo Military Prison on March 31, 2026, under a judicial cooperation arrangement between the Democratic Republic of Congo and the United Kingdom. His handover was carried out in the presence of diplomatic and military officials, including representatives of the British Embassy in Kinshasa.

He had been convicted by military courts for armed violence and terrorism-related offences linked to the failed coup attempt led by Christian Malanga on May 19, 2024. Initially sentenced to death, his punishment was later commuted to life imprisonment following a presidential pardon.

According to judicial proceedings, Ezangi was part of a group that entered key state locations in Kinshasa, including the residence of senior officials and the Palais de la Nation, during the short-lived assault on state institutions.

The extradition was formally approved as part of bilateral legal cooperation between Kinshasa and London, with authorities describing the transfer as a continuation of judicial enforcement rather than a release from accountability.

During the trial, Ezangi reportedly stated he first met Malanga in London in 2016 and later reconnected with him in several African countries before the 2024 operation. He claimed he was not fully aware of the objectives of the mission, though prosecutors linked him to the armed group that attempted to seize strategic sites in the capital.

The 2024 coup attempt, which briefly shook Kinshasa, resulted in multiple convictions of both Congolese and foreign nationals. Among those previously transferred abroad were American citizens, including Marcel Malanga, and Belgian-Congolese academic Jean-Jacques Wondo, who were also handed life sentences after being extradited to serve their terms in their home countries.

Authorities say Ezangi’s transfer leaves only a small number of foreign-linked detainees still held in the DRC in connection with the failed coup.