Seventeen people, including two senior military justice officials, were killed when a light aircraft crashed in southwestern Democratic Republic of Congo on Friday, the country’s Transport Ministry said.

The aircraft, carrying a delegation of military justice officials, crashed at about 1 p.m. GMT near Kenge in Kwango Province, more than 200 kilometres east of the capital, Kinshasa.

The ministry identified the aircraft as a Let 410 UVP operated by Tracep Congo Aviation.

It said 13 passengers and four crew members were killed in the crash.

Among the victims were Joseph Mutombo, head of the Military High Court, and Lucien-Rene Likulia, the Armed Forces’ Auditor General. Both officials held the rank of lieutenant general.

Likulia was appointed by President Félix Tshisekedi and served as prosecutor in the September 2025 trial of former President Joseph Kabila, who was tried in absentia and convicted of treason and war crimes before being sentenced to death.

The crash occurred in a country where air transport remains an important means of movement because of the poor condition of many roads.

However, aviation safety remains a concern, with some airports and navigation infrastructure also reported to be in poor condition.

President Tshisekedi has ordered an investigation into the cause of the crash.