Officials announced on Thursday that the soldier guilty for the Saturday family slaughter in Ituri, in the north-east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which left 13 people dead.

In the DRC, the death penalty is still frequently pronounced, but it has not been used for 20 years and is routinely commuted to life in prison.

Babby Ndombe Opetu, 32, was punished in the evening after being tried in flagrante by the Ituri garrison military court since Tuesday. Babby is a private serving in the Congolese naval force stationed in Tchomia, on the banks of Lake Albert. Franck Bahati, the head of the Tchomia youth association, spoke to AFP on Wednesday.

Testimonies claim that this soldier was unable to accept the fact that one of his children was buried without his knowledge after passing away while he was away. He returned to the scene of the crime, the fishing community of Nyakova in the area of Djugu, and started shooting at the mourners there.

The soldier then ran away, but Tchomia quickly caught him.

The accused explained during the hearing that he and his wife had a financial argument as well. The same source claims that he stated, “here are things that annoyed me and indeed, I shot her,” in addition to the child’s death.

At least nine children were among the 13 persons who died, including his wife, who suffered a terrible hand injury. Two of the shooter’s own children are among the dead.

The judge questioned the murdering soldier, “Why did you kill people who had nothing to do with the dispute between you and your wife?” The accused responded, “I killed and shot many individuals because I was angry.

Babby Ndombe Opetu was found guilty of killing 13 persons and trying to kill two more. The military court sentenced him to death, disqualification from the service, and payment of $1,000,000 in damages to the victims’ families.

“We also want the Congolese state to do everything so that the families are compensated,” Franck Bahati responded.