Congo presidential candidate gets seven years in jail for insulting president

FILE PHOTO: Jean-Marc Kabund, secretary general of Congolese main opposition party the Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS), speaks during a press conference in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, January 8, 2019. REUTERS/Baz Ratner/File Photo

KINSHASA (Reuters) - A high court in Democratic Republic of Congo has sentenced presidential candidate Jean-Marc Kabund to seven years in prison on 12 charges including spreading false rumours and insulting the head of state, his lawyer said on Wednesday.

Kabund was a former vice president of parliament and a close associate of President Felix Tshisekedi who launched his own political party last year after the two fell out.