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Germain Katanga was born on 28 April 1978 in Mambasa, in the district of Ituri in the Democratic Republic of Congo. He is partially of Ngiti, also called "Lendu South" ethnicity. Katanga is married and has two children.
According to the evidence presented by the Prosecution, by the end of 2002, Germain Katanga was a military leader of a predominantly Ngiti combatant group, the Force de Résistance Patriotique en Ituri (FRPI), based in the Walendu Bindi collectivité in the Ituri district.
In early December 2004, the President of the DRC Joseph Kabila, appointed Germain Katanga Brigadier-Général in the Forces Armées de la République Démocratique du Congo (FARDC). He held this post at the time of his arrest by the Congolese authorities in March 2005. Germain Katanga was transferred to The Hague in October 2007.
The Prosecution submits that Germain Katanga, alleged commander of the Force de Résistance Patriotique en Ituri (FRPI), and Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui, alleged former leader of the Front des Nationalistes et Intégrationnistes (FNI) are criminally responsible for the crimes committed during the assault on Bogoro village on 24 February 2003. It is argued that this attack was part of a widespread and systematic attack carried out jointly by the FNI, and the FRPI against the Hema population in Ituri. Both alledged leaders are accused of three crimes against humanity (murder, sexual slavery and rape) and seven war crimes (using children under the age of 15 to take an active part in hostilities; deliberately directing an attack on a civilian population as such; willful killing; destruction of property; pillaging; sexual slavery and rape).
This is the second trial in the context of the situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo - referred to the ICC by the Congolese Government on 3 March, 2004.
Source: ICC decision on the confirmation of charges. Situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo in the case of the Prosecutor v. German Katanga and Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui
