Top DR Congo court excludes Bemba from presidential race

The Democratic Republic of Congo's highest court on Monday ended former warlord Jean-Pierre Bemba's bid to stand in this year's presidential election, upholding an earlier ban imposed on him for bribing witnesses.

"The constitutional court... confirms the ineligibility of Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo for suborning witnesses by resorting to bribery," said the court's president, announcing the ruling.

Next month the international court in the Hague will sentence former vice president Bemba for bribing witnesses during his war crimes trial.