The International Criminal Court at the Hague, Netherlands has sentenced DR Congo warlord Jean-Pierre Bemba to 18 years in prison.
The international court on Tuesday June 21, found Mr Bemba guilty of two counts of crimes against humanity and three counts of war crimes.
The crimes were committed in Central African Republic from or on October 26, 2002 to March 15, 2003.
He was arrested after being accused of effectively acting as a military commander controlling forces that committed the crimes at the time.
The ICC ruling was made hours after former United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan told off African leaders criticising the ICC dismissing the notion that the court is anti-African.
“I remind Africans that it is wrong for them to say that only African leaders are put into the dock,” he said on Monday.
In Bemba's case, the ICC said on its official website: "Bemba was found guilty, on 21 March 2016, of two counts of crimes against humanity (murder and rape) and three counts of war crimes (murder, rape, and pillaging)."
"The crimes were committed in Central African Republic from, on or about 26 October 2002 to 15 March 2003 by a contingent of Mouvement de Libération du Congo troops. Mr Bemba was a person effectively acting as a military commander with effective authority and control over the forces that committed the crimes."
The ruling brings to an end his case which has run for the last eight years.
Bemba was born in November 4, 1962 and was, before his arrest, actively involved in active politics in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
He was among the four vice presidents during the transitional government in the expansive nation.
He was arrested near Brussels Belgium in May 24, 2008.
Before the arrest, the ICC had issued a warrant of arrest for him.
Although he was originally charged with three counts of crimes against humanity and five counts of war crimes, in October 2010, the ICC reduced the charges to two counts of crimes against humanity and three counts of war crimes.
On March 21, 2016, he was convicted on these charges.
He is however, considered to be a hero by many Congolese and his conviction is seen as an international conspiracy to destabilise their country.