Germain Katanga (French pronunciation: [ʒɛʁmɛ̃ katɑ̃ɡa]; born 28 April 1978), also known by his nom de guerre Simba (pronounced [sɛ̃ba]), is a Congolese former rebel leader and the former head of the Patriotic Resistance Force in Ituri (FRPI), an armed group in the Ituri Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

[1][3] The charges include murder, sexual slavery, rape, destruction of property, pillaging, willful killing, and directing crimes against civilians.

[1] It has also been alleged that Katanga helped lead other crimes, including the massacre of more than 1,200 civilians in an attack at Nyakunde Hospital in September 2002.

[9] On December 11, 2004, Katanga was one of six former militia leaders appointed as generals in the Congolese armed forces (FARDC) as part of a peace process.

[12] He was arrested by the Congolese authorities in early March 2005[2] in connection with the killing of nine United Nations peacekeepers in Ituri on 25 February 2005.

[13] On 1 November 2005, a United Nations Security Council committee imposed a travel ban and asset freeze on Katanga for violating an arms embargo.

[1] He was charged with six counts of war crimes (willful killing; inhuman treatment or cruel treatment; using children under the age of fifteen years to participate actively in hostilities; sexual slavery; intentionally directing attacks against civilians; and pillaging) and three counts of crimes against humanity (murder, inhumane acts and sexual slavery).

[16] In February 2008, another suspect, Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui, was surrendered to the ICC to face charges in relation to the Bogoro attack;[17] he and Katanga were to be tried jointly.

Judge Christine van den Wyngaert, in her dissenting opinion, said that it "has rendered this trial unfair by infringing a series of Germain Katanga's rights".

[5][21] The court cited evidence that Katanga supplied guns to the militia that carried out the Bogoro massacre, thus "reinforcing the strike capability of the militia"[22] in justifying the convictions of Katanga as an accessory, but indicated that the evidence presented during the trial was insufficient to sustain the original charge that he directed the massacre.

Katanga's co-accused, Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui, was acquitted of similar charges in December 2012 because of the lack of evidence for his role in the massacre.