 In the trial, the defense pursued a strategy of highlighting crimes committed by the West, including France itself, in hopes that Barbie's crimes during the German occupation of France would appear less offensive by comparison.Mbemba pointed to France's use of forced labour during the construction of the Congo-Ocean Railway in his own country, as well as France's violent suppression of the 1947 revolt against colonial rule in Madagascar; in addition, he denounced South African apartheid as "the ultimate crime against humanity".Following the trial, Mbemba was Secretary-General of the Union of Lawyers of Central Africa from September 1987 to June 1991.