Jan. 26 (Bloomberg) -- Vodacom Group Ltd. was ordered to pay former consultant Moto Mabanga $21 million in fees by a court in the Democratic Republic of Congo, he said.

The commercial court in the capital, Kinshasa, also ordered the mobile-network operator to pay Mabanga’s costs, he said by phone from the city today.

“We have not received the judgment on this matter so it is difficult to comment in detail,” Vodacom spokesman Richard Boorman wrote in an e-mailed response to questions. “We would clearly have material objections to any judgment by a DRC court in which a monetary award was granted,” while the “contractual dispute is currently being heard in court in South Africa, which has jurisdiction on the issue.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Sikonathi Mantshantsha in Johannesburg at smantshantsh@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Ana Monteiro at amonteiro4@bloomberg.net