Former Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) Vice-President, Jean-Pierre Bemba, has been given a one-year sentence by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for corruption to add to the 18 years that he is already serving for war crimes.

According to Ceoafrica, he was found guilty of trying to influence witnesses in his war crimes trial.

Bemba is currently serving an 18-year jail term for war crimes and crimes against humanity, in which he and four close associates were convicted of corruptly influencing witnesses and falsifying evidence in that trial.

It was the first corruption trial in the ICC's history which heard that Bemba had masterminded a witness corruption network from inside his prison cell.

His team used secret phones and coded language to bribe, coach and manipulate at least 14 key witnesses who came to give evidence.

The former vice-president's lawyer, his legal case manager, a fellow politician and a witness for the defence were found guilty of more than 100 combined charges.

They face up to five years in prison, a fine or both.

The ICC hopes this case will send a message to others, that those who seek to hamper the pursuit of justice will be punished.