Malanga’s son Marcel, one of the American citizens sentenced to death, previously told the court that his father threatened to kill him if he did not participate.
His friend Tyler Thompson, who was in his 20s and played football together in Utah, was also sentenced to death.
His stepmother Miranda Thompson told the BBC in June that the family had “no idea” how he ended up in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
“We were completely shocked by what was happening and what was unknown. Everything we were learning was coming from Google,” she said.
A third American, Benjamin Zalman-Folun, had business interests with Christian Malanga.
Also sentenced to death was Jean-Jacques Wondo, a dual citizen of Congo and Belgium.
Human Rights Watch has previously described him as a prominent researcher on regional politics and security, and suggested that evidence linking him to the coup attempt was weak., external.
AFP reported that the British and Canadian nationals were of Congolese origin.
The court heard that British national Yusuf Ezangi helped recruit some of the other participants.
Of the 51 men who were tried, 14 were acquitted and released after the court ruled they had nothing to do with the attack.
A person convicted may appeal his or her sentence within five days.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, no executions have been carried out for about 20 years. Those sentenced to death are instead given life sentences.
The government lifted the moratorium in March this year, citing the need to purge “traitors” from the country’s dysfunctional military. But no executions have been carried out since.
The coup attempt began in the capital Kinshasa in the early hours of May 19. Armed men first attacked the home of Parliament Speaker Vital Kamerhe in Kinshasa, then moved on to the president’s official residence.
Witnesses said about 20 gunmen wearing military uniforms attacked the palace, followed by a shootout.
A military spokesman later announced on state television that security forces had foiled a “coup attempt.”
According to local media reports, the attackers were members of the New Zaire movement, which is linked to exiled Democratic Republic of Congo politician Malanga.
Military spokesman Brigadier General Silabin Ekenge said Malanga was shot dead while resisting arrest.
President Tshisekedi was re-elected for a second term in a disputed election in December last year. He won about 78% of the vote.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a country with vast mineral resources and a huge population. However, conflict, corruption, and bad governance continue to make life difficult for many people.
Most of the country’s natural resources are in the east, where violence persists despite President Tshisekedi’s attempts to defuse the situation by declaring a state of siege, signing ceasefire agreements and sending in troops from neighboring countries.
Additional reporting by Emery Makumeno and Natasha Booty in Kinshasa
