Willy NGOMA
JF-Expert Member
- Feb 25, 2016
- 4,528
- 5,981
🔴Joseph Kabila, the former Congolese president who once fought the M23 rebellion, has now placed himself at the head of a political-military coalition built around the same insurgency. Behind this dramatic reversal lies a bitter but only choice between death and life.
🔴On October 12, Kabila formally assumed leadership of the Front for the Refoundation of the Nation (FRN) at his residence in rebel-held Goma, the provincial capital of North Kivu. The new movement absorbed the AFC/M23 alliance, bringing together prominent rebel leaders, including Corneille Nangaa, Bertrand Bisimwa, and military commander Sultani Makenga.
🔴But the roots of Kabila's rebellion run deeper than the battlefield. The political rupture began after the disputed December 2018 elections, which brought Tshisekedi to power through an arrangement with Kabila's political camp. Their coalition eventually collapsed as Tshisekedi consolidated control over state institutions.
🔴“Kabila received a death penalty. He was in the region here (Southern Africa). When you have a death penalty on your head, your movement becomes restricted. The only place I think he could find refuge and be in security was in DRC. And the best place could only be the place controlled by the rebels, to be provided with security. Because being outside the DRC with a death penalty and being your government is looking for you, you have to find security,” said political analyst Claude Kabemba.
🔴In September 2025, a Congolese military court sentenced Kabila to death in absentia on allegations including treason and war crimes linked to the rebellion. Kabila rejected the proceedings as politically motivated.
🔴On April 30, Washington imposed sanctions on Kabila, accusing him of financing AFC/M23, encouraging Congolese soldiers to defect and attempting to organize attacks against government forces. These were U.S. allegations, which Kabila disputed. His security fears intensified after a March 11 drone strike in Goma killed French UNICEF worker Karine Buisset near his residence. Kabila later alleged that he was the intended target.
🔴In an interview with Conspiracy Tracker Great Lakes, recorded on October 23 and released on October 28, Kabila said he had initially believed dialogue could resolve DRC's political crisis. He argued that Kinshasa had closed political space, rejected meaningful negotiations, and chosen military confrontation instead. He presented taking up arms as a response to those conditions.
🔴For Kabila, the FRN offers political survival, protection, and renewed leverage against Kinshasa. For the rebellion, his name offers national recognition and powerful political connections.
🔴On October 12, Kabila formally assumed leadership of the Front for the Refoundation of the Nation (FRN) at his residence in rebel-held Goma, the provincial capital of North Kivu. The new movement absorbed the AFC/M23 alliance, bringing together prominent rebel leaders, including Corneille Nangaa, Bertrand Bisimwa, and military commander Sultani Makenga.
🔴But the roots of Kabila's rebellion run deeper than the battlefield. The political rupture began after the disputed December 2018 elections, which brought Tshisekedi to power through an arrangement with Kabila's political camp. Their coalition eventually collapsed as Tshisekedi consolidated control over state institutions.
🔴“Kabila received a death penalty. He was in the region here (Southern Africa). When you have a death penalty on your head, your movement becomes restricted. The only place I think he could find refuge and be in security was in DRC. And the best place could only be the place controlled by the rebels, to be provided with security. Because being outside the DRC with a death penalty and being your government is looking for you, you have to find security,” said political analyst Claude Kabemba.
🔴In September 2025, a Congolese military court sentenced Kabila to death in absentia on allegations including treason and war crimes linked to the rebellion. Kabila rejected the proceedings as politically motivated.
🔴On April 30, Washington imposed sanctions on Kabila, accusing him of financing AFC/M23, encouraging Congolese soldiers to defect and attempting to organize attacks against government forces. These were U.S. allegations, which Kabila disputed. His security fears intensified after a March 11 drone strike in Goma killed French UNICEF worker Karine Buisset near his residence. Kabila later alleged that he was the intended target.
🔴In an interview with Conspiracy Tracker Great Lakes, recorded on October 23 and released on October 28, Kabila said he had initially believed dialogue could resolve DRC's political crisis. He argued that Kinshasa had closed political space, rejected meaningful negotiations, and chosen military confrontation instead. He presented taking up arms as a response to those conditions.
🔴For Kabila, the FRN offers political survival, protection, and renewed leverage against Kinshasa. For the rebellion, his name offers national recognition and powerful political connections.
