Former Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) President Joseph Kabila has formed a new political-military movement, allied with the M23 armed group, formalising a partnership that unites the former head of state with the rebel movement controlling large swathes of the country's violence-plagued eastern provinces.
The Kabila-M23 tie-up was officially announced at a joint press conference at Kabila's personal residence in Goma, the provincial capital in eastern DRC that M23 rebels have controlled since January 2025.
The 55-year-old former leader, who governed the nation from 2001 to 2019, was condemned to death in absentia a year ago by a military court for "complicity" with the M23 rebels.
Authorities in Kinshasa accuse Kabila of serving as a key founder of the Congo River Alliance (AFC), the now-dissolved political front of the rebel group.
Collapsed peace pacts
The launch of the alliance unfolds against an increasingly unstable political environment in Kinshasa.
Kabila's successor, 63, President Felix Tshisekedi, will reach the end of his second and final five-year presidential mandate in 2028.
While the Congolese Constitution establishes a strict ceiling of two five-year terms, the governing majority has spent recent months priming public opinion to support constitutional amendments that could permit an extension.
Eastern DRC has remained engulfed in chronic armed violence for more than 30 years, during which successive regional and international peace initiatives have failed to stem the bloodshed.
A diplomatic accord signed in December by Kinshasa and Kigali under Washington's auspices has delivered no tangible stability on the ground.
