Former President Kabila Joins Rebel Coalition to End DRC Tyranny

Former President Joseph Kabila has officially joined forces with rebel groups, validating long-standing accusations from Kinshasa and sparking fresh fears about the conflict in eastern DRC. The fighting there has already claimed thousands of lives. On Monday, Kabila unveiled a new political-military coalition designed to replace the existing M23-AFC alliance that currently clashes with state troops and holds large chunks of territory.

Claude Ibalanky, speaking for the group, declared that their mission is to end tyranny by any means necessary, including force. Those words came across as a stark warning aimed at the capital government. This announcement arrives exactly one year after a military court sentenced Kabila to death for suspected connections to these armed factions. The crisis in this mineral-rich region has dragged on for nearly 15 years. The United Nations reports that more than 7.8 million people have been forced from their homes, while 28 million face severe food shortages. An untold number of deaths likely occurred during this chaos.

The US and UN point fingers at Rwanda for backing the rebels, though Kigali denies these claims. Here are the facts on what has just happened. Kabila launched his new alliance, called the Front pour la Refondation de la Nation or FRN, from his home in Goma, officially confirming the government's charges. He stated he will lead the group himself.

Corneille Nangaa, a former elections commissioner and close ally who left the cabinet to start the Congo River Alliance, will serve as deputy leader along with Bertrand Bisimwa, an M23 spokesperson. Freddy Kaniki, a doctor and top health official for M23, takes on the role of secretary-general. Sultani Makenga from M23 will head the alliance's army.

Kabila is 55 years old and the son of Laurent Kabila, who once held the presidency. He took power at age 29 in 2001 after his father was killed. His early career included serving as army chief and fighting in two civil wars where Rwanda supported rebels against Mobutu Sese Seko. His official term ended in 2016 but it was marred by rights abuses and corruption. He illegally pushed back elections until 2018, citing voter registration issues, before leaving office in 2019. Before departing, he reportedly signed a power-sharing deal with Felix Tshisekedi, the opposition winner who now holds the presidency. His allies were placed in cabinet posts initially, but Tshisekedi began removing them starting in 2020 as their truce fell apart badly.

Tshisekedi's administration also launched corruption probes against Kabila. This pressure forced him into self-imposed exile in South Africa back in 2023. Why has he chosen this path now? The move from the former president was not a surprise since Kinshasa has long claimed his ties to the M23-AFC group. During intensifying rebel offensives last year, Kabila published an opinion piece in South Africa's Sunday Times attacking Tshisekedi for mishandling the war and outlining a 12-point plan to restore peace.

Reports surfaced that Joseph Kabila was spotted in Goma, a rebel-held city in eastern DRC where he owns property. Last October, a military court in Kinshasa handed him a death sentence for treason, war crimes, and other major offenses linked to alleged collaboration with Rwanda and the M23-AFC. Earlier this year, Washington slapped sanctions on Kabila after accusing him of funding rebel groups.

What exactly does the M23-AFC want? The eastern DRC has burned with violence for over thirty years while multiple factions fought to dominate the region. Roots of this crisis stretch back to the 1994 genocide in neighboring Rwanda, the alleged sheltering of Hutu fighters inside the DRC afterward, Kigali's fierce determination to hunt them down, and deep-rooted tribalism.

The March 23 Movement first appeared in 2012 from remnants of Congolese Tutsi fighter groups that fought during the Second Congo War. They claim to fight for minority Congolese Tutsi rights while seeking to unseat the government in Kinshasa. M23 initially took Goma and other towns in eastern DRC during 2012 offensives, yet their fighters were pushed back by a special UN force fighting alongside the FARDC, the Congolese military.

In 2022, amidst falling out between Tshisekedi and Kabila, M23 returned with renewed force allegedly backed by more than 4,000 Rwandan soldiers. Kigali has long accused successive governments in Kinshasa of supporting the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda armed group based in DRC, which includes Hutu genocidaires.

In 2023, as M23 seized several towns and the Congolese army fell back, Nangaa then-elections commissioner also fell out with Tshisekedi reportedly over his move to run in elections. He then fled into exile, formed the AFC, and allied with M23 as its political arm. In early 2024, the AFC-M23 launched lightning offensives that saw them sweep across vast swaths of the east, rapidly seizing territory. Goma fell again to the AFC-M23 in January 2025 following heavy battles that killed nearly 3,000 civilians.

The rebels accused of civilian massacres currently hold North and South Kivu, where Kabila is from, including their capitals Goma and Bukavu as well as border crossings with Rwanda and Uganda. Kampala has also been accused of supporting M23.

What does this mean for the conflict? Al Jazeera's Alain Uaykani reported that Congolese people worry the conflict could escalate again while a number of soldiers might defect to serve their former boss. Fears exist that ongoing peace talks could collapse since June 2025 when DRC and Rwanda signed a US-led peace agreement.

In a separate process mediated by Qatar, the DRC and M23-AFC also signed the Doha Framework last November with plans to meet this month. But changes may not end agreements between the DRC and Rwanda as Kigali will likely want to continue with the US-led talks, Bram Verelst of the Institute for Security Studies told Al Jazeera.

The real threat lies to the Doha process according to his warning. We are likely to see a hardening of Kinshasa's position toward the rebel movement and Kabila including efforts to isolate Kabila and FRN regionally, he noted. What this means for the conflict on the ground will depend on the capacity of Kabila to take control over the rebellion and to build and expand alliances beyond North and South Kivu, he added.