What Kabila's return means for DRC's political landscape

THE former president of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Joseph Kabila, returned to the country last week after spending two years in self-imposed exile in South Africa.

- DR SIZO NKALA

Kabila ruled the vast central African country from 2001 after taking over from his father, Laurent Kabila, until 2019 when he handed over the reins to the incumbent President Felix Tshisekedi. Kabila's relationship with President Tshisekedi has deteriorated further since the collapse of their coalition government in 2020.

Tshisekedi's government has repeatedly accused Kabila of collaborating with the M23 rebels to overthrow the government and charged him with committing treason, war crimes and crimes against humanity. Kabila has denied these accusations.

A few days before Kabila arrived in the DRC, the country's Senate, which is controlled by the ruling Sacred Union coalition, voted to repeal Kabila's honorary title as a lifelong senator and lifted his immunity from prosecution on May 23.

The former president responded in a video posted on social media denouncing Tshisekedi's government as a dictatorship and decrying the decline of democracy in the country. He arrived in DRC's eastern city of Goma on May 26. Goma, the strategic capital city of North Kivu province, has been under the control of the M23 since they captured it in January.

As such, he will be safe from any arrest as the government in Kinshasa has effectively lost any jurisdiction in the territory. The M23 welcomed Kabila's arrival, stating that it wished him a pleasant stay in the city. Since he arrived in Goma, Kabila has tried to portray himself as a peacemaker.

He met with religious leaders from North Kivu to discuss the current situation in the DRC in what could be the beginning of a bid to drum up public support and stir anti-government sentiment.