Ex-leader Joseph Kabila back in militia-held city

Ex-president Joseph Kabila on Thursday made his first appearance since returning to DR Congo in Goma, an eastern city seized by the Rwanda-backed M23 militia whose lightning offensive the government accuses him of orchestrating.

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Ending days of speculation over his return, Mr Kabila's appearance comes despite the former president facing the possibility of a treason trial over his alleged support for the M23.

Felix Tshisekedi, his successor as president, accuses Mr Kabila of being the brains behind the armed group, which has seized swathes of the resource-rich Congolese east with Rwanda’s help. Though Mr Kabila left the DRC in 2023, he still has influence over Congolese political life, and has criticised his successor’s government as a “dictatorship”.

AFP saw Mr Kabila meet religious figures in the presence of the M23’s spokesman Lawrence Kanyuka. He made no statement. Shorn of his usual beard and dressed in a dark suit, the 53-year-old, who led the DRC between 2001 and 2009, appeared smiling and visibly relaxed in front of the cameras.