DR Congo: Former President Kabila returns to politics in wartime

His party, the PPRD, and his political coalition, the FCC, boycotted the December 2023 elections. But now Shina Rambo, as he is known to his admirers, has opted for a stunning return to the political arena.

His aides say he is coming back to deal with a problem that his successor, Felix Tshisekedi, has been unable to solve: The M23 rebellion.

He has made media appearances and several trips to southern and eastern Africa, all linked to his political moves.

In February this year, he brought together some of the leaders of his party, the PPRD, for a strategy meeting in Nairobi. The PPRD had been severely weakened since 2021, with a number of old-timers joining President Tshisekedi.

Read: From allies to enemies: Why Tshisekedi is going after his predecessor Kabila

While in Nairobi, he restructured his party, appointing former speaker of the National Assembly, Aubin Minaku, as PPRD vice president.

Back in Kinshasa, Mr Minaku has been acting on behalf of Mr Kabila, and he has not minced his words.

Addressing PPRD cadres for the first time in his capacity as PPRD vice president, he said: “The chief (Kabila) has said, you have to be ready for anything. When the leader says we have to be ready for anything, each and every one of us, a full-blooded PPRD, understands.

“The chief says ‘the time for silence and clandestine actions is over, now it’s time for open actions’, I’m taking responsibility, that says it all,” Mr Minaku added.

Sadc mission

Mr Kabila himself has spoken out elsewhere. Twice in the last two weeks he has spoken out about the situation in his country from southern Africa, where he is in virtual exile (although he says he is studying for a PhD).

In an opinion editorial published in the South African Sunday Times on February 23, Mr Kabila sharply criticised his successor’s handling of the current conflict in the DRC between the M23 and the Congolese army. “Any attempt to find a solution to this crisis that ignores its root causes - at the top of which lies the governance of the DRC by its current leadership - will not bring lasting peace,” he wrote.

Mr Kabila went on to lampoon President Tshisekedi: “The innumerable violations of the Constitution and human rights, as well as repeated massacres of the Congolese population by Tshisekedi’s police and military forces will not end after the successful conclusion of negotiations between the DRC and Rwanda, or the military defeat of M23.”

Also read: Kabila against Tshisekedi bid for constitution review

Describing Tshisekedi’s regime as “tyrannical”, he continued: “Given the history of its member states, SADC should know better. The grievances of the Congolese people against their government must and should be addressed. The persistence of the current bad governance of the country would certainly lead to new rounds of political turmoil, insecurity, institutional instability, armed conflict or even civil war.”

Mr Kabila was referring to the Southern African Development Community, which deployed a mission the Congo known by its acronym SamiDRC.

It was deployed in December 2023 to help the Congolese army defeat the M23. But this has not happened, and the mission itself has suffered losses, including death of soldiers.

Read: South African soldiers endure ‘long walk’ back home from DR Congo war

The comment came as a surprise to most Congolese, coming as it did from the man who had accustomed the Congolese to his silence, even when his political camp was under attack, on several occasions.

During his 18 years in power in Congo, his press conferences and interviews can be counted. And since leaving power in January 2019, he has remained silent, even when his wife, Olive Lembe, was almost targeted in late July 2024, when their home in Kinshasa was raided by angry political activists.

In early March, fresh from attending the final tributes to the late former Namibian president Sam Mujoma, Mr Kabila gave an interview to Namibia’s state broadcaster.

This time, the former head of state struck a more measured tone, but declared: “Our intention is to be very available to serve our country and our people, to serve the region as well... We still have some energy to continue to serve our country.”

Mr Kabila’s comments, and the restructuring of his party after a period of lethargy, come as the Congo River Alliance (AFC), in which included the M23 rebels, have made significant gains in North and South Kivu.

Mobondo rebels

And in Kinshasa, President Tshisekedi and other country official allege Mr Kabila is supporting the rebels in the east of the country. President Tshisekedi has said this publicly on two occasions.

Last week, Jean-Pierre Bemba, the deputy prime minister in charge of transport, stepped up his accusations against Mr Kabila, saying he was behind Mobondo, an armed group in the west of the country, less than 150 kilometres from Kinshasa.

“I can confirm that the person behind the Mobondo is Kabila. If you want proof, I’ve got it. I was Minister of Defence. The one behind the M23 and the AFC is Kabila.”

Mr Bemba accused Mr Kabila of trying to set Kinshasa on fire with the Mobondo.

The Mobondo group emerged from a communal conflict between two ethnic groups. But it has grown to use small arms. Between July 2022 and March 2023, Human Right Watch put the death toll from Mobondo attacks at 300. Since then, the conflict and killings have continued unabated.

Bemba’s accusations of Kabila’s involvement in the crisis are now being taken very seriously by the military courts in Kinshasa.

On Monday, March 10, 15 PPRD cadres were summoned by the military court to “shed light” on the Mobondo issue. Among those summoned was Mr Minaku, as well as permanent secretary Emmanuel Shadary, a former presidential candidate in 2018.