Former DRC President Joseph Kabila Takes Command of M23 Rebel Coalition

Former Congolese president Joseph Kabila has taken open leadership of a new political-military coalition built on the M23 rebellion, ending years of denials about his ties to the insurgency that has seized swathes of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

FAKTA

• Who: Former DRC president Joseph Kabila, who ruled the country from 2001 to 2019
• What: Named leader of the new Front for the Refoundation of the Nation (FRN), absorbing the AFC-M23 alliance
• When: Announced Monday, October 12, at a press conference at Kabila’s residence in Goma
• Where: Goma, capital of North Kivu province, under M23 control since January 2025
• Why it matters: The first time Kabila has openly headed an armed movement — a major escalation threatening President Félix Tshisekedi’s government and the peace process

What was announced

The Front for the Refoundation of the Nation, known by its French name Front pour la Refondation de la Nation (FRN), was unveiled late Monday at a press conference in Goma, the largest city in eastern Congo and one under rebel control since early 2025. According to the Associated Press, coalition adviser Claude Ibalanky announced the line-up and said the group’s mission was to “unite and coordinate all resistance forces in order to put an end to tyranny — by any means necessary, including the use of force.”

The founding declaration, dated October 12, states that the FRN succeeds the Congo River Alliance (AFC) and formally ends the AFC’s existence. It does not separately declare the M23 movement dissolved. Some reports identified the coalition’s armed wing as the Armée Révolutionnaire Congolaise.

Who is in the new coalition

Kabila will lead the coalition. Corneille Nangaa, the former head of Congo’s electoral commission who led the AFC, was named one of its vice-presidents. Senior M23 political figure Bertrand Bisimwa and the movement’s longtime military commander Sultani Makenga were also given senior roles; some accounts listed a fourth deputy, Freddy Kaniki, with initial reports differing on exact titles.

The announcement came three days after Kabila delivered a public address on October 9 calling for an inclusive national dialogue and criticizing President Tshisekedi’s handling of the crisis.

Background: from denial to open command

Congolese authorities have accused Kabila for months of supporting the AFC-M23 alliance, which captured Goma in January 2025 and later advanced into Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu. Kabila had denied any involvement. In September 2025, a Congolese military court sentenced him to death in absentia on charges of treason, war crimes and crimes against humanity linked to the rebellion; he rejected the case as politically motivated.

The DR Congo, the United States and United Nations experts have accused Rwanda of supporting M23, an allegation Kigali denies. The Congolese government had not publicly responded to the coalition’s formation as of Monday night.

What it means for peace efforts

The move places a former head of state at the top of an armed movement controlling two provincial capitals, complicating both the ongoing peace efforts and President Tshisekedi’s claim to speak for the whole country. Observers say the open command settles a question that has hung over the conflict for years — and raises the stakes for the mineral-rich east, where thousands have been forced from their homes.

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