Ex-leader Kabila back in DR Congo via M23-held city
GOMA - Ex-president Joseph Kabila was back in the Democratic Republic of Congo on Thursday via Goma, an eastern city seized by the Rwanda-backed M23 militia whose lightning offensive the government accuses him of orchestrating.
Putting an end to days of speculation over his return to the country, 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 the DRC's president, accuses Kabila of being the brains behind the armed group, which has seized swathes of the resource-rich Congolese east with Rwanda's help.
A team of AFP journalists saw Kabila meet local religious figures in the presence of the M23's spokesman Lawrence Kanyuka, without giving a statement.
Though Kabila left the DRC in 2023, the former leader still enjoys a certain influence over Congolese political life, and has criticised his successor's government as a "dictatorship".
Shorn of his usual beard and dressed in a dark suit, the 53-year-old, who led the DRC between 2001 and 2009, appeared visibly relaxed in front of the cameras.
Access to the residence was guarded by fighters from the M23 and members of his security service.
A member of Kabila's entourage told AFP that though no formal alliance existed between his party and the M23, both shared the "same goal" of ending Tshisekedi's rule.
Kabila's visit also comes after the ruling party warned him to stay out of Congolese affairs, with the DRC locked in talks with the United States and Rwanda aimed at ending the fighting.
In the wake of Kabila's previous announcement in April of his return to the country, which he later denied, the Congolese authorities suspended his political party and raided several properties belonging to him.
'DICTATORSHIP'
For more than three decades, the eastern DRC has been ravaged by conflict between various armed groups, which has intensified since the M23's resurgence in 2021.
Following a lightning offensive, the armed group captured the key eastern cities of Goma and Bukavu at the beginning of 2025, setting up to govern for the long term in the regions under its control.
While he was out of the country Kabila's entourage remained tight-lipped over his whereabouts.
Then, the former president in April announced his imminent return to the DRC via the conflict-hit east, much of which is under the control of the M23.
Accusing him of conspiring with the Rwanda-backed militia, the justice ministry in April referred the case against Kabila to the military courts.
In turn, the army's top prosecutor urged the Senate to vote to lift his immunity as senator for life, to allow his prosecution for treason, war crimes and crimes against humanity.
That vote passed on May 22 in the upper house, where Tshisekedi's ruling coalition enjoys an overwhelming majority, opening the way for his prosecution for treason, war crimes and crimes against humanity.
'DICTATORSHIP'
The day after losing his immunity to prosecution, Kabila broke his silence, lashing out at the Congolese authorities for the "arbitrary" push to target him.
In that speech to the Congolese people, Kabila, who took power following his father's assassination in 2001, promised to visit Goma "in the coming days" to help broker an end to the fighting.
In large part, the army prosecutor's case against him hinges on testimony by opposition figure Eric Nkuba.
Under questioning, Nkuba claimed to have overheard Kabila advise the M23's leader to remove Tshisekedi by coup rather than by assassination.
Given the severity of the accusations against him, Kabila could even face the death penalty.
The DRC lifted a moratorium on capital punishment in 2024, though no execution has yet been carried out.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
SowetanLIVE
38 minutes ago
- SowetanLIVE
Photographer, cultural activist and jazz promoter Rashid Lombard dies
Acclaimed photographer, cultural activist and jazz promoter Rashid Lombard died in Cape Town on Wednesday, surrounded by his loved ones. He was 74. Born on April 10 1951 in North End, Gqeberha, Lombard moved with his family to Cape Town in 1962. 'Originally trained as an architectural draftsman and later as an industrial photographer, he began his career with construction giant Murray & Roberts,' said family spokesperson Benny Gool. In 1970, Lombard married Colleen Rayson and the couple had three children. 'As a child in the Eastern Cape, Rashid experienced a diverse, harmonious community — black, white, Coloured, Indian and Chinese — until the brutal machinery of apartheid forcibly removed his friends to racially segregated areas, never to be seen or heard of again.' His political consciousness was later amplified through the influence of the Black Consciousness Movement. Lombard went on to work as a freelance photographer and television sound recordist during the height of the anti-apartheid struggle. 'His lens captured the unrest and hope of a nation in transition for international media outlets including AFP, the BBC and NBC.' Over the course of his career, he documented pivotal moments in South Africa's journey to freedom, including the rise of the democratic movement in the 1980s, the release of Nelson Mandela in 1990 and the country's first democratic elections in 1994. Gool said with democracy came the opportunity for Lombard to fully embrace his other great passion, jazz. He served as station manager at Fine Music Radio and later as programming manager at P4 Smooth Jazz Radio. In 1997, Lombard founded espAfrika, the events management company behind one of his most enduring legacies: the Cape Town International Jazz Festival, which he launched in 2000 and directed until his retirement in 2014. After stepping away from the festival, Lombard took over the digitisation of his archives, a task previously managed by his wife. He later partnered with the National Archives and the department of sport, arts and culture to make the collection publicly accessible online as a national heritage resource. Lombard's extraordinary archive — more than 500,000 film negatives, video and audio recordings — is now preserved at the University of the Western Cape. In 2010, Lombard published Jazz Rocks, edited by the late George Hallett. The book is a journey looking through the eye of Lombard's camera, capturing music, people and places that defined his life and work across the globe. He was honoured with numerous awards for both his contributions to news photography and his impact on music and tourism. In 2014, he was awarded the prestigious National Order of Ikhamanga in Silver 'for his excellent contribution to arts and culture and his dedication to promoting jazz music that has put South Africa on the map for many jazz enthusiasts around the world'. In 1986, legendary exiled photographer Ernest Cole, who had not held a camera for over a decade, borrowed Lombard's and turned the lens on him in a gesture of deep respect and recognition, Gool said. Asked in a later interview about his legacy, Lombard responded: 'No matter who you are — religion, race, male, female — you can achieve your dreams. I'm a true testament to that.' He is survived by his lifelong-partner Colleen Lombard, his sister Fazoe Sydow, his children and five grandchildren. Lombard will be buried according to Muslim rites. The Good Party extended its condolences to Lombard's family and said his contributions helped shape the soul of the nation. 'As the visionary behind the Cape Town International Jazz Festival, he brought global attention to Cape Town while ensuring that the event remained rooted in principles of inclusivity, access and development,' party leader Patricia de Lille said. She said during her time as Cape Town mayor, she had the privilege of working alongside Lombard. 'The jazz festival stood out not just as a world-class musical showcase but as an all-inclusive event that actively worked to build a more inclusive city, one that welcomed all, regardless of colour or creed,' De Lille said. TimesLIVE
eNCA
an hour ago
- eNCA
Deadly stampede at India cricket celebrations leaves 11 dead
Packed crowds in India celebrating their cricket team's victory ended in a deadly stampede on Wednesday with 11 mainly young fans crushed to death, the local state's chief minister said. Joyous cricket fans had come out to celebrate and welcome home their heroes, Royal Challengers Bengaluru, after they beat Punjab Kings in a roller-coaster Indian Premier League cricket final on Tuesday night. But the euphoria of the vast crowds in the southern tech city of Bengaluru ended in disaster, with Prime Minister Narendra calling it "absolutely heartrending". Karnataka state Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said "most of the deceased are young", with 11 dead and 47 injured in the crush. In one Bengaluru hospital, a stream of injured came for treatment. "I was standing near the entrance, there was a huge crowd and they stamped on me", one lady told AFP, being taken in a wheelchair, who did not give her name. "I was not able to breathe. I fell unconscious." Siddaramaiah told reporters said that "no one expected such a huge crowd." But he added that the entire police force of the city had been deployed. "The stadium has a capacity of only 35,000 people, but 200,000-300,000 people came," the minister said. He said a victory street parade by the winning team was called off as authorities had anticipated an uncontrollable crowd. "The pain of this tragedy has even erased the joy of victory," said Siddaramaiah, who has ordered an inquiry in the deaths. "I don't want to defend the incident, the tragedy... our government is not going to play politics on this," he added. "This tragedy should not have happened. We are with the victims." - 'Distressing' - Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar said hundreds of thousands of people had flocked onto the streets and that police had been "finding it very difficult." An AFP photographer saw vast crowds as a sea of people crammed the streets and police waved sticks. Broadcasters showed police rushing away from crowds carrying young children in their arms, who had seemingly fainted. One unattended young man was sitting in an ambulance struggling to breathe. India cricket great Sachin Tendulkar called the deaths "beyond tragic", in a post on social media. "My heart goes out to every affected family," he said. "Wishing peace and strength to all." Where the crush took place, abandoned shoes lay scattered around. Mallikarjun Kharge, a senior Congress party leader, said the deaths were "profoundly distressing", adding that "the joy of victory should never come at the cost of lives". - 'Heartfelt condolences - Organisers pressed ahead with the ceremony, with the team's social media account posting a video of cheering crowds as the bus full of the players -- including batting legend Virat Kohli -- waved back. "This welcome is what pure love looks like," the club said in a post on X, which it later deleted. But IPL chairman Arun Dhumal, speaking to NDTV, said organisers in the stadium had not been told about the stampede until later. "At the time of the celebrations inside the stadium officials there did not know what had happened... I would like to send my heartfelt condolences," Dhumal said. Shivakumar said cricket organisers had "shortened the programme". Bengaluru had erupted in midnight celebrations after their team RCB, who scored 190-9, restricted Punjab to 184-7. India's IPL mega-tournament wrapped up on Tuesday night watched by 91,000 fans packed into the stadium in Ahmedabad -- and many millions more on television. Bengaluru fans celebrated wildly after their hero Kohli and RCB clinched victory for the first time in the 18 years of the IPL, their three previous finals having all ended in defeat. AFP | Padmanabha RAO A stampede at India's Kumbh Mela religious fair in January this year killed 30 people and injured several others. In July last year, 121 people were killed in northern Uttar Pradesh state during a Hindu religious gathering.
eNCA
an hour ago
- eNCA
Zelensky says Russian ceasefire memorandum is an 'ultimatum'
President Volodymyr Zelensky said Wednesday Russia had handed Ukraine a series of old ultimatums at peace talks in Istanbul this week, calling instead for a meeting with Vladimir Putin to break the impasse. More than three years into Russia's grinding invasion, which has cost tens of thousands of lives, the two sides have opened direct talks searching for a way to end what has become Europe's largest conflict since World War II. The fighting has pitted Kyiv and its Western allies against the Kremlin, whose demands have made clear it is seeking little short of capitulation from Ukraine. At a second round of negotiations on Monday, the two sides swapped documents with their terms for a ceasefire and agreed a large-scale prisoner exchange, which could go forward this weekend. But Zelensky blasted Russia's demands and cast doubt on whether the talks in their current format would achieve anything. "It is, after all, an ultimatum from the Russian side to us," Zelensky told reporters of the Russian demands. Moscow's demands included Ukraine fully pulling out of four regions -- Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia -- that Russia claims to have annexed but does not have full control over. The Ukrainian leader said it was "pointless" to hold further talks with Russian delegates at their current rank -- who he previously dismissed as "empty heads" -- since they could not agree a ceasefire. He instead renewed his call for a sit-down with Russian counterpart Putin and US President Donald Trump. - 'Any day' - "We are ready for such a meeting any day," Zelensky said, adding he was proposing a ceasefire be put in place before any such summit, which would also include Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The White House said earlier this week that Trump was "open" to meeting after the two sides failed to make headway towards a ceasefire. But speaking in Moscow shortly after Zelensky, Putin immediately dismissed the idea of direct talks and rejected the call for an unconditional ceasefire. "Why reward them by giving them a break from the combat, which will be used to pump the regime with Western arms, to continue their forced mobilisation and to prepare different terrorist acts," Putin said at a televised meeting. "Who negotiates with those who place their bets on terror?" he added. The only concrete agreement to come out of the talks has been a series of large-scale prisoner exchanges. AFP | Tetiana DZHAFAROVA Zelensky said the sides were planning to exchange 500 POWs this weekend. In Moscow, lead Russian negotiator Vladimir Medinsky confirmed in comments to Putin that the exchange would take place on Saturday, Sunday or Monday. Russia's invasion has left swathes of eastern and southern Ukraine destroyed, with millions forced to flee their homes in Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. Despite both Zelensky and Putin appearing to question whether progress was possible, Russia's foreign minister praised the Istanbul talks. "I think it is important and useful," Sergei Lavrov told Putin. "Both rounds, as we know, have yielded concrete results," he said, referring to the POW swaps. - Kyiv urges more sanctions - Ukrainian troops have been suffering months of setbacks on the battlefield as Russian forces steadily advance across key sectors of the sprawling front line. Russia's army said it had captured another village in Ukraine's Sumy border region, the latest in a string of gains as it seeks to establish what it calls a "buffer zone" inside Ukrainian territory. Zelensky urged Kyiv's military backers to ramp up support in a bid to pressure Russia towards peace. "We must not allow Russia to blur reality or mislead the world. Moscow must be forced into diplomacy," Zelensky said in a video message at a NATO meeting. The call comes as the United States has stepped back from its support under Trump, pushing instead for a quick end to the fighting and starting a rapprochement with Putin. Kyiv has however sought to gain assurances of continued support from the White House. On Wednesday, senior Zelensky aide Andriy Yermak met US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington. "We discussed the situation on the front line and the need to strengthen support for Ukraine in the field of air defence," Yermak said, adding he had urged more US sanctions on Russia.
