Latest news with #Goma
Washington Post
3 days ago
- General
- Washington Post
Former Congolese leader Kabila meets with religious leaders in rebel-controlled city
GOMA, Congo — Former Congolese President Joseph Kabila , who is accused by the government of supporting Rwanda-backed rebels in the country's conflict-battered east, on Thursday met with top religious leaders in the rebel-controlled city of Goma. During the meeting — his first public engagement since Congolese authorities lifted his immunity amid a treason probe - Kabila expressed his desire to help achieve peace in the troubled region, according to one of the religious leaders.
Associated Press
3 days ago
- General
- Associated Press
Former Congolese leader Kabila meets with religious leaders in rebel-controlled city
GOMA, Congo (AP) — Former Congolese President Joseph Kabila, who is accused by the government of supporting Rwanda-backed rebels in the country's conflict-battered east, on Thursday met with top religious leaders in the rebel-controlled city of Goma. During the meeting — his first public engagement since Congolese authorities lifted his immunity amid a treason probe - Kabila expressed his desire to help achieve peace in the troubled region, according to one of the religious leaders. 'The former president called us to express his wish to see peace return,' Joel Amurani, senior bishop and president of the Religious Denominations Platform, said after the meeting. 'We told him to play the role of referee. For 18 years, he has worked for the unity of this country, and he still possesses this talent to contribute to the return of peace,' Amurani added. Kabila, who led Congo from 2001 to 2019, is accused by the government of supporting the Rwanda-backed M23 rebels that have seized two major cities in the country's east. He had been in self-imposed exile since 2023 until April when he arrived in the key city of Goma in the east. Among his alleged crimes include 'treason, war crimes, crimes against humanity and participation in an insurrectional movement' in the country's east, Justice Minister Constant Mutamba has said. The Congolese government has not spoken publicly about any plans to charge Kabila for the alleged crimes. However, the senate last week voted to grant the government's request and lift his lifetime immunity because of his honorific title as senator for life. Congolese political analyst Hubert Masomeko described the current political situation as a 'dangerous standoff' between the Congolese government and Kabila. 'Kabila's arrival in Goma is a political counteroffensive in retaliation for the measures taken by Kinshasa,' Masomeko added.
Reuters
3 days ago
- General
- Reuters
Congo ex-president Kabila makes first public appearance in rebel-held Goma
GOMA, May 29 (Reuters) - Former Congolese President Joseph Kabila appeared for the first time in public in rebel-held territory in the country's volatile east on Thursday, meeting with religious leaders in what participants said was a push for peace. Kabila, who has been out of the country since 2023, mostly in South Africa, is wanted in Congo for alleged crimes against humanity for supporting the insurgency in the east, including a role in the massacre of civilians. Congo has also moved to suspend his political party and seize the assets of its leaders. The former president's camp denies any ties to the Rwanda-backed M23 rebels who have seized more territory than ever since January. He had been vowing to return to the Central African country for weeks to help find a solution to the conflict. His return could complicate Washington's plans for a peace agreement between Congo and Rwanda. Massad Boulos, Trump's senior adviser for Africa, told Reuters earlier this month the deal could be signed this summer, accompanied by minerals deals aimed at bringing billions of dollars of Western investment to the region. Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi's government in Kinshasa this week accused Kabila of "positioning himself as the rebel leader" along with Rwandan President Paul Kagame. Kabila received religious leaders on Thursday at his residence in Kinyogote, west of the city of Goma, said reporters, who were barred from filming the discussions. Dressed in a grey jacket and a blue shirt, the 53-year-old didn't speak to the press. "The former president... called us to express his wish to see peace return to the eastern part of the country and throughout the country," said Joel Amurani, president of the Interfaith Synergy for Peace and Mediation, a religious group, who attended the meeting. A close aide of Kabila's said the consultation sessions were aimed at learning about security challenges in the region and that political, administrative, military and civil society figures were invited to further discussions on Friday. It is unclear how long Kabila intends to stay in M23-held territory. The United Nations and Western governments say Rwanda has provided arms and troops to M23. Rwanda denies backing M23 and says its military has acted in self-defence against Congo's army and a militia founded by perpetrators of the 1994 genocide.
Al Jazeera
3 days ago
- General
- Al Jazeera
Ex-DRC President Kabila holds talks in M23-held city of Goma: Reports
Former President Joseph Kabila has returned to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, just days after he lost his immunity amid accusations he has helped armed rebels fighting in the eastern DRC, according to the Reuters and AFP news agencies. Kabila, on Thursday, was visiting the eastern city of Goma, which had been seized by the Rwanda-backed M23 militia along with several other areas in the resource-rich east of the country earlier this year. A team of AFP journalists saw Kabila meet local religious figures in the presence of M23's spokesperson Lawrence Kanyuka, without giving a statement. Citing three unidentified sources close to Kabila, Reuters also said the ex-president held talks with locals in Goma. The visit comes despite the former president facing the possibility of a treason trial over his alleged support for M23. Earlier this month, the DRC Senate voted to lift Kabila's immunity, paving the way for him to be prosecuted. The ex-president, who has been in self-imposed exile since 2023, denies the allegations and has slammed the charges against him as 'arbitrary decisions with disconcerting levity'. On Thursday, a member of Kabila's entourage told AFP that though no formal alliance existed between his party and M23, both shared the 'same goal' of ending the rule of President Felix Tshisekedi. The United Nations and the DRC's government say Rwanda has supported the M23 with arms and troops – an accusation the neighbouring country denies. The renewed violence has raised fears of igniting a full-blown conflict, akin to the wars that the DRC endured in the late 1990s, involving several African countries, which killed millions of people. The current fighting has already displaced about 700,000 people this year, according to the UN. On Tuesday, Amnesty International accused M23 of committing abuses against civilians in areas under its control, 'including torture, killings and enforced disappearances'. 'These acts violate international humanitarian law and may amount to war crimes,' the group said in a statement. M23 says its goal is to protect ethnic minorities against the government in Kinshasa.
Reuters
4 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
Congo ex-president Kabila visits rebel-held Goma for talks, associates say
May 28 (Reuters) - Congolese former president Joseph Kabila has arrived in the rebel-held eastern city of Goma for talks with locals, three people close to him told Reuters, a month after declaring he wanted to help end the crisis in the war-ravaged region. If confirmed, the visit could complicate a U.S.-backed bid to end a rebellion by the Rwandan-backed M23 armed group in eastern Congo, which contains valuable minerals that U.S. President Donald Trump's administration is keen to help mine. Kabila, who has denied accusations by Kinshasa that he supports the M23 insurgency, agreed to step down following protests and external pressure in 2018 after almost two decades in power. He has been out of the country since late 2023, mostly in South Africa. The three people said the former president will begin holding consultations on Wednesday with citizens in Goma, which fell under the control of M23 in January during an advance that has seen the group seize more ground than ever before. The people close to Kabila said he had arrived in Goma on Sunday night. Corneille Nangaa, leader of the rebel alliance that includes M23, has also said on social media that Kabila is in Goma, though Kabila himself has not spoken and no images of him in Goma have been published. The reported visit follows a vote in the Senate in Kinshasa last week overwhelmingly in favour of lifting his immunity from prosecution over his alleged links to M23. Government spokesman Patrick Muyaya said in a briefing aired on state television Tuesday that Kabila was "positioning himself as the rebel leader" along with Rwandan President Paul Kagame. Kabila is wanted in Congo for alleged crimes against humanity for supporting the insurgency in the east, including a role in the massacre of civilians. Congo has also moved to suspend his political party and seize the assets of its leaders. In a speech on Friday evening, Kabila said Congo's justice system was being "openly exploited for political ends" and was "nothing more than an instrument of oppression" for President Felix Tshisekedi's government. Kabila, who came to power in 2001 after his father's assassination, clung to office following Congo's disputed 2018 election for almost two years through an awkward power-sharing deal with Tshisekedi. Tshisekdi cut him out at the end of 2020 by chipping away at his influence and accusing him of blocking reforms. The two men's relationship has since soured to the point that, as M23 marched on east Congo's second-largest city of Bukavu in February, Tshisekedi told the Munich Security Conference that Kabila had sponsored the insurgency. Washington is pushing for a peace agreement to be signed this summer, accompanied by minerals deals aimed at bringing billions of dollars of Western investment to the region, Massad Boulos, Trump's senior adviser for Africa, told Reuters earlier this month. The United Nations and Western governments say Rwanda has provided arms and troops to M23. Rwanda denies backing M23 and says its military has acted in self-defence against Congo's army and a militia founded by perpetrators of the 1994 genocide.
