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DW
27-05-2025
- Politics
- DW
Is Joseph Kabila's return to Congo a game changer? – DW – 05/27/2025
The M23-led rebel alliance claims Congo's former leader, Joseph Kabila, is safe in Goma, which is under their control. Kabila is back in the spotlight after criticizing the government of President Felix Tshisekedi. The Congo River Alliance (AFC) and M23 rebel groups claim Joseph Kabila is in Goma, beyond the reach of Congolese government forces. Kabila, who served as the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) head of state from 2001 to 2019, was once a strong ally of incumbent President Felix Tshisekedi. But Kabila recently made headlines after publicly criticizing a decision by Tshisekedi's government to remove his immunity from prosecution, despite being declared a "senator for life" when he stood down in 2019. Tshisekedi's administration has also ramped up verbal attacks on the former president, with Augustin Kabuya, secretary-general of Tshisekedi's Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS), declaring "Kabila is not Congolese" but rather a "Rwandan subject." Some political observers have said Kabila's reemergence in a rebel-held area could jeopardize existing mediation efforts spearheaded by religious leaders. However, Elodie Ntamuzinda, a conflict resolution expert, told DW that sidelining Kabila is counterproductive. "We encourage the authorities to be able to approach him and that he, too, be open to talks. We believe that the general interest comes first, and we need each other," Ntamuzinda said. Joseph Kabila became the Congolese president after the assassination of his father, Laurent-Desire Kabila (pictured), in 2001 Image: picture-alliance/AP/D. Guttenfelder Tresor Kibangula, political director at the Kinshasa-based Ebuteli research institute, described Kabila as a shadow power the government is trying to keep at bay. As the son of the late Congolese President Laurent-Desire Kabila, who opposed the dictatorship of Mobutu Sese Seko, Joseph Kabila spent much of his youth in Tanzania before becoming a military leader in his father's rebel Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo-Zaire (AFDL) in the late 1990s. It is widely believed that Kabila's ADFL rebel group included "kadogos" (Kiswahili for child soldiers), and when the ADFL ousted Mobutu's regime in 1997, the young Kabila gained further military training abroad before taking up a senior position in the Congolese Armed Forces (FARDC). Kabila's tumultuous presidency Laurent Kabila's assassination on January 16, 2001, thrust his son Joseph Kabila, who was just 29 years old at that time, into the presidency. He was reportedly reluctant to be president of the vast mineral-rich country, which was in the midst of the devastating Second Congo War. The conflict broadly pitted pro-government forces and international allies like Angola, Zimbabwe, and Namibia against Rwandan-backed fighters, who had taken over large territories in the eastern DRC. The 2002 Sun City Agreement technically ended the fighting and paved the way for the DRC's first democratic election. Kabila won the 2006 election and would lead the Congo until 2018. He tried to keep a stable government, but accusations of incompetence, cronyism, and corruption dogged his tenure. Despite relative successes like opening up the country to foreign investors and growing the economy, most Congolese remained below the poverty line. At the same time, the nation's mineral wealth was extracted and shipped out of the country to benefit trade partners. Re-election in 2011 saw Kabila retain power, but his list of enemies grew, and rebel groups such as the Rwandan-backed M23reappeared. Protests against Kabila's governance and self-enrichment rumors were often violently quashed. When Kabila's term ran out in 2016, he delayed the elections until 2018 and became more unpopular at home and abroad. In addition, the security situation in the DRC, despite the presence of multinational forces like SADC and MONUSCO, was becoming untenable. Congo: Land of riches beset by massive exploitation To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video In 2019, Kabila handed over power peacefully to Felix Tshisekedi, although observers expressed distrust in the validity of the election results. Kabila then seemed to retreat from politics. But in 2020, the pair fell out, and the coalition between their political parties ended. Since 2023, Tshisekedi's regime has accused Kabila of siding with the M23. Consequently, Tshisekedi banned Kabila's People's Party for Reconstruction and Democracy (PPRD), and ended his immunity from prosecution, which he had enjoyed as a former president. Is Kabila's influence waning? Kabila's relationship with the Congolese government deteriorated further in 2025. "There is no strong popular nostalgia for Kabila in the country today," political analyst Tresor Kibangula told DW. Nevertheless, President Tshisekedi has ramped up accusations, saying Kabila was plotting an "insurrection" with the M23. He has regularly named him the architect of the M23's military success in the eastern DRC. Once allies-turned enemies: Kabila and Tshisekedi during happier times at the 2019 power handover Image: Jerome Delay/dpa/picture alliance In a recent online video address, 53-year-old Kabila broke his silence publicly for the first time after losing his immunity. "The dictatorship must end, and democracy and good economic and social governance must be restored." He criticized Tshisekedi's leadership for corruption, undermining democracy, and mishandling the violent conflict in the eastern DRC. Déo Bizibu, a member of Tshisekedi's ruling UDPS, accused Kabila of hypocrisy. "This is a pyromaniac trying to pass himself off as a fireman," Bizibu told DW, adding that Kabila had spent six years pulling strings, seeking to return to power. "He should understand that his time is up." Why Congo's Tshisekedi wants peace talks with M23 rebels To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Conflict analyst Philippe Doudou Kaganda told DW that Congolese unity is at stake with Kabila's return. "We're going to get bogged down in conflict again, and it's going to take on a dimension that's much more internal than external," he said. "There's a risk that the discourse around Rwanda will be stifled." Tshisekedi's government has sought to blame incursions from Rwanda as the cause of instability in the eastern DRC. Rwanda denies the allegations and argues that the Congolese must handle their security challenges. Edited by: Chrispin Mwakideu
DW
27-05-2025
- Politics
- DW
DRC: Is ex-President Joseph Kabila's return a game changer? – DW – 05/27/2025
The M23-led rebel alliance claims that former Congolese President Joseph Kabila is safe in Goma, which is under their control. Kabila is back in the spotlight after criticizing President Felix Tshisekedi's government. The Congo River Alliance (AFC) and M23 rebel groups claim Joseph Kabila is in Goma, beyond the reach of Congolese government forces. Kabila, who served as the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) head of state from 2001 to 2019, was once a strong ally of incumbent President Felix Tshisekedi. Kabila recently made headlines after publicly criticizing a decision by Tshisekedi's government to remove his immunity from prosecution, despite being declared a 'senator for life' when he stood down in 2019. Tshisekedi's administration has also ramped up verbal attacks on the former president, with Augustin Kabuya, Secretary-General of Tshisekedi's Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS), declaring "Kabila is not Congolese" but rather a "Rwandan subject." Some political observers say Kabila's re-emergence in a rebel-held area could jeopardize existing mediation efforts spearheaded by religious leaders. However, Élodie Ntamuzinda, a conflict resolution expert, told DW that sidelining Kabila is counterproductive: "We encourage the authorities to be able to approach him and that he too be open to talks. We believe that the general interest comes first, and we need each other," Ntamuzinda said. Joseph Kabila became the Congolese president after the assassination of his father, Laurent-Désiré Kabila (pictured), in 2001 Image: picture-alliance/AP/D. Guttenfelder Tresor Kibangula, political director at the Kinshasa-based Ebuteli research institute, described former President Joseph Kabila as a shadow power the government is trying to keep at bay. As the son of the late Congolese President Laurent Desire Kabila, who opposed the dictatorship of Mobutu Sese Seko, Joseph Kabila spent much of his youth in Tanzania before becoming a military leader in his father's rebel Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo-Zaire (AFDL) in the late 1990s. It is widely believed that Kabila's ADFL rebel group included 'kadogos' (Kiswahili for child soldiers), and when the ADFL ousted Mobutu's regime in 1997, the young Joseph Kabila gained further military training abroad before taking up a senior position in the Congolese Armed Forces (FARDC). Kabila's tumultuous presidency Laurent Kabila's assassination on January 16, 2001, thrust his son Joseph Kabila, who was just 29 years old at that time, into the presidency. He was reportedly reluctant to be president of the vast mineral-rich country, which was in the midst of the devastating Second Congo War. The conflict broadly pitted pro-government forces and international allies like Angola, Zimbabwe, and Namibia against Rwandan-backed fighters, who had taken over large territories in the eastern DRC. The 2002 Sun City Agreement technically ended the fighting and paved the way for the DRC's first democratic election. Kabila won the 2006 election and would lead the Congo until 2018. He tried to keep a stable government, but accusations of incompetence, cronyism, and corruption dogged his tenure. Despite relative successes like opening up the country to foreign investors and growing the economy, most Congolese remained below the poverty line. At the same time, the nation's mineral wealth was extracted and shipped out of the country to benefit trade partners. Re-election in 2011 saw Kabila retain power, but his list of enemies grew, and rebel groups such as the Rwandan-backed M23reappeared. Protests against Kabila's governance and self-enrichment rumors were often violently quashed. When Kabila's term ran out in 2016, he delayed the elections until 2018 and became more unpopular at home and abroad. In addition, the security situation in the DRC, despite the presence of multinational forces like SADC and MONUSCO, was becoming untenable. Congo: Land of riches beset by massive exploitation To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video In 2019, Kabila handed over power peacefully to Felix Tshisekedi, although observers expressed distrust in the validity of the election results. Kabila then seemed to retreat from politics. But in 2020, the pair fell out, and the coalition between their political parties ended. Since 2023, Tshisekedi's regime has accused Kabila of siding with the M23. Consequently, Tshisekedi banned Kabila's People's Party for Reconstruction and Democracy (PPRD), and ended his immunity from prosecution, which he had enjoyed as a former president. Is Kabila's influence waning? Kabila's relationship with the Congolese government deteriorated further in 2025. "There is no strong popular nostalgia for Kabila in the country today," political analyst Tresor Kibangula told DW. Nevertheless, President Tshisekedi has ramped up accusations, saying Kabila was plotting an "insurrection" with the M23. He has regularly named him the architect of the M23's military success in the eastern DRC. Once allies-turned enemies: Kabila and Tshisekedi during happier times at the 2019 power handover Image: Jerome Delay/dpa/picture alliance In a recent online video address, 53-year-old Kabila broke his silence publicly for the first time after losing his immunity. "The dictatorship must end, and democracy and good economic and social governance must be restored." He criticized Tshisekedi's leadership for corruption, undermining democracy, and mishandling the violent conflict in the eastern DRC. Déo Bizibu, a member of Tshisekedi's ruling UDPS, accused Kabila of hypocrisy. "This is a pyromaniac trying to pass himself off as a fireman," Bizibu told DW, adding that Kabila had spent six years pulling strings, seeking to return to power. "He should understand that his time is up." Why Congo's Tshisekedi wants peace talks with M23 rebels To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Conflict analyst Philippe Doudou Kaganda told DW that Congolese unity is at stake with Kabila's return. "We're going to get bogged down in conflict again, and it's going to take on a dimension that's much more internal than external," he said. "There's a risk that the discourse around Rwanda will be stifled." Tshisekedi's government has sought to blame incursions from Rwanda as the cause of instability in the eastern DRC. Rwanda denies the allegations and argues that the Congolese must handle their security challenges. Edited by: Chrispin Mwakideu
Arabian Post
29-04-2025
- Business
- Arabian Post
Washington Accord Signals New Phase in Congo-Rwanda Peace Efforts
The Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda have formalised a U.S.-mediated agreement aimed at drafting a peace deal by 2 May, marking a significant step towards resolving long-standing hostilities in eastern Congo. The declaration, signed in Washington on 25 April, commits both nations to respect each other's sovereignty, cease support for armed groups, and establish a joint security mechanism to combat regional instability. The agreement was signed by DRC Foreign Minister Therese Kayikwamba Wagner and Rwandan Foreign Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe, with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio present as a witness. The declaration outlines commitments to mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, peaceful resolution of disputes, and an end to support for armed groups destabilising the region. This development follows a series of diplomatic efforts, including Qatar-brokered talks in Doha, where the DRC government and the M23-led Alliance Fleuve Congo agreed to work toward a truce. The M23 offensive, which began in January 2025, has led to significant displacement and casualties in the eastern provinces of North Kivu and South Kivu. The U.S. has expressed interest in investing in the mineral-rich regions of eastern Congo, which hold essential resources like copper, cobalt, and lithium. The agreement opens the door for major U.S. public and private investments in the area, including sectors like tantalum and gold.
CNN
12-02-2025
- Politics
- CNN
Fighting in Africa's mineral-rich DRC killed over 3,000 in less than 2 weeks. Here's how your phone plays a part
A rampaging rebel group has claimed the capture of another mining town in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), a little over a week after it took control of the region's largest city Goma. Clashes between the rebel coalition Alliance Fleuve Congo (AFC) and Congolese forces have left more than 3,000 people dead in less than two weeks, according to DRC's government. The AFC, of which the M23 armed group – which claims to defend the interest of minority Rwandophone communities – is a key member, took over resource-rich Nyabibwe last week after Goma, the provincial capital of North Kivu, fell on January 27. It comes less than a year after the rebels seized Rubaya, a mining hub also in the country's east, which harbors one of the world's largest deposits of coltan, a valuable mineral used in the production of smartphones. Here's what you need to know. For decades, DRC, a Central African nation of more than 100 million people, has grappled with bloody militia violence, including ethnic and resource-driven armed rebellion by M23 and dozens of other armed groups. Roughly the size of Western Europe, the war-riven country is endowed with vast mineral wealth, including the world's largest reserves of cobalt and coltan – both critical to the production of electronics. Cobalt is used to produce batteries that power cell phones and electric vehicles, while coltan is refined into tantalum, which has a variety of applications in phones and other devices. However, according to the World Bank 'most people in DRC have not benefited from this wealth,' and the country ranks among the five poorest nations in the world. Much of DRC's mineral wealth is split between its government and armed groups who control swathes of the resource-rich east. 'Access to natural resources is at the heart of this conflict,' Jean Pierre Okenda, an analyst specializing in extractive industries governance, told CNN about the M23-led takeover of territories in the east. 'It's not a coincidence that the zones occupied by the rebels are mining areas,' Okenda said, adding that global demand for cobalt and coltan has fueled the crisis. 'It takes money to wage war. Access to mining sites finances the war,' he added. Victor Tesongo, a spokesperson for the AFC-M23 rebel alliance, told CNN that the group was in control of the coltan-rich Rubaya and Nyabibwe mines, but stopped short of saying how much money it has derived from them or what it has been spent on. But a top United Nations official has an idea. Bintou Keita, the UN Secretary General's Special Representative to the DRC, told the Security Council in a September briefing that coltan trade from Rubaya's mines is estimated to supply over 15 percent of global tantalum production and generates an estimated $300,000 in revenue a month for M23. M23 denied these claims, insisting its presence in Rubaya was 'solely humanitarian.' Much of the international community, including the Congolese government, has accused neighboring Rwanda of backing M23 and aiding the plunder of DRC minerals. UN experts believe that an estimated 3,000 to 4,000 Rwandan soldiers are supervising and supporting M23 fighters in eastern DRC, outnumbering the rebel group's forces in the country. A December report by the UN Group of Experts on the DRC revealed that 'at least 150 tons of coltan were fraudulently exported to Rwanda and mixed with Rwandan production.' DRC Communications Minister Patrick Muyaya told CNN last week that 'Rwanda's mineral exports surged after its forces took control of key mining zones in DRC.' Rwanda is one of the world's top suppliers of coltan and has surpassed DRC's export of the mineral in recent years. Rwandan President Paul Kagame told CNN last week that his country gets coltan from its mines and said that he didn't know whether Rwandan troops were in DRC. In a public address that drew outrage last year, Kagame admitted that Rwanda was a transit point for minerals smuggled from DRC, but insisted his country was not stealing from its neighbor. 'Some people come from Congo; whether they smuggle or go through the right channels, they bring minerals. Most of it goes through here (Rwanda) but does not stay here. It goes to Dubai, Brussels, Tel Aviv, (and) Russia. It goes everywhere,' Kagame said, without providing evidence or specifying what minerals were being smuggled. CNN has reached out to his government's spokesperson for comment. In 2022, the United States Treasury Department said that over 90% of DRC's gold was being 'smuggled to regional states, including Uganda and Rwanda' where they are 'refined and exported to international markets, particularly the UAE,' and sanctioned a Belgian businessman for facilitating the trade. For DRC's other valuable minerals including coltan and cobalt, the scale of the plunder remains unclear. In December, DRC sued subsidiaries of Apple in Belgium and France, accusing the company of sourcing conflict minerals. Apple denied the accusation. Every year, tech giants such as Apple and Microsoft publish reports saying that they demand responsible sourcing of minerals from their suppliers. In an earlier filing to the US Securities and Exchange Commission in 2023, Apple said that while it continued to source 3TG (tin, tungsten, tantalum and gold) and other minerals such as cobalt and lithium from DRC and other countries, it was 'committed to meeting and exceeding internationally accepted due diligence standards for primary minerals and recycled materials in our supply chain.' It added that its due diligence efforts had 'found no reasonable basis for concluding that any of the smelters or refiners of 3TG determined to be in our supply chain as of December 31, 2023 directly or indirectly financed or benefited armed groups in the DRC or an adjoining country.' DRC's mineral wealth has presented itself as a 'curse,' according to analyst Okenda, who explained: 'These resources create wars, create rebellions, expose local populations, and also create serious ecological problems,' he told CNN. Last week, a humanitarian ceasefire announced by M23 fell apart almost immediately after it was declared, as the rebels swiftly advanced into Nyabibwe. While regional and global leaders ponder solutions to ending the crisis, Okenda believes that DRC's government needs to reinvent itself if it hopes for lasting peace. DRC 'has a governance model that if it does not change, the Congolese population will gain absolutely nothing, whether there is war or not,' he said. 'If the Kinshasa government improves its governance, invests in the army, ensures a fair sharing of resources between citizens in the country, and conducts elections that are of better quality, I still think that peace can return (to DRC),' he said.
Yahoo
12-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Fighting in Africa's mineral-rich DRC killed over 3,000 in less than 2 weeks. Here's how your phone plays a part
A rampaging rebel group has claimed the capture of another mining town in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), a little over a week after it took control of the region's largest city Goma. Clashes between the rebel coalition Alliance Fleuve Congo (AFC) and Congolese forces have left more than 3,000 people dead in less than two weeks, according to DRC's government. The AFC, of which the M23 armed group – which claims to defend the interest of minority Rwandophone communities – is a key member, took over resource-rich Nyabibwe last week after Goma, the provincial capital of North Kivu, fell on January 27. It comes less than a year after the rebels seized Rubaya, a mining hub also in the country's east, which harbors one of the world's largest deposits of coltan, a valuable mineral used in the production of smartphones. Here's what you need to know. For decades, DRC, a Central African nation of more than 100 million people, has grappled with bloody militia violence, including ethnic and resource-driven armed rebellion by M23 and dozens of other armed groups. Roughly the size of Western Europe, the war-riven country is endowed with vast mineral wealth, including the world's largest reserves of cobalt and coltan – both critical to the production of electronics. Cobalt is used to produce batteries that power cell phones and electric vehicles, while coltan is refined into tantalum, which has a variety of applications in phones and other devices. However, according to the World Bank 'most people in DRC have not benefited from this wealth,' and the country ranks among the five poorest nations in the world. Much of DRC's mineral wealth is split between its government and armed groups who control swathes of the resource-rich east. 'Access to natural resources is at the heart of this conflict,' Jean Pierre Okenda, an analyst specializing in extractive industries governance, told CNN about the M23-led takeover of territories in the east. 'It's not a coincidence that the zones occupied by the rebels are mining areas,' Okenda said, adding that global demand for cobalt and coltan has fueled the crisis. 'It takes money to wage war. Access to mining sites finances the war,' he added. Victor Tesongo, a spokesperson for the AFC-M23 rebel alliance, told CNN that the group was in control of the coltan-rich Rubaya and Nyabibwe mines, but stopped short of saying how much money it has derived from them or what it has been spent on. But a top United Nations official has an idea. Bintou Keita, the UN Secretary General's Special Representative to the DRC, told the Security Council in a September briefing that coltan trade from Rubaya's mines is estimated to supply over 15 percent of global tantalum production and generates an estimated $300,000 in revenue a month for M23. M23 denied these claims, insisting its presence in Rubaya was 'solely humanitarian.' Much of the international community, including the Congolese government, has accused neighboring Rwanda of backing M23 and aiding the plunder of DRC minerals. UN experts believe that an estimated 3,000 to 4,000 Rwandan soldiers are supervising and supporting M23 fighters in eastern DRC, outnumbering the rebel group's forces in the country. A December report by the UN Group of Experts on the DRC revealed that 'at least 150 tons of coltan were fraudulently exported to Rwanda and mixed with Rwandan production.' DRC Communications Minister Patrick Muyaya told CNN last week that 'Rwanda's mineral exports surged after its forces took control of key mining zones in DRC.' Rwanda is one of the world's top suppliers of coltan and has surpassed DRC's export of the mineral in recent years. Rwandan President Paul Kagame told CNN last week that his country gets coltan from its mines and said that he didn't know whether Rwandan troops were in DRC. In a public address that drew outrage last year, Kagame admitted that Rwanda was a transit point for minerals smuggled from DRC, but insisted his country was not stealing from its neighbor. 'Some people come from Congo; whether they smuggle or go through the right channels, they bring minerals. Most of it goes through here (Rwanda) but does not stay here. It goes to Dubai, Brussels, Tel Aviv, (and) Russia. It goes everywhere,' Kagame said, without providing evidence or specifying what minerals were being smuggled. CNN has reached out to his government's spokesperson for comment. In 2022, the United States Treasury Department said that over 90% of DRC's gold was being 'smuggled to regional states, including Uganda and Rwanda' where they are 'refined and exported to international markets, particularly the UAE,' and sanctioned a Belgian businessman for facilitating the trade. For DRC's other valuable minerals including coltan and cobalt, the scale of the plunder remains unclear. In December, DRC sued subsidiaries of Apple in Belgium and France, accusing the company of sourcing conflict minerals. Apple denied the accusation. Every year, tech giants such as Apple and Microsoft publish reports saying that they demand responsible sourcing of minerals from their suppliers. In an earlier filing to the US Securities and Exchange Commission in 2023, Apple said that while it continued to source 3TG (tin, tungsten, tantalum and gold) and other minerals such as cobalt and lithium from DRC and other countries, it was 'committed to meeting and exceeding internationally accepted due diligence standards for primary minerals and recycled materials in our supply chain.' It added that its due diligence efforts had 'found no reasonable basis for concluding that any of the smelters or refiners of 3TG determined to be in our supply chain as of December 31, 2023 directly or indirectly financed or benefited armed groups in the DRC or an adjoining country.' DRC's mineral wealth has presented itself as a 'curse,' according to analyst Okenda, who explained: 'These resources create wars, create rebellions, expose local populations, and also create serious ecological problems,' he told CNN. Last week, a humanitarian ceasefire announced by M23 fell apart almost immediately after it was declared, as the rebels swiftly advanced into Nyabibwe. While regional and global leaders ponder solutions to ending the crisis, Okenda believes that DRC's government needs to reinvent itself if it hopes for lasting peace. DRC 'has a governance model that if it does not change, the Congolese population will gain absolutely nothing, whether there is war or not,' he said. 'If the Kinshasa government improves its governance, invests in the army, ensures a fair sharing of resources between citizens in the country, and conducts elections that are of better quality, I still think that peace can return (to DRC),' he said.
