Foreign News Desk
Goma- Former Democratic Republic of Congo president Joseph Kabila has joined forces with the Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group to launch a new political-military alliance aimed at ousting the central government in Kinshasa.
The announcement was made Monday during a joint press conference at Kabila’s residence in Goma, the eastern Congolese city under M23 control since January 2025. The coalition, named the Front pour la Refondation de la Nation (FRN), brings Kabila out of near-total public obscurity to serve as its head, with M23 rebel leaders appointed as his deputies.
In a joint statement, the newly established outfit declared its intention to pool strengths, resources, and means to end what it called government tyranny by any means, including force.
The move marks a significant escalation in Kabila’s opposition to his successor, President Felix Tshisekedi, whose administration previously accused the former leader of complicity with eastern insurgencies. A year ago, a Congolese court sentenced the 55-year-old former president to death in absentia for conspiring with the M23 and helping form its political predecessor, the Congo River Alliance, charges Kabila has consistently denied.
Kabila, who governed the mineral-rich nation from 2001 until stepping down after the 2018 elections, re-enters active politics amid mounting tensions over Tshisekedi’s political future. While the Congolese constitution limits presidents to two five-year terms, Tshisekedi’s ruling coalition has recently floated proposals to amend the constitution ahead of the 2028 elections, drawing sharp criticism from opposition factions.
The alliance forms against the backdrop of three decades of conflict in eastern DRC. Despite accusations from the United Nations and Western nations that Rwanda supports the M23, Kigali continues to deny direct involvement in the conflict. Diplomatic initiatives, including a U.S.-mediated agreement signed in December between Kinshasa and Kigali and a Qatari-mediated ceasefire reached in July 2025, have failed to curb fighting on the ground.
