Congo’s former President Kabila launches an anti-government front including M23 rebels

GOMA, October 12 - Former Congolese President Joseph Kabila has unveiled a fresh political-military coalition called the Front pour la Refondation de la Nation (FRN) to supplant the M23 insurgency, officially assuming a more active role in the conflict. The leadership of FRN, disclosed by the group's spokesperson Claude Ibalanky during a press briefing, will rest upon Kabila himself, with Corneille Nangaa, Bertrand Bisimwa, Freddy Kaniki, and Sultani Makenga as his deputies.

Congo's authorities have long suspected Kabila's alleged backing of the M23 rebels, who expanded their control over eastern Congo last year. However, Kabila adamantly denied any involvement in a speech delivered on Friday. He leveled accusations at the government, criticizing it for corruption, inefficiency in governance, and military failures in the eastern region. Kabila also voiced his discontent with a recent minerals agreement between Congo and the United States.

Kabila's alliance with Nangaa, the chief of the electoral commission who presided over the contentious 2018 elections that elected Felix Tshisekedi and effectively ended Kabila's tenure, has further fueled suspicions of a connection between the ex-president and the insurgency. Kabila had recently visited Goma, a city under the control of the M23 rebels, and several of his former associates have since joined the ranks of the M23, reinforcing the perception of a relationship between Kabila and the insurgency.

The United Nations and Western governments attribute the backing of the M23 rebels to Rwanda, a claim that Rwanda firmly denies. Kabila, conversely, was sentenced to death in absentia by a military court for treason, war crimes, and crimes against humanity, allegations he has vehemently denied, asserting the case was politically motivated.