Former DRC President Joseph Kabila joins M23 rebel alliance in Goma

Former Democratic Republic of the Congo President Joseph Kabila has joined a new political-military coalition, the Front for the Refoundation of the Nation (FRN), which was announced in Goma on Monday evening. Al Jazeera reported that the FRN, known in French as the Front pour la Refondation de la Nation, is led by Kabila. It replaces the existing alliance between the Alliance Fleuve Congo (AFC) and the March 23 Movement (M23).

According to Al Jazeera, the new coalition brings together figures and forces associated with the two movements. It accuses President Felix Tshisekedi of tyranny and calls for resistance by all means, including force. Al Jazeera said the coalition presents itself as a political alternative to the government while maintaining an armed challenge to its authority.

Goma, the main city in eastern Congo's North Kivu province, has been under M23-AFC control since January last year, Al Jazeera reported. The outlet said Kabila's move brings a former head of state directly into the leadership of the rebellion. It described the wider conflict as one that has displaced millions and drawn in neighbouring countries, with roots stretching back decades.

Al Jazeera reported that M23 says it took up arms because the Congolese government failed to honour earlier commitments. The Congolese government and international actors have accused Rwanda of supporting the group, an allegation Kigali denies, citing security threats from armed groups operating in eastern Congo, according to the outlet.

Residents of Goma told Al Jazeera they fear the realignment will push peace further away. Basa Juhudi, a Goma resident, said: "As a resident of Goma, I believed the war might end in the very near future, hoping that the Congolese government would liberate us. And we are greatly surprised that even our former president has joined the fray."

Juhudi said Kabila's political experience makes his involvement particularly troubling. "The fact that Joseph Kabila has joined the rebellion, bearing in mind that he is our former president and knows this country inside out, means the war is far from over. I am not happy about this frightening situation," he told Al Jazeera. He also recalled the peaceful transfer of power in 2019, when Tshisekedi succeeded Kabila, and said: "Today, I am very afraid."

Al Jazeera also set out Kabila's record in office. It reported that he came to power in 2001 after the assassination of his father, Laurent-Desire Kabila, was elected president in 2006 and was re-elected in 2011. His second constitutional term was due to end in 2016, but elections were delayed, and critics accused him of seeking to stay in power beyond the two terms the constitution permits. Protests against the delays were met with deadly violence before a political compromise paved the way for elections in December 2018.

Tshisekedi was declared the winner and took office in January 2019, which Al Jazeera described as the DRC's first peaceful transfer of presidential power through elections. Kabila defended the delays, arguing that the Congolese people had ultimately resolved their problems through dialogue, the outlet said.

Al Jazeera reported criticism of Kabila's move from within the Congolese political establishment. Vital Kamerhe, a former speaker of the National Assembly and leader of the Union for the Congolese Nation (UNC), urged the movement to abandon armed struggle. "You cannot erase your own record by accusing your successor," Kamerhe declared in a speech on Wednesday.

Al Jazeera said it was uncertain whether Kabila's leadership would reshape the rebellion or complicate efforts to end the war, and whether he can turn his political experience and networks into wider support.