Kabila forms armed front with M23, deepening Congo political crisis
Former president Joseph Kabila now heads a new political and military front with M23 in Goma. Rebel leaders are his deputies, and the coalition lists the use of force among its aims against the current leadership. The move changes Kabila’s role since leaving office in 2019. Constitutional debate in Kinshasa and a faltering eastern ceasefire raise the stakes of the new alliance.
Geopolitics··Evening
Kabila and M23 unveil a front in Goma
Former Democratic Republic of Congo president Joseph Kabila has taken the leadership of a new political and military front with the M23 armed group in Goma, in the country’s east. The group calls itself the Front for the Refoundation of the Nation, or FRN. Kabila was presented as its leader at a Monday news conference at his residence; figures from M23 and the previous alliance assumed deputy roles. The front says it will pool forces and resources to remove the government in Kinshasa and expressly includes the use of force among its methods. That is the coalition’s stated objective, not evidence that a new offensive has begun.[1], [2]
The new structure replaces an earlier alliance
M23 has controlled Goma, the capital of North Kivu province, since January 2025. AFP reports that the Congo River Alliance, long described as M23’s political wing, has been dissolved. The Congolese outlet Actualite.cd likewise says the FRN’s founding text explicitly ends that alliance, while leaving the separate organizational fate of M23 less clearly specified. Corneille Nangaa, who led the former alliance, and Bertrand Bisimwa are named among the new deputies; military commander Emmanuel Sultani Makenga is accorded equivalent rank. The announced appointments make Kabila’s position more than an endorsement: he is presented as the president of the new front.[1], [2]
Kabila’s past and the constitutional timetable
Kabila became president in 2001 after the killing of his father Laurent Kabila. He won the 2006 election, while violence and fraud allegations marred his reelection in 2011. He handed power to Félix Tshisekedi in 2019 after the 2018 vote. Congolese authorities previously accused Kabila of helping establish the alliance linked to M23; he denied it. A death sentence imposed in his absence over alleged complicity with the group remains part of his legal position. Tshisekedi’s second five-year term ends in 2028, and the constitution sets a two-term limit. AFP says the presidential majority has been preparing opinion for a constitutional amendment. A Washington-backed agreement between Kinshasa and Kigali has shown no tangible effect on the ground, AFP reports. The July 2025 Qatar-mediated ceasefire between Kinshasa and M23 is also reported to be unobserved. Kabila’s new armed-front role enters an ongoing national contest over succession as the eastern conflict continues. Rwanda denies UN and Western government accusations that it supports M23.[1]
Related columns
For more information on this topic, you can read the related columns.
