M23 leader Bertrand Bisimwa defends ties to DRC ex-president Kabila amid treason allegations
Bisimwa emphasised that Kabila, like any other Congolese citizen, has the right to associate with opposition movements and should be respected for his past leadership, despite the controversies surrounding him.
IN GOMA
M23 rebel leader Bertrand Bisimwa has clarified the group’s ties to former President Joseph Kabila amid growing political tensions and instability in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
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Bisimwa emphasised that Kabila, like any other Congolese citizen, has the right to associate with opposition movements and should be respected for his past leadership, despite the controversies surrounding him.
“First, Kabila is a Congolese citizen, something we seem to forget most of the time, and he has a right like any other Congolese citizen. Secondly, he was the president of Congo, led this country, and should be respected for that fact and what he did for the country, the good and the bad, and we respect him in that capacity,” Bisimwa told reporters on Sunday.
He further explained that the alliance between M23 and Kabila stems from a shared position in opposition to the current government.
On the same side
“Kabila is now in the opposition, and M23 is also in the opposition, so we are all on the same side when we criticise the government for the wrongs and bad governance we see in the country. This is why we have a relationship with Kabila,” Bisimwa said.
His remarks come just hours before M23 spokesperson Lawrence Kanyuka confirmed Kabila’s arrival in Goma, a strategic city currently under rebel control.
“Former DRC President Joseph Kabila has arrived in the city of Goma. We wish him a pleasant stay in the liberated areas,” Kanyuka posted on X early Sunday.
URGENT
— Lawrence KANYUKA (@LawrenceKanyuka) May 25, 2025
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L'ancien président de la RDC, M. Joseph Kabila, est arrivé dans la ville de Goma. Nous lui souhaitons un agréable séjour dans les zones libérées.
The former president's return to DR Congo coincides with a crucial moment, occurring just days after the DRC Senate secretly voted to lift his immunity, thereby exposing him to prosecution. The vote was 88 in favour and five against, following allegations by Kinshasa that Kabila maintained links with the M23 movement.
Treason, war crimes accusations
Authorities in the capital claim to have gathered evidence implicating the former head of state in treason, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and participating in an insurrectionary movement. The accusations mark a dramatic escalation in the government's stance toward the man who ruled the DRC for nearly two decades before stepping down in 2018.
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Kabila has vehemently denied the charges and lashed out at the country’s judicial system.
“As for the justice system ... it has completely abdicated its responsibilities, allowing itself to be openly exploited for political ends. It is therefore nothing more than an instrument of oppression for a dictatorship desperately trying to survive,” Kabila said in a speech delivered Friday evening from an undisclosed location.
He also called for the withdrawal of all foreign troops from Congolese territory, asserting that the country’s sovereignty is not up for negotiation.
“As a soldier, I swore to defend my country to the supreme sacrifice ... I remain more faithful than ever to this oath,” he declared.
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