Former Congolese President Joseph Kabila, who ruled the Democratic Republic of Congo from 2001 to 2019, has met with senior leaders of the armed political coalition AFC/M23, which has been locked in a prolonged conflict with the Congolese government.
Photographs released on May 30, 2024, by Corneille Nangaa, the coordinator of the AFC coalition, show Kabila in a closed-door meeting in Goma with Nangaa and Bertrand Bisimwa, the leader of the M23 rebel group, along with other unidentified officials.
In a statement accompanying the photos, Nangaa described the encounter as “a valuable opportunity to meet, in the evening in Goma, between the AFC/M23 coalition and President Joseph Kabila Kabange.”
He added: “This meeting marks the beginning of a series of dialogues aimed at exploring ways to establish and consolidate lasting peace, national unity, and sustainable coexistence.”
The meeting followed a May 26, 2025 announcement by the AFC/M23 coalition that Joseph Kabila had arrived in the city of Goma, a strategic stronghold in the eastern DRC and a region currently under heavy tension due to armed clashes.
Since the M23 rebel group seized key cities in the east of the country, including Bukavu and Goma, the Congolese government has repeatedly accused Kabila of backing the insurgents. President Félix Tshisekedi has publicly claimed that Kabila is the principal figure behind the instability in the Kivu regions, accusing him of covertly supporting the M23 movement.
Responding to these accusations during a press conference in South Africa in March 2025, Kabila denied any involvement, stating: “If I were truly collaborating with M23, the situation would be very different from what it is today.”
Despite his denial, the Congolese military prosecutor’s office has moved forward with legal action. It has requested the Senate to lift Kabila’s immunity as a permanent senator, in order to investigate him on serious charges including treason, association with an illegal armed group, war crimes, and crimes against humanity.
On May 22, 2025, the Senate voted in favor of the request, stripping Kabila of his legal immunity and paving the way for a formal prosecution.
