By Enyichukwu Enemanna
Former President of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Joseph Kabila, has visited the rebel-held city of Goma in the country’s eastern region for talks with locals, Reuters quoted sources close to him as saying.
The visit comes barely a month after declaring his interest to assist in ending the crisis in the region between government forces and the M23 rebel group, which has displaced thousands of people, killing scores of others.
Authorities have repeatedly accused Kabila, who came to power in 2001 and left in 2018, of supporting the Rwanda-backed M23 group, an allegation he denies.
Kabila, who has been away from the country since 2023, spending his self-imposed exile mostly in South Africa, had recently returned home. Though he did not announce his location, authorities said he was in Goma, one of the cities that fell under the control of M23 in January during an advance that saw the rebel group take control of more cities.
According to the three sources, Kabila, who arrived on Sunday night, will on Wednesday commence consultation meetings with citizens in Goma.
Corroborating the report, Corneille Nangaa, leader of the rebel alliance that includes M23, in a social media post confirmed that Kabila is in Goma, but the former leader himself has not spoken and no images of him in Goma have been sighted.
Last week, the country’s Senate had voted in favour of stripping Kabila of his immunity, to clear the way for his prosecution over his alleged support for the group.
At the moment, President Félix Tshisekedi’s administration is in talks with the United States to trade the mineral resources in Goma in exchange for assistance in helping Kinshasa achieve peace in the region.
A spokesman of the government, Patrick Muyaya, had on Tuesday accused Kabila of “positioning himself as the rebel leader” along with Rwandan President Paul Kagame.
Kabila is wanted in Congo for alleged crimes against humanity for allegedly supporting the insurgency in the east, including his role in the massacre of civilians.
Authorities have also moved to ban his political party and seize the assets of its leaders.
Kabila, in a speech Friday evening, alleged that Congo’s justice system was being “openly exploited for political ends” and was “nothing more than an instrument of oppression” for President Tshisekedi.
