DR Congo president accuses ex-leader Kabila of being a Rwanda 'proxy'

The Democratic Republic of Congo's president has accused his predecessor Joseph Kabila, who has taken charge of a rebellion in the country's restive east, of being a Rwandan pawn.

Kabila this month joined with the Rwanda-backed M23 movement to take a direct role in an insurgency ravaging the DRC's mineral-rich east, returning to the fray at a febrile time for Congolese politics.

Taking aim at the government in Kinshasa, the new Front for the Refoundation of the Nation (FRN) vowed to "pool their strengths, resources and means" with the intention of "putting an end to tyranny", with Kabila at its helm.

In a speech broadcast on X by the Congolese presidency on Tuesday, President Felix Tshisekedi branded his predecessor "a big coward".

Rwanda's President Paul Kagame "asked his proxy, who had been lurking in the shadows, to come out and take the reins of this offensive", Tshisekedi told lawmakers from his ruling coalition.

"This is the sign of a side that is on the ropes," Tshisekedi said.

Joseph Kabila's return comes at febrile time for the DRC. By Jospin Mwisha (AFP)

"It is quite simply because they were at a loss for solutions that they had to push my predecessor into the thick of it."

With Rwandan help, the M23 movement has seized swathes of the eastern DRC -- with its valuable critical minerals coveted by world powers -- since taking up arms again in 2021.

Despite a US-brokered truce in December, fighting has continued to rage in a region that has been torn apart by conflict for three decades and faces a raging Ebola epidemic.

Contested third term

The FRN is set to be headed by Kabila, with M23 leaders serving as deputies.

Kabila, who ruled from 2001 to 2019, was sentenced to death in the DRC in absentia a year ago for treason on the grounds that he colluded with the M23.

His return has come at a volatile moment for the DRC, with Tshisekedi facing protests over accusations that he hopes to extend his rule beyond the constitutional limits.

In recent months, the opposition has held rallies against a proposed constitutional amendment that could pave for him to serve a third term.

The eastern DRC's minerals have long fuelled conflict in the region. By - (AFP)

The 63-year-old reaches the end of his second five-year mandate in 2028, which the constitution insists should be his last.

"I don't like this constitution, but let's not link the change of the constitution, or my desire to change the constitution, with any supposed intention to cling to power," Tshisekedi said.

"My mission is to put an end to the aggression against my country and to set it on the right path so that it can move forward, and that right path also involves revising this constitution," he added.

While opposition parties have rejected Tshisekedi's overtures for a national dialogue, they have so far kept their distance with Kabila.

Diplomatic sources and observers have expressed fears that any political opposition could be equated with support for the ex-president's rebellion.

Rwanda's hand

Kabila is accused by Congolese authorities of being behind the Congo River Alliance (AFC), the now-dissolved political wing of the M23.

The 55-year-old, who is under US sanctions for supporting the Rwanda-backed group, has denied the allegations.

After several years outside the country, Kabila reappeared in May 2025 in the eastern city of Goma, under M23 control, and has since made regular visits to rebel-held territory.

Rwanda is accused of helping the M23, which controls the key eastern city of Goma. By Jospin Mwisha (AFP)

An offensive by the M23 and the Rwandan army in eastern DRC in early 2025 resulted in the capture of Goma and Bukavu, capitals of North and South Kivu provinces.

Since then, the front line has stabilised, though South Kivu in particular has seen fierce clashes.

While United Nations experts have reported that Rwanda still has thousands of troops helping the M23 and exerts de facto control over the group, the DRC's neighbour has long denied offering the M23 military support.

But Rwanda insists that it faces an existential threat from Congolese militias founded by ethnic Hutus involved in the 1994 genocide of the Tutsis in Rwanda.