Former DRC president Joseph Kabila accused of backing rebels

The Democratic Republic of Congo's President Joseph Kabila attends the extraordinary summit of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) head of states emergency summit in Uganda's capital Kampala on September 5, 2013. PHOTO | REUTERS

By  The East African newspaper publisher

What you need to know:

• Former presidents in the DRC are immune to prosecution, but the sitting head of state may waive immunity if deemed necessary for justice

The war in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo is likely to rekindle the rivalry between former president Joseph Kabila and his successor Félix Tshisekedi.

On April 5, Éric Nkuba, a strategic and political adviser to Alliance Fleuve Congo (AFC) leader Corneille Nangaa, was arrested in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and extradited to Kinshasa.

He named the former Congolese president as one of the military supporters of the AFC rebels.In response, a statement from Kabila's FCC dismissed the accusations, portraying him as "a man of peace and dialogue, a patriot and proven democrat."

Tshisekedi’s party made similar accusations against Kabila at the end of March, claiming he was behind some rebel groups.

The accusations came amidst reports of some members of Kabila’s PPRD party joining the AFC and M23 rebels, collectively vowing to overthrow Tshisekedi, whom they accuse of dictatorship.

Since the dissolution of the Kabila-Tshisekedi coalition at the end of 2020, the two leaders have been at loggerheads.

In mid-March, Jaynet Kabila, the former president’s twin sister, was questioned by military intelligence for five hours.

Ms Kabila, also president of the Mzee Laurent-Désiré Kabila Foundation, had denounced vandalism at the Foundation’s headquarters during a search conducted by the Demiap, the military intelligence service.

According to the foundation, Demiap soldiers seized computers, USB keys, telephones, and other items.

Currently, the Congolese are awaiting a decision from the government regarding Kabila's involvement.

Former presidents in the DRC are immune to prosecution, but the sitting head of state may waive immunity if deemed necessary for justice, though such a decision could also be political.

Augustin Kabuya, a close aide to President Tshisekedi, pressed accusations against Kabila, alleging that Kabila had secretly left the DRC.

Kabuya claimed that the immigration directorate had no information about Kabila’s departure from the country.

“The accusations against Kabila have no basis,” argued the FCC, highlighting Kabila’s 18-year rule, which faced various challenges without the support of what they referred to as "new patriots."