By Badylon Kawanda Bakiman
For months, the relationship between the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and former president Joseph Kabila Kabange has been tumultuous. An unprecedented tug-of-war between the two parties has gained ground.
For some time now, the government has suspected Joseph Kabila of being in league with the M23/AFC rebellion. Several months ago, the President of the Republic, Félix Tshisekedi, asserted that “Corneille Nanga’s AFC (Alliance Fleuve Congo) is Joseph Kabila”. At the time, Tshisekedi believed that Kabila had boycotted the 2023 elections in order to engage in armed struggle.
During a working visit to Kikwit, an economic and political town in the southwestern province of Kwilu, in March 2025, Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo, current Minister of Transport and Communications and former Minister of National Defense, told the town’s population that he had proof of everything Joseph Kabila is doing with the M23/AFC rebels in the east, and the “Mobondo phenomenon” (armed militiamen who kill and plunder the wealth of the people of Grand Bandundu in the west).
On Thursday May 22, the DRC Senate voted to lift former president Joseph Kabila’s immunity as a life senator.
With 88 votes in favor, 5 against and 3 spoiled ballots out of 96 voters, the Upper House authorized legal proceedings against the former head of state, marking a turning point in the Congolese political landscape.
This decision follows the approval of the report of the special commission examining the indictment of the Auditor General of the High Military Court.
For their part, Joseph Kabila’s camp rejects all accusations. For Joseph Kabila’s spokeswoman Barbara Nzimbi, the Congolese president “is in a state of distraction”:
“Throughout his mandate, President Tshisekedi has excelled in the art of accusing others. Until now, he has shown a great lack of accountability to the Congolese people. Accusing Joseph Kabila day and night, without proof or foundation, when Joseph Kabila is so far the symbol of democracy through the very first alternation that this country has known”, he declared on the airwaves of a local radio station.
“This is not conducive to national cohesion. Joseph Kabila remains the defender and protector of republican values, and the only way for him to come to power is through the ballot box. I call on Félix Tshisekedi to concentrate on managing the country, which has now fallen further than at any time in its history. As for the drawers he promises to reopen, let him be sure he has all the facts, because for our part, we are ready to present our own to the Congolese people and to history”, he added.
This tug-of-war between the current government and Joseph Kabila is giving rise to many concerns and reactions.
For example, the New Congolese Civil Society (NSCC), one of the country’s civic organizations, raised its voice in a press release signed on May 23, 2025.
“The former president is now seeking to rehabilitate his image, but the Congolese people do not have a short memory. There can be no question of erasing the suffering of an authoritarian past through populist rhetoric”, reads the press release.
For his part, Benjamin Mungolo, one of the DRC’s development players, fears a profound deterioration in the country’s economy.
“What is currently happening in our country is worrying. This tug-of-war is going to cause a profound deterioration in the country’s economy. The people, who are already poor, will become even poorer and suffer,” he complains.
“This situation encourages war in all its forms. Women are the ones who are raped”, laments human rights activist Germaine Mbundalo.
She proposes a frank dialogue between all Congolese in order to find appropriate solutions.
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