Ex-DR Congo President Kabila Launches Movement To 'Save Congo'

17 October 2025

allAfrica.com

Former Congolese President Joseph Kabila has announced a movement to "save" his country, after a meeting with other opposition leaders in Kenya's capital, Nairobi.

The group resolved to rally Congolese to oppose the "dictatorship" of President Félix Tshisekedi. Their objective was to reach "all Congolese citizens opposed to the dictatorship, end the tyranny, restore state authority, and reestablish democracy."

Kabila, who ruled the DRC for nearly two decades until 2019, was recently sentenced to death back home for war crimes and treason by a military court. He rejected the charges as "arbitrary" but did not appear in court to defend himself. He had been in self-imposed exile since 2023, following a fallout with Tshisekedi after backing him in the disputed 2019 elections.

The Nairobi gathering included former Prime Minister Augustin Matata Ponyo, and participants issued a 14-point declaration calling for daily actions to restore dignity and launch a diplomatic offensive to alert the international community.  They criticized Tshisekedi's failure to enact policies to address urgent public needs, despite his full control of state power.

The meeting in Nairobi came as the Congolese government signed an agreement with the M23 in Doha to set up a way of monitoring their ceasefire.