Former Congolese president Joseph Kabila has traveled to the eastern city of Goma, which is under the control of the M23 rebel group, to hold consultations with local residents, three people close to him told the Associated Press on Wednesday.
Kabila’s reported arrival in Goma comes just days after the Congolese Senate voted to lift his immunity from prosecution over allegations of supporting the Rwandan-backed M23 insurgency in eastern Congo. The region is rich in minerals coveted by foreign investors and has been a flashpoint for conflict for years.
The former president, who has not been seen publicly in Goma, is accused by Kinshasa of backing the M23 rebellion, an accusation he has repeatedly denied. Kabila has been mostly living in South Africa since late 2023.
Corneille Nangaa, leader of the rebel alliance that includes M23, confirmed on social media that Kabila had arrived in Goma on Sunday night. Kabila himself has not spoken publicly about the visit, and no photos or videos of him in the city have been released.
The trip threatens to complicate U.S.-backed efforts to broker a peace deal in eastern Congo. Washington hopes to finalize a minerals and investment agreement this summer that could bring billions of dollars in Western funding to the conflict-scarred region, according to Massad Boulos, a senior adviser to former President Donald Trump.
The Congolese government has moved to suspend Kabila’s political party and seize assets linked to its leaders, accusing him of crimes against humanity for supporting the M23 insurgency and a series of massacres of civilians.
Kabila, who ruled Congo for nearly two decades after taking power in 2001 following his father’s assassination, stepped down in 2018 after months of protests and international pressure. He later formed an uneasy power-sharing arrangement with President Felix Tshisekedi, which collapsed in late 2020.
Tensions between the two leaders have only grown since. Tshisekedi accused Kabila of sponsoring M23’s recent offensive, which saw the rebels capture Goma in January and push towards Bukavu in February.
In a speech on Friday, Kabila rejected the accusations, saying the Congolese justice system was being misused for political ends by Tshisekedi’s government.
The United Nations and Western governments say Rwanda has supplied weapons and troops to M23, charges Kigali denies. Rwanda says its military operations in Congo are in response to attacks from Congo’s army and an allied militia composed of 1994 genocide perpetrators.