The Congolese authorities have suspended the activities of former President Joseph Kabila’s party, accused of maintaining a “complicit silence” regarding the M23 armed group, which is supported by Rwanda in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), according to a government source.
This decision arises amidst intense political tension between the Kinshasa government and Kabila’s camp, following Kabila’s recent announcement of his return to the east of the country, a region partly under M23 control.
The activities of the People’s Party for Reconstruction and Democracy (PPRD) “are suspended across the entire national territory,” stated a communiqué from the Ministry of the Interior, signed on Saturday.
The communiqué highlights the “proven activism” of Kabila, head of the PPRD, in “this Rwandan aggression war, as well as the guilty or complicit silence” of his party.
Furthermore, the Ministry of the Interior criticises Kabila for his “ambiguous attitude” in having “never condemned” the M23 rebellion or Rwanda’s support for this anti-government armed group.
It also condemns the former president’s “deliberate choice” to “re-enter the country through the city of Goma, under enemy control, which inexplicably guarantees his security.”
In another statement, the Ministry of Justice has requested the Attorney General at the Court of Cassation to “initiate legal proceedings” against Joseph Kabila “for his direct involvement” with the M23.
Kabila’s party has yet to respond.
The conflict in eastern DRC has escalated, with the M23 armed group seizing control of the region’s two major cities, Goma and Bukavu.
President Félix Tshisekedi has repeatedly accused his predecessor, Joseph Kabila, of preparing “an insurrection” and coordinating or being part of the Congo River Alliance (AFC), a movement to which M23 belongs.
