Joseph Kabila heads new FRN movement that absorbs M23 rebels in Congo

A new movement with Kabila at its head

Former Congolese president Joseph Kabila has launched the Front pour la refondation de la nation (FRN), a political-military movement that replaces the AFC-M23 alliance fighting government forces in eastern Congo. The new platform now encompasses both the Alliance Fleuve Congo (AFC) and the Mouvement du 23 Mars (M23). The announcement was made on Monday, 12 October 2026, at a joint press conference held at Kabila's residence in Goma, a city the M23 has controlled since January 2025. A leader of the group's political branch announced that the FRN was created and that Kabila would become its president. Kabila is now taking a more direct role in an insurgency he had previously stopped short of openly backing.

Kabila's death sentence and new leadership

Joseph Kabila, 55, was sentenced to death in absentia in late September 2025 for treason and war crimes. Congolese military justice ruled that he was one of the initiators of the AFC, the political wing of M23 that is now dissolved with the creation of the FRN. Kabila served as president from 2001 to 2019 and is now an opponent of Félix Tshisekedi, whom RFI describes him as very outspoken against. Several vice-presidents surround him in the new movement, including Corneille Nangaa, Bertrand Bisimwa and Sultani Makenga. Until now, those three were senior officials of the AFC-M23.

The political backdrop in Kinshasa

President Félix Tshisekedi, 63, is serving a second and final five-year term that ends in 2028, under a constitution that limits presidents to two terms. The presidential majority has spent several months preparing public opinion for a change to that text, which would open the way to a third term for Tshisekedi. The opposition accuses the president of manoeuvring to stay in power and held rallies in June and September. At the first rally in Kinshasa, the United Nations deplored at least one death, and the opposition denounced the assassination of an opponent at the second. The announcement is made against this uncertain political backdrop.

Rebel control and failed truces

Violence has affected eastern DRC for more than 30 years. The M23 is backed by Rwanda and its army, and it controls large areas of North Kivu and South Kivu. An early 2025 offensive ended with the capture of Goma and Bukavu, the two largest cities in the region, as the Congolese armed forces were overwhelmed and fled. A deal signed in December by Kinshasa and Kigali under Washington's auspices has had no concrete effect on the ground. In July 2025, Kinshasa and M23 committed to a ceasefire under Qatari mediation, but it is not being respected. Several mediation attempts have failed so far.