Faith Nyasuguta
The former president of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Joseph Kabila, is now facing one of the biggest legal battles of his life after his treason trial officially began in a military court in Kinshasa. The 53-year-old, who ruled DR Congo for 18 years after taking over from his assassinated father in 2001, is accused of backing the notorious M23 rebel group that has seized parts of the country’s mineral-rich east.
President Felix Tshisekedi, who succeeded Kabila in 2019 after a contested election, claims his predecessor is the mastermind behind the rebels. The M23’s advance has displaced thousands, despite a ceasefire deal announced just last week. Fighting, however, still rages on, raising questions about whether the fragile truce can hold.
Kabila, who recently returned from two years of self-imposed exile in South Africa, has fiercely rejected the charges. He calls the trial “arbitrary” and insists that the courts are being misused as a political tool to silence him. In May, DR Congo’s Senate lifted his immunity as senator for life, clearing the way for charges of treason, murder, insurrection, and the forceful occupation of the eastern city of Goma.
The former leader chose not to attend the opening of the trial, instead dismissing the court as illegitimate. He had reappeared dramatically in May in Goma – a city currently under rebel control – after years away from the public eye.
Many eyes are also on Rwanda, which the UN and Western nations accuse of backing the M23 rebels with troops and weapons. Kigali strongly denies this, saying its military actions are purely to stop the violence from spilling into Rwanda’s territory.
The political fallout is growing. In May, Kabila released a fiery YouTube video – later deleted – calling the current government a “dictatorship” and warning of a “decline of democracy” under Tshisekedi’s watch. Government spokesperson Patrick Muyaya hit back, claiming Kabila has “nothing to offer the country.”
Ferdinand Kambere, a close Kabila ally, has also slammed the trial, accusing the government of double standards – too lenient with the rebels but ruthless with Kabila. Many see the trial as a clear attempt to sideline the former president from DR Congo’s tense political scene as violence continues to rock the east.
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