Overview
- Former president Joseph Kabila announced on Monday, Oct. 12, that he will head the Front pour la Refondation de la Nation (FRN), a new politico-military coalition presented in Goma with M23 and allied rebel figures named as deputies.
- The FRN statement at Kabila’s residence named Corneille Nangaa, Bertrand Bisimwa, Freddy Kaniki and Sultani Makenga as deputy leaders and said the group will pool forces and resources to oppose the current government.
- Kabila was sentenced to death in absentia last year by a DR Congo military court for alleged collaboration with the rebellion and was sanctioned by the United States earlier this year for purported support to rebel groups.
- The United Nations, the United States and other Western actors accuse Rwanda of backing M23, an allegation Kigali denies, and analysts say Kabila’s new role will complicate Doha- and Washington-backed negotiations between Kinshasa and the rebels.
- The FRN formation raises the prospect of renewed military escalation and deeper humanitarian strain in mineral-rich North Kivu where M23 has controlled Goma since January 2025, and it leaves President Félix Tshisekedi’s government facing a direct political and security challenge.