AFC/M23 Confirms Joseph Kabila Is in the DRC

Goma, January 13, 2026 - The leader of the AFC/M23 coalition, Corneille Nangaa Yobeluo, has confirmed that former Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) President Joseph Kabila Kabange is currently in the country. Speaking on January 12, 2026, during a meeting between AFC/M23 leaders and community peace representatives from North Kivu Province, Nangaa announced that Kabila would eventually meet them. “We have a guest here, the former President of the Republic, Joseph Kabila. Do you know he is here? One day we will bring him to meet you,” Nangaa said. He added that although Kabila holds the constitutional status of senator for life, he was removed from the Senate. Kabila was last seen publicly in June 2025 in areas under AFC/M23 control, where he reportedly held discussions with citizens from various backgrounds on pathways to restoring peace in the country. During that period, he established a temporary office at his residence in the Kinyogote area, west of Goma. Following those activities, Kabila was prosecuted in Kinshasa’s High Military Court and sentenced to death in absentia, after being convicted of crimes including treason and membership in an illegal armed group. After June 2025, Kabila traveled to several African countries, including Kenya, where he founded a political coalition known as “Sauvons le DRC”, aimed at addressing the country’s ongoing political and security challenges.