THE Democratic Republic of the Congo has taken formal steps to prosecute former President Joseph Kabila, accusing him of committing war crimes and backing the M23 rebel group responsible for deadly violence in the east of the country.
Justice Minister Constant Mutamba told reporters on Wednesday that the military prosecutor had submitted a request to the Senate to lift Kabila’s immunity, which he holds as a ‘senator for life’—a status conferred on former presidents under Congolese law.
‘The Congolese judiciary has gathered the most tangible and irrefutable evidence supporting the clear involvement, the direct participation of senator for life Joseph Kabila in war crimes, crimes against humanity, and the massacres of peaceful citizens,’ said Mutamba.
M23 rebellion reignites controversy
The accusations come amid an intensifying conflict in eastern DRC, where the M23 rebel group has seized key territories including Goma and Bukavu. The resurgence of the group since 2021 has reignited regional instability and fuelled long-standing suspicions of foreign interference.
President Félix Tshisekedi has previously accused Kabila of backing an armed alliance, including M23, in what he described as a plan to trigger an insurrection against the state.
Kabila reportedly left the country before the 2023 presidential election. His political party, the People’s Party for Reconstruction and Democracy (PPRD), was suspended on 19 April, with officials accusing it of maintaining a ‘complicit silence’ as rebels advanced in the east.
Government urges Senate to approve prosecution
The justice minister said the case, if approved, would be heard by the High Military Court, the body responsible for trying senior state officials for crimes of a military or security nature.
‘We expect from the Senate the pure and simple lifting of Kabila’s immunity,’ Mutamba said, adding that the former president should ‘come face justice in the Congo and present his defence’.
The evidence reportedly includes documentation of atrocities committed by armed forces linked to the M23 movement, which has been accused of widespread abuses in the region.
Accusations deepen political tensions
If the Senate grants the request, Kabila would become the first former head of state in the DRC to face prosecution for war crimes within the country’s own judicial system.
The move is seen as part of a broader shift under President Tshisekedi’s administration to confront impunity and pursue justice for victims of decades of conflict in the east.
Kabila has not responded publicly to the allegations, and no statement has been released by his legal team.
Foreign backing and regional implications
The M23 group, long believed to be backed by neighbouring Rwanda, has complicated relations between Kinshasa and Kigali. UN investigators and several Western governments have echoed the DRC’s allegations, though Rwanda denies any involvement.
Mutamba did not provide full details of the prosecution’s case but insisted the evidence against Kabila was credible and substantial.
Observers say the Senate’s response will be a litmus test for the country’s political will to confront powerful elites and deliver accountability in one of the world’s most unstable regions.
