Neelam Rahim | neelam@radioislam.co.za

4-minute read
10 January 2025 | 11:45 CAT

Former DRC President Joseph Kabila returns to Goma, reigniting fears of renewed conflict as M23-linked violence escalates and calls for justice grow louder across Africa.

After years in political exile, former Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) president Joseph Kabila has returned to Goma—the very city where he launched his initial rebellion in 1996. His return comes at a time of extreme instability in the country, with mounting civilian deaths and a resurgence of rebel violence linked to the M23 movement.

Speaking to Radio Islam International, Jean Bwasa, an African sociologist and media analyst based at Sacred Heart College, contextualised Kabila’s return as less a political comeback and more a dangerous re-emergence of past unrest. “We must understand that in terms of history, Kabila reached the Congo as a rebel… with the help of his uncle James Kabarebe who is a Rwandan Tutsi,” said Bwasa

Kabila ruled the DRC for over 18 years, a period many accuse of being rife with corruption, impunity, and state failure. Bwasa warned that Kabila’s reappearance must be met with critical scrutiny by Congolese citizens. “This is the time where we need to unite because that country is our struggle,” he urged, emphasising that the return must not be allowed to deepen the already dire situation in the country.

Massacres in Goma and Beyond

Bwasa noted that the recent execution of at least 21 civilians by M23 rebels in Goma is just the tip of the iceberg. “Three months ago… 10,000 Congolese were slaughtered in cold blood,” he claimed, decrying the lack of any effective government response under President Félix Tshisekedi.

“These numbers are not just statistics—they represent lives stolen, futures crushed,” he said, drawing attention to past human rights defenders like Floribert Chebeya and General Bandu Bauma, who were allegedly silenced during Kabila’s regime. The return of the former president, Bwasa argued, is not a promise of stability but a haunting echo of a violent past.

The Roots of the Conflict

Bwasa was adamant that the M23 and other rebel outfits, such as the Alliance of Democratic Forces (ADF), are “the emanation and creation of Mr Joseph Kabila.” He described the rebels as seeds sown by the former president—seeds now blossoming into chaos and bloodshed.

Referencing Kabila’s doctoral thesis, “The Renaissance of the Democratic Republic of the Congo: A Narrative Biographical Auto-Ethnographic Study of 19 Years of State Building, Peace Building and Economic Recovery,” Bwasa questioned what peace or economic recovery had truly occurred. “What has he done unless embezzling the fund of the nation, becoming a multi-billionaire?” he asked.

Beyond Rwanda: A Call to Pan-African Consciousness

Criticising the ongoing DRC-Rwanda peace dialogues, Bwasa called for a broader interrogation of regional dynamics. “Why are we only speaking to Rwanda?” he asked. According to Bwasa, the conflict is entrenched in a network of regional power players, extending to Uganda, Kenya, and beyond—a system he described as the “Tutsi Empire” profiting off Congo’s resources.

“The Congo is the elephant of Africa,” he said, a metaphor for the continent’s wealth being pillaged through complicity and silence. He invoked Ubuntu, calling on all African and Bantu people to stand together. “If Congo is on its knees, then all of Africa is on its knees,” he warned.

Bwasa concluded by urging the global community to revisit the 2010 UN Mapping Report, which documented crimes amounting to genocide in the DRC and implicated Rwandan forces. “Justice must prevail… Reparation and restoration of the dignity of the children of the Congo must happen,” he said.

As Kabila resurfaces in a volatile landscape and violence escalates across the eastern DRC, the region—and indeed the continent—stands at a crossroads. Will it confront its past and demand justice, or will history repeat itself?

Listen to the full Africa Report on Sabahul Muslim with Muallimah Shakirah Hunter and Jean Bwasa, an African sociologist and media analyst based at Sacred Heart College.