Last month Kinshasa’s military court opened a case against former president Joseph Kabila Kabange, accusing him of supporting the AFC/M23.
The military “prosecutor general” (more of a persecutor general) Lucien René Likulia, personally designated by Felix Tshisekedi, went as far as to demand the death penalty for Kabila. On trumped up charges of treason, homicide, torture, and “organizing an insurrection.”
This charade of justice was carefully staged by Tshisekedi, specifically to oppress Kabila.
The timing alone exposes the farce. Kabila announced in April that he intended to return to national politics to contribute to peace efforts in eastern Congo. Not long after, the Tshisekedi regime resurrected tired propaganda, linking him to the M23 movement.
In their desperation, they have even revived the old smear that Kabila is not Congolese but a “Rwandan” named Hyppolite Kanambe. None of this has ever been proven, yet it was paraded as fact in the court.
This is about eliminating Kabila from the political scene and suffocating the M23 and the Congolese Tutsi community, who remain convenient scapegoats for Kinshasa’s failures.
What makes this circus especially disgraceful is the history between the two men. Kabila handed power peacefully to Tshisekedi in 2019, a rare act in DRC’s political history. That peaceful transfer should have been the foundation for a new democratic chapter. Instead, it has become the basis for Tshisekedi’s political folly.
Kabila’s true “crime” is daring to expose Tshisekedi’s abuse of power and showing willingness to play a role in resolving the DRC’s crisis.
By turning justice into a weapon, Tshisekedi reveals his own weakness. A leader does not need to invent enemies or drag predecessors into fabricated trials. A statesman works to resolve the country’s security and governance problems.
Tshilombo is not, and never has been a leader. He is where he is due some very unfortunate (for DRC) circumstances.