In a powerful and unexpected declaration, former President Joseph Kabila has openly criticized the government in Kinshasa for abandoning the eastern regions of the Democratic Republic of Congo, while implicitly expressing solidarity with the AFC/M23 Alliance, a movement increasingly seen as the voice and shield of a neglected population.
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Speaking during a private political meeting, Kabila delivered remarks that have electrified the eastern provinces and rattled the political elite in Kinshasa:
“I stand with them. I consult with them. I listen to them. But in Kinshasa, these people seem abandoned, side lined, as if they no longer matter. This regime has turned its back on the East while the enemy advances. But the people will not forget. I am ready to risk my life, to give my life if necessary. Because I am in the middle of the war, with the people, not in air-conditioned salons.”
Although Kabila did not mention specific individuals, his comments clearly highlight the widening disconnect between Kinshasa’s ruling elite and the suffering communities of North and South Kivu. His words also echo the long-standing grievances raised by the AFC/M23 Alliance: that the people of eastern Congo have been politically marginalized, militarily abandoned, and economically suffocated.
In areas under AFC/M23 control, including Rutshuru, Bunagana, and Masisi, the situation on the ground sharply contrasts with the dysfunction and insecurity under Kinshasa-appointed administrators. Here, residents report the restoration of local order, access to essential services, and improved security, a fragile yet visible stability, achieved not through international interventions or MONUSCO deployments, but through Congolese sons and daughters reclaiming their own future.
Far from being just a military formation, the AFC/M23 Alliance is a political movement born from decades of exclusion. It seeks meaningful inclusion and representation for the East, but has instead been met with bullets, silence, and relentless propaganda. Now, with increasing support from local leaders, the diaspora, and a symbolic endorsement from Kabila himself, the movement is gaining both political momentum and moral legitimacy.
The Tshisekedi’s administration, faced with repeated military failures and international criticism, has fallen back on blaming external forces instead of acknowledging its own governance shortcomings. In doing so, it has deepened ethnic divisions, empowered corrupt army officers, and alienated the very citizens it claims to serve.
Meanwhile, voices like Kabila’s, measured, grounded, and informed by deep knowledge of the country’s complexities, serve as a reminder that true leadership does not govern from above, but stands with the people. His intervention reflects the frustration of millions who have waited too long for justice, recognition, and peace.
To some in Kinshasa, Kabila’s remarks may have come as a shock. But in the hills and valleys of eastern Congo, they were met with quiet affirmation. After all, they mirror what the AFC/M23 Alliance has long declared: the East is not a war zone, it is a homeland. And its people are not rebels, they are citizens who deserve dignity.
“The people will not forget.”
No, they won’t. And with voices like Kabila’s rising in support, it is increasingly clear that the future of the Congo will not be determined by those in palaces and press conferences, but by those who, like the AFC/M23 Alliance, have chosen to stand, fight, and speak for a population that has waited too long to be heard.
