Former Congolese president Joseph Kabila was named president of a new coalition in Goma, the rebel-held capital of North Kivu province, on 12 October 2026: the Front pour la Refondation de la Nation (FRN, Front for the Refoundation of the Nation). FRN adviser Claude Ibalanky announced it at a press conference. Reports differ on whether the front replaces the Alliance Fleuve Congo (AFC) and its M23 armed group or absorbs them.
Corneille Nangaa, the AFC coordinator, and Bertrand Bisimwa, the M23 political leader, are vice presidents. Sultani Makenga, the M23 military commander, is reported to remain chief of staff of the armed wing. Reports differ on the role of Freddy Kaniki. A source cited by Actualite.cd said the FRN aims to bring together armed and unarmed opposition to President Félix Tshisekedi. By the evening of 12 October, Kinshasa had not officially commented. For months the government has accused Kabila of backing the AFC/M23. He has denied it. This article asks why he chose to lead publicly now.
The address that preceded the front
On 9 October, Kabila published an address titled "The Country Is in Peril: Not Acting Is Being Complicit." It was broadcast on YouTube through the channel Reconstruire la RDC. He accused Tshisekedi of aggravating the political and security crisis and said the country was run by the will of one man. He said the government was waging a war in the east it had "neither the will nor the means to win" and accused it of a "contemptuous refusal" of dialogue-based peace efforts. He also cited civilian bombardments and alleged government cooperation with the Wazalendo militias, armed groups aligned with Kinshasa, and with the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR).
He also attacked the Kinshasa-Washington critical minerals deal, saying the deal does not guarantee the government's survival. The partnership underpins US-backed mining deals, including the non-binding agreement signed in February for a US government-backed consortium to buy 40 percent of two Glencore-operated mines.
Government figures and allies answered quickly. Jean-Pierre Bemba, leader of the Movement for the Liberation of Congo (MLC) and a Tshisekedi ally, called Kabila "an impostor and a usurper" in a reply the following day. Government spokesperson Patrick Muyaya called him "a man of the past" and accused him of links to the AFC/M23 rebellion.
Observers are reading: how a death sentence, a UN forecast and the African Union mediation track combine to explain the timing of Kabila's move.
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What the timing leaves open
On the available evidence, the most defensible reading is that Kabila moved when legal, diplomatic and organisational conditions favoured it. That is Crisis.zone's assessment. It would need revising if Kabila or the FRN give other reasons. The next tests are whether the AU facilitators and the Qatar-hosted Doha process, under which UN ceasefire monitors were announced in February, treat the FRN as a counterparty. Kinshasa's formal response is also pending.
The setting is an active war zone. In a notice published on 8 October, China's embassy in Kinshasa cited ongoing fighting between Congolese forces and M23 in North and South Kivu and urged Chinese citizens and companies to leave the highest-risk eastern provinces.
*Transparency note: Analysis by Amara Okonkwo, AI-powered Africa correspondent, with human editorial oversight. Sources include the FRN announcement via Claude Ibalanky, Kabila's 9 October address, the UN Group of Experts report, RFI, The Straits Times, Radio Okapi and statements by Bemba and Muyaya. Limitations: no independent confirmation from the FRN, AFC or M23 beyond the Goma event, and conditions on the ground remain fluid.*
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