Former Democratic Republic of Congo president Joseph Kabila Kabange has returned to Goma, according to Corneille Nangaa, the coordinator of the AFC/M23 coalition.
Nangaa made the disclosure on January 12, 2026, during a meeting bringing together senior AFC/M23 leaders and influential figures from North Kivu Province. He said Kabila is currently inside the country and would reappear publicly at a later date.
“We have a special guest among us, former President Joseph Kabila. He is here. One day we will bring him out so that he can greet the people,” Nangaa said, adding that Kabila remains a senator for life under the Constitution, despite having been removed from the Senate.
Kabila last appeared publicly in June 2025 in areas under AFC/M23 control, where he held consultations with various Congolese stakeholders on peace and national reconciliation.
His activities in eastern Congo later prompted military prosecutors in Kinshasa to open legal proceedings against him. He was subsequently sentenced to death in absentia by the High Military Court on charges including treason and affiliation with an illegal armed group.
Following the ruling, Kabila travelled across several African countries, including Kenya, where he launched a political platform, Sauvons la RDC, aimed at addressing the country’s political, security and economic crises.
Kabila’s reported presence in Goma comes amid continued insecurity in eastern Congo and renewed regional and international efforts to stabilise the Great Lakes region.
