DRC: Félix Tshisekedi mobilises his parliamentary majority after Joseph Kabila's official entry into rebellion
Félix Tshisekedi made his first official political appearance since Joseph Kabila took the head of the Front for the Refoundation of the Nation, derived from the AFC-M23, addressing his parliamentary majority in Kinshasa on Saturday 24 October. He accused his predecessor of turning arms against a country he led for eighteen years and said the situation was under control, while calling on his troops to remain united amid a motion of no confidence against the agriculture minister. He also called for spending restraint to finance the war effort in the east and announced that national dialogue facilitators, including two African Union co-facilitators, would be designated the following week.
Why it matters: The confrontation between the president and his predecessor over a rebellion derived from the AFC-M23 bears directly on political risk in the Democratic Republic of Congo ahead of the 2028 electoral horizon.