{"id":18088,"date":"2025-05-25T21:33:02","date_gmt":"2025-05-25T19:33:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kivuavenir.com\/en\/?p=18088"},"modified":"2025-05-25T21:33:02","modified_gmt":"2025-05-25T19:33:02","slug":"drc-kabila-is-not-congolese-he-is-a-rwandan-subject-says-udps-secretary-general-augustin-kabuya","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kivuavenir.com\/en\/drc-kabila-is-not-congolese-he-is-a-rwandan-subject-says-udps-secretary-general-augustin-kabuya\/","title":{"rendered":"DRC: \u201cKabila is not Congolese \u2013 He is a Rwandan subject,\u201d says UDPS Secretary General Augustin Kabuya"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cJoseph Kabila should let Congolese people deal with their own problems. He is not Congolese. Kabila is a Rwandan subject,\u201d Kabuya declared during a public address this week.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The statement, both direct and politically loaded, comes amid heightened tensions in the eastern DRC, where government forces continue to battle the M23 rebel group \u2013 widely believed to receive backing from neighboring Rwanda. The resurgence of this conflict, alongside the controversial emergence of the political military coalition AFC led by Corneille Nangaa, has further polarized national discourse, especially concerning foreign influence and historical complicity within Congolese leadership.<\/p>\n

The accusation that Joseph Kabila is not truly Congolese is not new, but rarely has it been stated so explicitly by a senior member of the ruling establishment. Such claims date back to the early 2000s, when critics questioned Kabila\u2019s origins and ties to Rwanda, especially considering the role foreign-backed forces played in toppling Mobutu Sese Seko and installing Laurent-D\u00e9sir\u00e9 Kabila \u2014 Joseph Kabila\u2019s father \u2014 in 1997.<\/p>\n

Though Joseph Kabila ruled the DRC from 2001 to 2019 and oversaw multiple elections, including the peaceful transfer of power to current President F\u00e9lix Tshisekedi, suspicion over his allegiance has persisted, particularly given his longstanding silence on regional conflicts involving Rwanda and his alleged connections to armed groups in the East.<\/p>\n

Kabuya\u2019s statement appears to be a calculated response to what the UDPS sees as deliberate efforts by Kabila\u2019s allies to destabilize the current administration through political and security channels.<\/p>\n

In recent months, reports and intelligence briefings have suggested a growing nexus between former regime officials, the M23 rebel group, and the newly formed AFC, which positions itself as a political alternative but openly supports armed resistance. Government sources and independent observers have accused these groups of seeking to undermine President Tshisekedi\u2019s legitimacy and disrupt national unity ahead of the 2028 elections.<\/p>\n

In this context, Kabuya\u2019s words take on a sharper edge: by casting Kabila as a foreign agent rather than a domestic political rival, the UDPS is essentially discrediting any attempt by the former president to influence national affairs as illegitimate and dangerous.<\/p>\n

The comment has already sparked strong reactions across the political spectrum. Pro-Kabila factions within the opposition have denounced Kabuya\u2019s remarks as \u201cirresponsible and inflammatory,\u201d while UDPS supporters defend them as \u201clong overdue truths.\u201d<\/p>\n

Political analysts warn, however, that such rhetoric \u00a0while galvanizing for the base \u00a0could deepen national divisions and further complicate efforts toward peace and reconciliation, especially in the volatile eastern provinces.<\/p>\n

Nonetheless, Kabuya\u2019s statement reflects a growing impatience within the ruling party and among many Congolese citizens, who view Kabila and his lingering networks as part of the unresolved legacy of instability in the DRC.<\/p>\n

By publicly labeling Joseph Kabila as a \u201cRwandan subject,\u201d Augustin Kabuya is not just reviving an old controversy \u00a0he is drawing a definitive line between what the UDPS considers true national leadership and foreign-backed manipulation. In doing so, he challenges Congolese institutions, civil society, and the international community to confront the deeper roots of conflict and the complex loyalties that have long undermined Congo\u2019s quest for genuine sovereignty.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cJoseph Kabila should let Congolese people deal with their own problems. He is not Congolese. Kabila is a Rwandan subject,\u201d Kabuya declared during a public address this week. The statement, both direct and politically loaded, comes amid heightened tensions in the eastern DRC, where government forces continue to battle the M23 rebel group \u2013 widely […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":18089,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":{"format":"standard","override":[{"template":"1","parallax":"1","fullscreen":"1","layout":"right-sidebar","sidebar":"default-sidebar","second_sidebar":"default-sidebar","sticky_sidebar":"1","share_position":"float","share_float_style":"share-normal","show_share_counter":"1","show_view_counter":"1","show_featured":"1","show_post_meta":"1","show_post_author":"1","show_post_author_image":"1","show_post_date":"1","post_date_format":"default","post_date_format_custom":"Y\/m\/d","show_post_category":"1","show_post_reading_time":"1","post_reading_time_wpm":"300","post_calculate_word_method":"str_word_count","show_zoom_button":"0","zoom_button_out_step":"2","zoom_button_in_step":"3","show_post_tag":"1","show_prev_next_post":"1","show_popup_post":"1","number_popup_post":"1","show_author_box":"0","show_post_related":"0","show_inline_post_related":"0"}],"image_override":[{"single_post_thumbnail_size":"crop-500","single_post_gallery_size":"crop-500"}],"trending_post_position":"meta","trending_post_label":"Trending","sponsored_post_label":"Sponsored by","disable_ad":"0","subtitle":"In a bold and provocative statement that has reignited debate across the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Augustin Kabuya, Secretary General of the ruling party UDPS (Union for Democracy and Social Progress), openly questioned the nationality and loyalty of former President Joseph Kabila."},"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_review":[],"enable_review":"","type":"percentage","name":"","summary":"","brand":"","sku":"","good":[],"bad":[],"score_override":"","override_value":"","rating":[],"price":[],"jnews_override_counter":{"view_counter_number":"0","share_counter_number":"0","like_counter_number":"0","dislike_counter_number":"0"},"jnews_post_split":{"post_split":[{"template":"1","tag":"h2","numbering":"asc","mode":"normal","first":"0","enable_toc":"0","toc_type":"normal"}]},"footnotes":""},"categories":[5316,5311,5314],"tags":[5601,5612],"class_list":["post-18088","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics","category-international","category-news","tag-kabila","tag-kabuya"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kivuavenir.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18088","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kivuavenir.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kivuavenir.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kivuavenir.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kivuavenir.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18088"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kivuavenir.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18088\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18090,"href":"https:\/\/kivuavenir.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18088\/revisions\/18090"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kivuavenir.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18089"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kivuavenir.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18088"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kivuavenir.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18088"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kivuavenir.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18088"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}