Former President Joseph Kabila has returned to the Democratic Republic of Congo, just days after he lost his immunity amid accusations he has helped armed rebels fighting in the eastern DRC, according to the Reuters and AFP news agencies.
Kabila, on Thursday, was visiting the eastern city of Goma, which had been seized by the Rwanda-backed M23 militia along with several other areas in the resource-rich east of the country earlier this year.
A team of AFP journalists saw Kabila meet local religious figures in the presence of M23’s spokesperson Lawrence Kanyuka, without giving a statement.
Citing three unidentified sources close to Kabila, Reuters also said the ex-president held talks with locals in Goma.
The visit comes despite the former president facing the possibility of a treason trial over his alleged support for M23.
Earlier this month, the DRC Senate voted to lift Kabila’s immunity, paving the way for him to be prosecuted. The ex-president, who has been in self-imposed exile since 2023, denies the allegations and has slammed the charges against him as “arbitrary decisions with disconcerting levity”.
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