Kinshasa – Former President Joseph Kabila is at the helm of a new political-military movement announced on 12 October in Goma, capital of North Kivu province in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo . The Front for the Refoundation of the Nation was founded as the successor to the M23, a pro-Rwandan armed movement, and its political wing, the Congo River Alliance . For at least three years, these forces have controlled large areas of the provinces of North and South Kivu, including their respective capitals, Goma and Bukavu.
Kabila is supported by Corneille Nangaa, a former presidential candidate in the 2023 elections and coordinator of the AFC, and Bertrand Bisimwa, leader of the M23.
Emanuel Sultani Makenga retains his post as Chief of the General Staff of the armed forces, with the rank of Vice-President.
Freddy Kaniki has been appointed secretary-general, while Benjamin Mbonimpa, who is responsible for AFC/M23 negotiations within the framework of the Doha peace process, is deputy secretary-general.
The creation of the new political-military movement has caused dismay in the DRC. The declaration announcing its establishment states that the FRN succeeds the AFC and simultaneously orders the latter’s dissolution.
The AFC/M23 signed the Doha Framework for a Comprehensive Peace Agreement, on 15 November 2025. Questions are now being raised about how the new body, which has replaced the AFC/M23, intends to adhere to the agreement and honour the commitments already undertaken.
The framework agreement, reached between the DRC government and the AFC/M23 rebel movement through the mediation of Qatar, the United States, the African Union and Togolese President Faure Gnassingbé, does not establish a definitive peace. It does, however, set out a roadmap and a method for shaping the framework for future negotiations, with the aim of resolving the crisis in the eastern part of the country.
The creation of the new political-military body had been foreshadowed in a report by United Nations experts published in July. The document noted an increasingly close association between the AFC/M23 and Joseph Kabila, and envisaged a reorganization of the movement, including a change of name and the possible assumption of a leading role by the former President.
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