Congo’s former president Kabila forms new politico-military group to succeed AFC

Former Congolese President Joseph Kabila has launched a new politico-military movement called the Front for the Refondation of the Nation (FRN) in the eastern city of Goma, succeeding the Alliance Fleuve Congo (AFC).

Kabila was named head of the FRN on Monday. He will be assisted by three vice-presidents: Corneille Nangaa, Bertrand Bisimwa and Major General Sultani Makenga.

Makenga will also retain his position as chief of the general staff of the Congolese Revolutionary Army (ARC), the military wing associated with the movement.

The announcement was made in Goma, a city under the control of forces previously linked to the AFC. The FRN is presented as the direct successor to the AFC.

Kabila, who ruled the Democratic Republic of Congo from 2001 to 2019, has taken a formal leadership role in the new structure. Congolese authorities had previously accused him of supporting the AFC and its allied armed groups in the east; he had denied direct involvement before Monday’s announcement.

Further details on the FRN’s structure and objectives were not immediately available.