Former Congolese President Joseph Kabila said any attempt to find a solution to DR Congo crisis that ignores its root causes will not bring lasting peace and South Africa should stop sending troops to support President Felix Tshisekedi’s “tyrannical regime.” In an op-ed published by the Sunday Times, a South African publication, Kabila said, “If the crisis and its root causes are not properly addressed, efforts to end it will be in vain.” ALSO READ: Rwanda raises concerns over DR Congo arming FDLR, indigenous armed groups Kabila challenged Tshisekedi, his successor who has vowed to pursue military end to the conflict with AFC/M23 rebels, to view the crisis as “political, social, moral and ethical.” “To restore peace and stability in eastern regions of [DR Congo], it is important to resolve the issue of national and foreign armed groups present on Congolese soil.” ALSO READ: Former South African president says DR Congo should implement Sun City agreement and disarm FDLR genocidal forces He added that “contrary to what authorities in Kinshasa wish everybody to believe, the crisis is not limited to either the unconsidered actions of M23 - misleadingly presented as a group of anarchists, proxies of a foreign state without legitimate demands of their own - or to disagreements between two neighbouring countries, DRC and Rwanda.” He said DR Congo was “close to imploding as a result of the civil war, which is threatening to destabilise the entire region.” “The innumerable violations of the constitution and human rights, as well as repeated massacres of the Congolese population by Tshisekedi's police and military forces will not end after the successful conclusion of negotiations between the DR Congo and Rwanda, or the military defeat of M23,” he said. ALSO READ: M23 are no terrorists, the Congolese army is – say Bukavu residents Tshisekedi, who describes M23 as a terrorist movement, accuses Rwanda of supporting the group. He has also accused Kabila of being behind the Alliance Fleuve Congo (AFC), which includes M23 rebels. Kabila also said Tshisekedi “tore apart” an agreement that brought him to power in 2019. He said the current leadership had disregarded the Sun City Agreement of 2002, which was signed in South Africa between Congolese warring parties. ALSO READ: Security Council condemns DR Congo’s support of FDLR ‘SADC should know better’ Kabila took note of the multidimensional nature of the crisis which dates back to 2021 when M23 resurged. As Tshisekedi pursued a military solution to the crisis, after forcing the East African Community Regional Force that observed a fragile ceasefire, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) deployed a mission to DR Congo to fight along the Congolese army, the FDLR, European mercenaries, Burundian forces and local groups called Wazalendo. Kabila cautioned that South Africa-SADC force would not help to end the crisis. “Given the history of its member states, SADC should know better. The grievances of the Congolese people against their government must and should be addressed. The persistence of the current bad governance of the country would certainly lead to new rounds of political turmoil, insecurity, institutional instability, armed conflict or even civil war.” He condemned the military support of SADC as a waste of valuable resources in supporting dictatorship instead of democracy. “The crisis requires a holistic solution - not solely the contribution of troops and military equipment. This amounts to wasting valuable resources in support of a dictatorship, instead of helping DRC to move towards democracy, peace and stability, and to become an asset for the southern African region and the continent.” “The world is watching to see whether South Africa – known for its humanism and values – will continue to rush troops to the DR Congo to support a tyrannical regime and fight [against] the aspirations of the Congolese people,” Kabila added. Illegitimate elections Kabila who ruled DR Congo between 2001 and 2019, said that beside Tshisekedi’s breaking of the Republican Pact that brought to power, the current president also organised “sham election in December 2023” to remain in power. “These [elections] were held in violation of the legal framework and relevant international standards, which amplified the illegitimacy of the ruler, artificially reduced the weight of the political opposition and made the head of state the absolute master of the country,” he said. With the publicly announced intention to change the constitution by Tshisekedi, Kabila said that the 2023 elections were “a big democratic setback” He added that Tshisekedi had “muzzled any form of political opposition,” by intimidation, arbitrary arrest, summary and extrajudicial executions, forced exile of politicians, journalists and opinion leaders.
