A former officer in the DR Congo armed forces (FARDC) is now serving as the Brigade Commander of the New Revolutionary Police under the AFC/M23 movement. To join the rebels that the army had been fighting for three years, Colonel Guillaume Eboko had to pass through two other countries before he got to Goma, a city that fell into the rebels' control in late January. ALSO READ: AFC/M23 leader Corneille Nangaa states four reasons why his movement is fighting Tshisekedi govt For nearly eight months, the rebel movement, which fights against marginalisation, human rights violations, and exclusion, has controlled the two largest cities in eastern DR Congo. It recently deployed newly trained police units on the streets of Goma, the capital of North Kivu province. “I decided to join AFC/M23 because things were not going well. They were going very badly. I realised I had to leave FARDC and join the AFC,” Eboko, who once worked in the FARDC Directorate of Operations, said in a video published by the rebel spokesperson Lawrence Kanyuka on Sunday, August 31. ALSO READ: AFC/M23 announce plan to set up judicial organs in eastern DR Congo He said he had to travel to Brazzaville in neighbouring Republic of Congo before he took a flight on Ethiopian Airlines to Uganda, and finally arrived in Goma, where he is now based. He said his priority is to build trust between law enforcement and citizens. “At the time, there was no trust between the police and the population. Our goal is to restore this collaboration,” he said. He said the new police force emphasises dialogue, cooperation, and respectful interactions with the public. “The police must approach the population, speak to them, and avoid misconduct. This is how collaboration between the police and the community can be established,” he added. ALSO READ: M23 condemns child recruitment by DR Congo army Eboko urged citizens to welcome the New Revolutionary Police, noting the contrast with the government forces that he said engaged in misconduct. “We are following various training programmes and seminars, and we are ready to serve our population,” he said. Since January, the rebels have advanced across North Kivu, capturing Goma on January 27, before taking Bukavu, capital of South Kivu on February 15. In the two provinces, the rebel movement has appointed governors and vice governors. Its leaders recently said judicial authorities will be established in the coming months. The AFC/M23 leaders have vowed to uproot tribalism, nepotism, corruption, and genocide ideology, among other vices, widespread in DR Congo. They condemn ethnic violence targeting Congolese communities, such as the Tutsi, Banyamulenge and Hema.
