‘M23 is doing very well, we have to give them time’ – DR Congo traditional chief

In areas under its control, the AFC/M23 movement in eastern DR Congo is “doing well,” but needs more time, a traditional chief said, suggesting that the group cannot be expected to have achieved so much after just one year in Goma, the capital of North Kivu Province, and surrounding areas. ALSO READ: AFC/M23’s Bisimwa explains why rebels were forced to capture Uvira in lightning advance In an exclusive interview at his hilltop fortress in the Chefferie de Bukumu (Bukumu Chiefdom), about 20 minutes north of Goma, Mwami Isaac Butsitsi Kahembe IV described the situation in his kingdom since the rebels took control, as peaceful. Without heavy traffic, the five-kilometre trip would have taken no more than 12 to 15 minutes, our driver estimated. In the provinces of North Kivu and South Kivu, the Bami (singular: Mwami) or chef coutumier – in French - are traditional chiefs, or kings, who exercise customary authority over defined territories. The institution of Bami is one of the oldest and most influential systems of governance in the region. A Mwami is a custodian of customary law, culture, land, and social order, whose authority is rooted in lineage and tradition, passed down through royal families. Due to prolonged conflict and weak state presence, the Bami have often acted as effective local governors. ALSO READ: Nangaa asks UN to deploy neutral force to Uvira Dressed in all-white regalia, Mwami Kahembe VI presided over a traditional ceremony with about 30 “guardians of customs” – elders responsible for ensuring that customary laws and traditions are respected –, and others, who were paying allegiance to the throne and discussing affairs affecting their community. During the interview, he said: “Speaking of my kingdom; the whole kingdom is secured. I mean; it's not easy, coming from that period of war especially in the northern part of the kingdom.” “They [people] suffered two to three years of war and, since M23 took the city of Goma and the whole southern part of the kingdom, life has been peaceful. We used to have Wazalendo here and FDLR used to be around Kibati, near the volcano,” he said, gesturing northwards toward the foothills of Mount Nyiragongo, at a zone about nine kilometres away that has long hosted displaced persons’ camps. “And we used to have deaths on a daily basis; people being killed for nothing.” ALSO READ: M23 are no terrorists, the Congolese army is – say Bukavu residents Wazalendo – Swahili for patriots – is a brutal coalition of Congolese militia and self-defence groups mobilized by President Félix Tshisekedi four years ago to fight alongside the Congolese military (FARDC) against the M23 rebel group. Wazalendo teamed up with the Congolese army and FDLR, a Kinshasa-backed terrorist group formed in mid-2000 by remnants of the former government forces and militia that committed the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda, and other forces in Kinshasa’s military coalition. The militia was formed in mid-2000 in Lubumbashi, DR Congo’s second-largest city located in the country's southeast along the border with Zambia. ALSO READ: AFC/M23 leader states four reasons why his movement is fighting Tshisekedi govt When the Rwanda Patriotic Army stopped the Genocide against the Tutsi, in July 1994, the ousted genocidal regime’s army, politicians, and Interahamwe militia that committed genocide – fled, en masse, with their weapons, to eastern DR Congo, then Zaire. There, they were given a safe haven, banded into several militia groups and plotted a forceful return to capture power in Rwanda and continue their genocidal agenda. In 2000, after the US government listed the group, then known as ALIR, as a terrorist organization following its murder of American tourists in Uganda’s Bwindi Forest, they changed names to FDLR in a bid to distance themselves from their crimes. ALSO READ: Peace in DR Congo will only come when Kinshasa addresses FDLR threat – former US Assistant Secretary of State Decades later, the terrorist militia continues to spread a genocide ideology that is at the root of the never-ending conflict and instability in eastern DR Congo. Corneille Nangaa, the coordinator of the AFC/M23 movement, attributes the crisis in eastern DR Congo to the collapse of state institutions in what he described as a failed state. He has insisted that his forces are fighting for governance that supports basic human rights, secures all Congolese citizens, and addresses the root causes of conflict. The rebel movement he leads has vowed to uproot tribalism, nepotism, corruption, and the genocide ideology spread by FDLR, among other vices, widespread in DR Congo. ALSO READ: Belgian lawyer on why genocide ideology doesn’t dissolve three decades after dispersion of genocidaires After defeating a coalition that included government soldiers (FARDC), European mercenaries, Burundian troops, FDLR, SADC forces, and Wazalendo, the rebels captured Goma in late January 2025 after almost 10 years without major fighting. The ongoing fighting between the Congolese army coalition and M23 started in 2021 after Kinshasa refused to implement previous peace agreements and attacked the rebels. M23 is now part of a larger and continuously growing rebel coalition, Alliance Fleuve Congo (AFC), created in December 2023. ‘FDLR tried to bring here that genocidal ideology’ Peace has returned to Goma and other liberated areas, according to Mwami Kahembe VI. He said: “But for now, the main thing here is peace, you know, and people living together; whether you are tall, or short, whether you are fat or thin. Life has been peaceful and we are trying to preach about people being together; putting away that atmosphere of tribalism because that's the main issue here. “The main issue was tribalism. As you know, FDLR, they committed genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda and they tried to bring here in Congo, that genocidal ideology.” He explained that his community had always been a peaceful community but “there are some political actors” that tried to use tribalism to divide people so as “to gain political space.” ALSO READ: Outcry as DR Congo army spokesman spreads anti-Tutsi tropes Asked specifically about life under AFC/M23 leadership, he explained: “You see, it's been just a year since M23 came here. But for what we are seeing, you know, you cannot do everything in one year. “With all the challenges that we had, M23 is really doing very good. But they can't do it in one year. We have to give them time. Yeah, they are doing good, actually.” When the rebels captured Goma they found a devastated city and faced immediate challenges including a severe disruption of essential services such as water, electricity, and internet. The fleeing government coalition had cut key trade routes to other parts of North and South Kivu, leaving residents without basic utilities. Shops, markets, and banks especially, had been shut down, complicating daily life, as access to food and medical supplies was difficult for civilians. After transitioning quickly from combat to city administration, even though Kinshasa continued to reject rebel-appointed officials, AFC/M23 leadership was able to restore calm, and most of the essential services as well as reopen transport links. But they still grappled with fully restoring the banking sector, among other things. Since 1994, to 1995, when the “ex-FAR” and other genocidaires came to eastern DR Congo, Mwami Kahembe VI said, the Congolese state abandoned parts of the region. The ex-FAR were the soldiers of Rwanda’s genocidal regime’s army in the 1990s. After the RPA stopped the 1994 Genocide, many ex-FAR soldiers fled into eastern DR Congo, then Zaire, along with members of the Interahamwe militia. In exile, always backed by Kinshasa and other foreign backers, they reorganized into armed groups, including FDLR, and continued to pursue political and military goals while spreading genocide ideology, with impunity. “Some parts of this region were generally and fully administrated by FDLR.”

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‘M23 is doing very well, we have to give them time’ – DR Congo traditional chief