Former Congolese President Joseph Kabila has rejected sanctions imposed by the United States government, describing them as politically motivated. Kabila, who ruled DR Congo from 2001 to 2019, vowed to continue pushing for peace and democratic governance in this conflict-ridden country. ALSO READ: Kabila speaks out on Goma drone attack, slams ‘Tshisekedi’s tyranny’ On April 30, the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control added Kabila to its Specially Designated Nationals list under the DR Congo sanctions programme, citing alleged ties to the AFC/M23 rebel movement operating in the east of the country. The designation entails the freezing of any assets under U.S. jurisdiction and bars transactions with U.S. nationals or companies. ALSO READ: Kinshasa targeted Kabila, Nangaa in Goma drone strike, says AFC/M23 The move also comes amid mounting legal and political pressure on Kabila from the Congolese government, including the suspension of his party, PPRD, asset seizures ordered by authorities in Kinshasa, and a death sentence handed down in October last year by the High Military Court on charges including treason, war crimes, and participation in an insurrectional movement. ALSO READ: DR Congo: Military court sentences Kabila to death Responding to the sanctions, Kabila's office said he learned with astonishment of the decision taken by the United States government against him, a decision he considers profoundly unjustified, politically motivated, and based on unsubstantiated accusations.” He dismissed the allegations as lacking evidence, arguing they are rooted in claims advanced by the Congolese government. “The American decision is all the more surprising as it is based on the narrative of the Kinshasa authorities, who have been unable to substantiate the accusations made against him, with the slightest evidence, before the Congolese Military Tribunal, however known to be an obedient servant of the regime,” Kabila's office said in a statement released on April 30. Kabila also announced plans to challenge the sanctions through legal means. He “reserves the right to instruct his legal counsel to activate the appropriate legal avenues in order to challenge the decision taken against him, to demand the evidence on which this designation was based, and to defend his honor, his record, and his historic contribution to the stability of the DR Congo,” the statement reads. ALSO READ: Kabila suspends his studies to ‘deal with worsening situation’ in eastern DR Congo He warned that sanctioning him could be interpreted as support for repression by Kinshasa. Kabila handed power to Felix Tshisekedi, but they later fell out. Tshisekedi has accused Kabila of being behind the AFC/M23 rebels, who control swathes of territory in eastern DR Congo, including the cities of Goma and Bukavu. “This decision therefore risks being perceived... as a show of support for dictatorship and tyranny, a blank cheque for the crushing of every voice raised against corruption, predation, and the confiscation of the State,” he said, adding that it may amount to “an endorsement of a regime that substitutes a clan for the State.” Despite the mounting pressure, Kabila maintained that he remains committed to pursuing peace and political solutions to the country’s crisis. ALSO READ: Kabila: DR Congo should stop blame games and fix its problems He stressed that DR Congo’s challenges extend beyond insecurity in the east, pointing to governance issues as a central factor. The former president called for the involvement of the US to effectively contribute to the search for a lasting solution to the problems of the DRC, which are not only security-related and do not concern only the eastern part of the country, noting that the crisis is “more fundamentally” rooted in political and economic governance. ALSO READ: Former Congolese President Kabila blasts ‘demagogue’ Tshisekedi regime’s lies, populism “Peace will, therefore, not be built by criminalizing those who call for good governance, responsibility, justice and national reconciliation,” he added. Kabila also defended his record in office, saying that between 2001 and 2019 he “devoted his actions to reunifying the national territory, progressively pacifying the country, reconciling the Congolese people, rebuilding the State, and contributing to the stabilization” of the country and the wider region. “It was during his presidency that the DRC emerged from a devastating regional war, restored its institutional unity, and experienced, for the first time in its history, a peaceful and civilized transfer of power,” the statement notes.
