The Archbishop of Kinshasa Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo has urged the Congolese government to pursue inclusive political dialogue, warning that military means could not end the conflict in eastern DR Congo.

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President Félix Tshisekedi announced a national dialogue on August 27, aimed at addressing the causes of instability, promoting national cohesion and rebuilding state institutions. He proposed consultations across all 26 provinces before national talks in Kinshasa, bringing together political parties, civil society, religious leaders and other sections of Congolese society.

However, Tshisekedi ruled out the participation of armed groups fighting with the Congolese army. He specifically excluded AFC/M23 (the precursor to the new movement called Front for the Refoundation of the Nation (FRN), saying its conflict with the government should be handled through the separate Doha process. Former president Joseph Kabila, who now heads the FRN, was also excluded from the proposed dialogue.

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Kabila-led FRN has vowed to remove Tshisekedi from power by all means, including force. The group cites grievances over ethnic discrimination and violence, bad governance, insecurity and the country’s political direction.

Cardinal Ambongo called for talks that do not shut out adversaries.

Speaking in Assisi, Italy, on Monday, October 26, during an interreligious meeting organised by the Sant’Egidio Community, he criticised the dialogue for being held back by preconditions. The meeting was organised by the Sant’Egidio Community, an international lay Catholic association dedicated to social service, peace-building, and ecumenical dialogue.

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The clergyman stressed that dialogue must involve all belligerents in DR Congo.

"A dialogue that excludes those with whom one is at war is not a dialogue: it is a monologue. Dialogue is the sacred word, the key word that can save us, and it takes courage to pursue it even with those we consider enemies,” he said.

"Peace is not made between friends; it is made between adversaries who agree to recognize each other as brothers.”

"Today, however, this dialogue is blocked. Preconditions are set, red lines are drawn, and it is decided in advance who will be able to sit at the table and who will be excluded from it,” he said.

"I understand the wounds and the distrusts: they are real, and the blood that has been shed cries out for justice. But I must say it clearly: without dialogue, there will be no peace. Military force alone will not bring peace to the Congo; only an inclusive political process will be able to do so,” he added.

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Ambongo also spoke about the human cost of the prolonged conflict, arguing that the value of human life had been overshadowed by the pursuit of the country’s natural resources.

He described what he observed as a double injustice: wealth concentrated in the hands of a small minority while most Congolese live in poverty, and foreign interests competing for the country’s resources.

"The power of arms produces the victors and the vanquished, widows and orphans. The power of dialogue produces brothers. It is this power that we have come to seek in Assisi,” he said.

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Meanwhile, preparations for the national dialogue remain incomplete. A decree establishing the preparatory committee has been signed, but appointments to its leadership are still pending following consultations led by Tshisekedi’s Chief of Staff, Anthony Nkinzo, with religious leaders.

The National Episcopal Conference of Congo (CENCO) and the Church of Christ in Congo (ECC) are also pursuing a separate initiative, known as the Social Pact for Peace and Living Well Together in DR Congo and the Great Lakes Region.

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The debate over political inclusion comes as opposition leaders in the C64 coalition also meet in Rome. On Monday, the coalition’s five-member presidium, Martin Fayulu, Moïse Katumbi, Delly Sesanga, Augustin Matata Ponyo and Jean-Marc Kabund, called for the immediate release of opposition figure Prince Epenge, who had been detained in Kinshasa since Sunday.

Epenge was reportedly stopped from boarding a flight with the delegation heading to the C64 Rome meeting, at N’djili International Airport before being detained by intelligence agents.

The Rome meeting was the coalition’s first face-to-face gathering since its creation in May this year. The opposition has vowed to press Tshisekedi to leave power in 2028.

Tshisekedi, who came into power in 2019, is seeking constitutional amendments that could allow him to run for a third term.