Former Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) president Joseph Kabila, sentenced to death in absentia on 30 September, has convened a political conclave in Nairobi, Kenya. Several opposition figures, among them former Prime Minister Matata Ponyo, Seth Kikuni, and Franck Diongo, are in attendance.

Two weeks after his death sentence by a Congolese military court, which found him guilty of “treason” and “crimes against humanity”, former president Joseph Kabila has resurfaced.

“[Kabila] had already met several leaders in December 2024, in Addis Ababa, but the context has changed considerably since then,” explained one of his close associates, mentioning the need to “rebuild an opposition front” against President Félix Tshisekedi.

Ponyo, who was himself sentenced to 10 years of forced labour by the Constitutional Court on 20 May for embezzlement of public funds, had disappeared from public view. In August, his party, Leadership et Gouvernance pour le Développement (LGD), confirmed that Ponyo was officially in exile, without specifying his location.

For several months, Kabila has been trying to reposition himself as a central actor in the political arena of the DRC.

From February to June, he orchestrated a gradual return to the media sphere through various public statements and by returning to Congolese territory, in Goma, a city under the control of M23 rebels in the ongoing eastern Congo conflict.

As Tshisekedi’s opponents increasingly push for dialogue, Kabila seeks to present himself as an essential intermediary between the political and military opposition.

 

However, while discussions between the Congolese authorities and the M23 are set to resume this week in Doha, prospects for internal dialogue remain embryonic.