US sanctions Joseph Kabila over alleged ties to M23 rebels

Following sanctions on the Rwandan army for its support of AFC/M23 rebels, Washington has targeted the former Congolese president for “attempts to destabilise” the Kinshasa government.

On 30 April, the United States sanctioned Joseph Kabila, accusing him of “sowing instability” in his country through his support for the M23 armed group, according to official sources reported by AFP. The former president of the DRC (2001–2019) has been added to the blacklist of individuals facing economic sanctions by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (Ofac).

Washington believes the former leader is seeking to “destabilise the government of the DRC by supporting M23 and the AFC”, its political wing, according to a statement seen by AFP. Ofac noted that he had notably “lived under the protection of M23” last year in Goma, the armed group’s stronghold in eastern DRC.

The American sanctions involve a freeze on any assets Kabila may hold in the US and prohibit American companies and citizens from conducting business with him.

“This is merely a logical consequence, even if it has been a long time coming. Joseph Kabila is the instigator, the initiator and the designer of the destabilisation of the Congo,” said the interior minister, Jacquemain Shabani, when contacted by Jeune Afrique .

In late September 2025, the Congolese courts sentenced him to death in absentia for “complicity” with M23, which is supported by Rwanda.

A few weeks later, Kigali and Kinshasa signed a fragile peace agreement in Washington, brokered by the US president, Donald Trump. “President Trump is working for peace in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and has made it clear that those who continue to sow instability will be held accountable,” said the US treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, who oversees Ofac.

In early 2025, M23 and its allies seized the major Congolese cities of Goma and Bukavu in quick succession following a spectacular offensive that routed Kinshasa’s armed forces. In early December, the group took Uvira, a strategic town on the border with Burundi, just days after the signing of the Washington accords, before withdrawing under American pressure.

The United States recently issued sanctions against the Rwandan army for its support of the armed group, a move that provoked anger in Kigali.