A new political-military organisation led by former Democratic Republic of Congo president Joseph Kabila has declared the end of the Alliance Fleuve Congo (AFC), bringing prominent figures associated with the M23 rebellion into a restructured front opposed to the government in Kinshasa.
The Front pour la refondation de la nation (FRN) was announced in Goma on October 12, 2026. Its founding declaration says the organisation succeeds the AFC and will coordinate forces seeking to bring political change in Congo.
The document states that its adoption and signing definitively end the AFC’s existence. It does not separately clarify the future institutional status of the M23, which has fought Congolese government forces in the east alongside the AFC political movement.
Kabila was named president of the new front, with Bertrand Bisimwa and Corneille Nangaa as vice-presidents. Major General Sultani Makenga was appointed chief of staff of the Congolese Revolutionary Army (ARC), with the rank of vice-president.
The leadership also includes Freddy Rukema Kaniki as secretary-general, Benjamin Mbonimpa as deputy secretary-general and Désiré Rukomera Rwigema as permanent secretary of the founders’ college.
At a news conference in Goma, coalition adviser Claude Ibalanky said the front intended to bring together resistance forces to end what it called tyranny, including through the use of force.
The declaration presents the FRN as a framework for coordinating political and military opposition to President Félix Tshisekedi’s government. It also sets out a broader ambition to reshape the Congolese state, although it does not provide a detailed timetable for implementing its objectives.
The reorganisation follows Kabila’s recent public criticism of the government. In an address issued days before the announcement, he said Congo was in danger and urged citizens to act to determine the country’s future. He accused Tshisekedi of failing to heed proposals he had made in May 2025 to help resolve the crisis.
Kabila led Congo from 2001 to 2019. His appointment gives him a formal leadership position in a coalition that includes senior figures from the AFC/M23 movement.
Nangaa founded the AFC in 2023 as a political platform opposing the Kinshasa government. The movement later became associated with the M23 rebellion, which took control of Goma in January 2025 and expanded its presence in eastern Congo.
A restructuring of the AFC/M23 movement involving a new name and a leading role for Kabila had been discussed in a June 2026 report by United Nations experts. The FRN announcement marks a concrete development in that reorganisation, although its full implications for the movement’s military structures and political strategy remain unclear.
The new front was announced while diplomatic efforts to end the conflict continue, including negotiations involving the Congolese government and AFC/M23 representatives. The founding declaration accuses Kinshasa of failing to meet commitments in the peace process, but those allegations have not been independently established by the declaration itself.
The government had not issued an immediate public response to the launch, according to reports published on October 12.
