Thousands of demonstrators marched in Kinshasa in support of U.S. sanctions imposed on former Democratic Republic of Congo president Joseph Kabila, accusing him of helping fuel instability in the country’s conflict-ridden east. The protest came days after Washington blacklisted Kabila, alleging he provided financial and technological support to the Rwanda-backed M23 rebels and their political-military ally, the Congo River Alliance (AFC), with the intention of destabilising President Félix Tshisekedi’s government.
The U.S. Treasury said Kabila had backed the AFC financially, encouraged Congolese soldiers to defect, and sought to influence the political balance in eastern Congo. Under the sanctions, any of Kabila’s assets under U.S. jurisdiction are frozen and Americans are generally barred from doing business with him. The Congolese government welcomed the move, calling it “an important step in the fight against impunity.”
At Monday’s rally, protesters praised Washington’s decision and demanded stronger action. Some demonstrators described Kabila as a central destabilising figure and called for his arrest, while activists from the ruling UDPS party said the sanctions marked a significant step against those they blame for the country’s destruction. Their anger reflects broader frustration over the grinding war in eastern Congo, where fighting involving M23 and allied groups has killed thousands and displaced hundreds of thousands more.
Kabila has rejected the accusations, calling the sanctions “profoundly unjustified, politically motivated, and based on unsubstantiated accusations.” He has also denied links to M23. But pressure on him has intensified: last year, a Congolese military court sentenced him to death in absentia for treason over what it described as complicity with the M23/AFC alliance. The sanctions come as the conflict continues despite a U.S.-backed peace framework between Congo and Rwanda that has struggled to hold. Washington has also sanctioned Rwandan military officials over support for M23, underscoring how international patience is thinning as violence persists in the mineral-rich east.
