Joseph Kabila calls the US move “unjustified,” while Kinshasa says the sanctions tackle impunity amid fighting in eastern DR Congo.
A major political clash is widening in DR Congo after ex-president Joseph Kabila condemned a US decision to sanction him over alleged support for M23.
Kabila said the blacklisting was “profoundly unjustified, politically motivated” and based on what he called unsubstantiated accusations. He was responding to Washington’s actions tied to claims that he aided Rwanda-backed M23 fighters who have seized parts of the country’s east.
For many in Kinshasa, the episode is more than a personal dispute: it feeds into a broader contest over who is driving violence and instability in the region.
Meanwhile, the Congolese government welcomed the sanctions earlier on Friday, describing them as an important step in the fight against impunity. The US accuses Kabila of providing “financial and political support” to groups viewed as central drivers of violence in the Great Lakes area.
The US has also already sanctioned DR Congo’s neighbor, Rwanda, as part of a wider attempt to press an M23 peace effort that has not delivered lasting results. That larger diplomatic package includes provisions tied to access to the eastern DRC’s mineral wealth, framed as part of a US-brokered deal.
In practice, the more Washington ties sanctions to specific armed groups and political figures, the more these measures can reshape decision-making inside the region, even when the underlying conflicts continue.
Kabila rejected the US rationale, saying it relies on what he characterized as a narrative from Kinshasa authorities that the allegations have not been able to substantiate.. Kinshasa, on the other hand, said the sanctions would have operational implications, pointing to their potential to limit his alleged ability to mobilize finance or provide logistical support.
The political stakes are especially high for Kabila because he has already faced a severe legal outcome in DR Congo.. Last year, a military court sentenced him to death in absentia for treason, citing alleged complicity with the M23 and a political group associated with it, which has sought to challenge President Felix Tshisekedi.
That conviction, according to observers, effectively constrains Kabila’s ability to return to Kinshasa to mount a political comeback, regardless of whether he pursues the argument through international channels.
As for M23, it did not respond publicly to the US sanctions, leaving the immediate reaction from the armed group unclear.. Still, the discord between Washington and Kinshasa’s opponents shows how contested the eastern Congo narrative remains, and how quickly sanctions can become part of the political battlefield.