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DRC’s ex-president Kabila slams justice system after losing immunity

Kabila, accused of ‘treason’ and ‘war crimes’, denies government accusations of links to M23 rebel group.

Joseph Kabila

Former DRC president Joseph Kabila during the inauguration ceremony for Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, in 2019 [Jerome Delay/AP Photo]

Published On 23 May 2025

23 May 2025

Joseph Kabila, former president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), has attacked the country’s justice system after the Senate voted to lift his immunity, paving the way for him to be prosecuted for alleged treason and war crimes.

Kabila gave a livestreamed speech from an undisclosed location on Friday, a day after losing his immunity over alleged links to the M23 rebel group, saying that the justice system was “an instrument of oppression for a dictatorship desperately trying to survive”