KINSHASA, DRC – October 16, 2025 – The newly formed “Save DRC” opposition movement, led by former President Joseph Kabila, has escalated its challenge to the Kinshasa government by demanding the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of “all foreign troops and mercenaries” from the country.
The demand, a centerpiece of the movement’s 14-point declaration issued after a two-day summit in Nairobi, Kenya, directly targets the presence of regional forces, including the Southern African Development Community Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (SAMIDRC), which are supporting the Congolese army (FARDC) in its fight against M23 and other armed groups in the volatile eastern provinces.
“A nation’s sovereignty cannot be subcontracted,” a source close to the delegation quoted from the movement’s foundational document. “To restore our national dignity and chart our own path to peace, all foreign troops and mercenaries must leave our soil immediately. Every gesture matters and will count toward victory and dignity.”
This new, hardline stance on foreign military presence marks a significant intensification of the opposition’s platform, moving beyond criticism of domestic policy to directly confronting President Félix Tshisekedi’s regional security strategy.
The “Save DRC” movement was officially launched this week following a meeting in Nairobi between Kabila and other prominent opposition figures, including former Prime Minister Augustin Matata Ponyo. Both men have recently been convicted in absentia by Congolese courts—Kabila sentenced to death for war crimes and treason, and Ponyo to a decade in prison for corruption.
The Congolese government has forcefully rejected the movement. Spokesman Patrick Muyaya dismissed the Nairobi gathering as a “non-event” and a meeting of “fugitives and convicts.”
The movement’s declaration accuses the Tshisekedi administration of fostering a “dictatorship,” rejecting inclusive dialogue, and failing to address the country’s deepening economic and security crises despite holding full control of state power. The coalition has vowed to launch a diplomatic offensive to alert the international community to the situation and has called for the release of all political prisoners.
Kabila, who ruled the DRC from 2001 to 2019, had been unseen for months after his legal immunity was lifted by senators, paving the way for his prosecution. President Tshisekedi, once an ally of Kabila, has accused his predecessor of being a key supporter of the M23 rebel group—a charge Kabila denies.
The choice of Nairobi as a launchpad for this new opposition front places Kenya in a diplomatically sensitive position. In 2023, another anti-Tshisekedi coalition, the Alliance Fleuve Congo, which includes the M23 rebel group, was also announced from the Kenyan capital, sparking a diplomatic row with Kinshasa.
The call for the withdrawal of foreign troops comes at a complex time. While the Congolese government relies on support from SADC and other partners to combat rebel forces, it simultaneously signed an agreement with the M23 in Doha this week to establish a ceasefire monitoring mechanism, highlighting the intricate and often contradictory diplomatic efforts to end the conflict.
