Comment la République Démocratique du Congo peut reconquérir les zones occupées par le RDF et le M23 sans aucune bataille armée.
Stratégies communautaires de rejet et de résistance contre l'occupation par la résistance pacifique.
La situation dans l'est de la République Démocratique du Congo (RDC) demeure une source de préoccupation majeure, marquée par la présence et les actions déstabilisatrices du RDF (Forces de Défense Rwandaises) et du groupe armé M23. La perspective d'une reconquête des zones occupées sans recourir à la violence armée représente un défi complexe mais potentiellement transformateur. Cet essai explore en profondeur les stratégies de résistance pacifique que la RDC pourrait mettre en œuvre, en répondant aux questions fondamentales de comment, quoi faire, quand, qui, pourquoi et où. La République Démocratique du Congo (RDC) fait actuellement face à un défi majeur avec l'occupation de certaines régions du Nord-Kivu et du Sud-Kivu par les forces du M23 et le RDF (Rwanda Defence Force). La question fondamentale est de savoir comment reconquérir ces territoires sans recourir à une confrontation armée. Plusieurs stratégies communautaires peuvent être efficacement déployées pour rétablir la souveraineté nationale et territoriale de manière pacifique, en utilisant des mécanismes civils et politiques de résistance et de rejet de l'occupation.
General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, commander of the Uganda People's Defence Forces (UPDF) and son of President Yoweri Museveni, has once again shaken the regional diplomatic and military landscape with a series of controversial tweets. These posts, shared via his X account, come just after he completed an official visit to Kigali, where he was warmly received by the Chief of Staff of the Rwanda Defence Force, General Mubarakh Muganga, and personally thanked President Paul Kagame for his hospitality.
In one of his most striking tweets, Muhoozi stated: "Within a week, either the M23 or the UPDF will be in Kisangani. On the orders of Yoweri Museveni, Commander-in-Chief of the UPDF!" He also addressed the people of this strategic northeastern Congolese city: "People of Kisangani, we are coming to save you. The army of God is coming!" These statements, with their messianic and militant tone, immediately raised concerns among observers, especially given that Kisangani lies far from the current frontline between the FARDC and the M23, and well beyond traditionally contested zones.
These messages emerge in an already tense regional climate. The UPDF is officially deployed in Ituri as part of a cooperation agreement with Kinshasa to combat armed groups such as the ADF and CODECO. However, several analysts point out that this cooperation also allows Kampala to expand its territorial influence without facing the international condemnation directed at Kigali. While Rwandan forces and the M23 are accused of serious human rights violations and targeted by sanctions, Uganda seems to be advancing its agenda more discreetly, even presenting itself as a legitimate partner.
Yet recent developments on the ground could signal the beginning of a rupture. According to Ugandan sources, two colonels, three majors, and several FARDC elements disguised within the CODECO militia—allegedly with the complicity of the military governor of Ituri—were captured during ongoing UPDF operations in the province. These individuals have reportedly been transferred to Uganda for interrogation. This incident raises serious questions: Is this the end of the military cooperation between Kinshasa and Kampala? And how long can Uganda continue to avoid international condemnation—will it soon follow Rwanda's path?
In a particularly aggressive series of posts, Muhoozi also declared: "The Ugandan-speaking people of eastern Congo will never be abandoned. The Alur, Bahema, Banande, and Batutsi are our brothers, and we have the RIGHT to protect them!" This type of identity-based rhetoric echoes the justifications used by Rwanda for its intervention in Kivu and supports those who believe Kampala is playing a double game—oscillating between strategic rivalry with Kigali and its own ambitions in the DRC.
But it is primarily the war against CODECO militias in Ituri that allows Muhoozi to project strength. Reposting triumphant military statements, he claimed that the UPDF had killed 242 CODECO fighters in Fataki during clashes on March 18 and 19, 2025. "CODECO prays to the Devil every day! We pray to Jesus Christ every day. Let's see who is stronger? So far, we have killed 300. I want at least 10,000," he tweeted. These statements are shocking—not only for their extreme religious language but also for their glorification of violence. He even added: "My father, General Yoweri Museveni, told me a few months ago that I must turn the UPDF into a 'killing machine.' That is what we are working on."
These declarations, coupled with his recent visit to Kigali, fuel speculation: Is Muhoozi seeking to rekindle a strategic alliance with Rwanda to reshape eastern DRC to their advantage? Or is he playing a personal card, he who has never hidden his political and military ambitions on the regional stage? His tone, veering between provocation and messianism, is cause for concern. And his repeated references to Kisangani—a city historically scarred by Rwanda-Uganda confrontations in 1999–2000—raise fears of a return to direct rivalry, this time cloaked in the guise of a crusade.
In a context where the international community is still trying to stabilize eastern Congo through processes like Luanda or Nairobi, Muhoozi's tweets come as a true torpedo. Whether this is mere political posturing or a signal of new military ambitions, the message is clear: Uganda does not intend to remain passive in the face of developments in eastern DRC. And Kigali, by hosting Muhoozi amid a regional crisis, shows that a certain strategic alignment remains possible.
### "Be courteous to all, but intimate with few; and let those few be well tried before you give them your confidence", George Washington. ###
U.S. Firm Backed by Gates and Bezos Seeks Congo Lithium Exploration
The article describes U.S. firm KoBold Metals' efforts to develop a lithium deposit in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The company, backed by billionaires Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos, is using AI to explore for minerals and is considering bringing in partners to fast-track the development of a new copper mine in Zambia.
U.S. firm KoBold Metals, whose backers include billionaires Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos, is seeking to develop a huge hard rock lithium deposit in the Democratic Republic of Congo as the African country, which also has large cobalt, gold, and cobalt resources, is seeking a minerals partnership with the United States.
KoBold Metals has set sights on taking over a mining license for an area, the Manono project, which promises large lithium deposits. The U.S. firm "would welcome the opportunity to develop the asset," Sandy Alexander, the chief legal officer of KoBold Metals, wrote in a letter to Congo's president seen by Bloomberg News.
The Roche Dure resources in the Democratic Republic of Congo "has the potential to become a large-scale, long-lived lithium mine," KoBold's Alexander wrote in the letter to the chief of staff of the Democratic Republic of Congo's President Felix Tshisekedi dated January 21.
Investment in the deposit has been impeded by a legal dispute between Australian firm AVZ Minerals Ltd, China's Zijin Mining Group Co, and the government of the DRC.
Two years ago, the DRC canceled AVZ Minerals' exploration license. It divided the exploration area into two separate areas and handed one of them to the Chinese firm Zijin.
AVZ Minerals earlier this month won a compensation case at the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) over the project.
AVZ Minerals also said that it is in discussions with several U.S.-based parties to raise funding for the lithium project.
KoBold says that it is using AI to explore for minerals. Currently, the company backed by U.S. entrepreneurs and billionaires is exploring more than 70 projects worldwide.
KoBold Metals could consider bringing in partners to fast-track the development of a new copper mine in another African country, Zambia, that could cost about $2 billion, the start-up's co-founder and president Josh Goldman told Reuters last month.
"Les dernières sanctions individuelles ont été adoptées lundi dernier. Elles ont été proposées conjointement par la France et la Belgique", a déclaré Rémi Maréchaux, ambassadeur de France en RDC, ce 20 mars, en marge de la Journée internationale de la Francophonie à Kinshasa.
High in the celestial heavens – or, more likely, somewhere hotter deep beneath our feet – the spirits of Robert Mugabe and other late tyrants of Africa whisper advice to their successors.
When you do something utterly outrageous, they say, always blame your old colonial power. Deflect the pressure onto them. Argue that by murdering other Africans you are waging a noble struggle against imperialism.
Yes, this is an old trick. And of course it's ludicrous; millions of Africans will not be fooled by it.
But gullible Westerners full of post-colonial guilt can still be duped into ignoring – and even excusing – the bloodshed and poverty caused by many African despots.
This week president Paul Kagame of Rwanda became the latest autocrat to follow this advice. On Monday he severed diplomatic relations with Belgium, the old colonial power, with a rhetorical flourish worthy of Mugabe.
"'Who are you by the way?" Mr Kagame asked Belgium. "Who put you in charge of us? Rwandans believe in God, but did God really put these people in charge of Rwanda?"
In fact the Belgians have not been in charge of Rwanda since independence in 1962 (when Mr Kagame was four). Why did he claim they were still running Rwanda in 2025?
The answer is that Mr Kagame has invaded his neighbour, the Democratic Republic of Congo, where his soldiers are joining forces with a rebel militia known as M23 to kill thousands, evict millions from their homes and pillage the mineral wealth of an impoverished nation.
The horrors that Mr Kagame has inflicted on Congo defy imagination. The east of this giant country – particularly the provinces of North and South Kivu – has already endured decades of ruinous conflict, reducing almost every inhabitant to destitution.
Of all the places where a leader might wage war, invading eastern Congo is just about the most morally repugnant decision that anyone could take.
Yet this is exactly what Mr Kagame has done: occupying swathes of his neighbour while sabotaging every effort to end the killing.
In December he was supposed to sign a peace agreement with his Congolese counterpart, Felix Tshisekedi, but Mr Kagame never turned up for the summit in Angola's capital Luanda.
Instead, he launched a new offensive which soon captured Goma, the biggest city in eastern Congo and capital of North Kivu. Rwandan forces then advanced southwards to seize Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu.
Between October 2024 and the fall of Goma in January, almost half a million Congolese were driven from their homes; since then another 850,000 have been displaced.
Eastern Congo has immense mineral wealth and Mr Kagame has taken the opportunity to grab the mines and plunder the country.
Note the bitter irony of this: he accuses Belgium of imperialism while he is himself waging an imperialist war in Congo.
And note, too, the parallels with Vladimir Putin: the invasion of a neighbour, the de facto annexation of its territory, the mass displacement of its people, and the murder of Rwandan opponents of the regime who live in foreign countries.
Mr Kagame is also capable of Putin-esque mendacity. He typically justifies his aggression by claiming to be hunting down the militias behind Rwanda's genocide in 1994. Yet look where his soldiers are deployed: they have occupied the mines instead of pursuing the last genocidaires.
Sometimes, though, Mr Kagame just tells straightforward lies. When a CNN journalist asked him whether Rwanda troops were in Congo, he replied: "I don't know", as if his army might have deserted en masse or attacked his neighbour by mistake.
Now Mr Kagame's last gambit is to claim that the eternal struggle against Belgian imperialism requires him to lay waste to Congo. Will anyone fall for it? Britain should take this opportunity to demonstrate that the old trick no longer works.
David Lammy, the Foreign Secretary, has done what should have happened long ago and suspended British aid to Rwanda. He has allowed our diplomats in the United Nations to state the obvious: that Rwandan troops are in Congo and they should get out.
But even now, Britain remains reluctant to challenge the willingness of other African states to indulge Mr Kagame. The African members of the Security Council – Sierra Leone, Algeria and Somalia – have often combined to protect Rwanda from scrutiny.
Will Britain "listen" to the viewpoint of these nations or will we highlight the moral bankruptcy of their position?
In the end, the trick that Mugabe and his comrades whisper from beyond their graves only works if we allow it to work. For the sake of peace in Africa, it must never succeed again.
### "Be courteous to all, but intimate with few; and let those few be well tried before you give them your confidence", George Washington. ###
