Dr. Congo prohibits the former PPRD party of the alleged M23 links

The Democratic Republic of the Congo has banned the party of former President Joseph Kabila, accusing him of ties to the M23 rebel group that seized large parts of the eastern country this year.

The ban comes amid reports that Kabila returned to the country after spending two years in South Africa.

He is said to have returned to the city of Guma, which was seized by the M23 supported by Rwanda in January.

Capella led Dr. Kongo for 18 years, after his father, Laurent, who was shot in 2001. Joseph Kabila was twenty -nine years old at the time.

The Ministry of Interior statement said that all activities of the PPRD party in Kabila have been banned because of its “mysterious position” to the occupation of Congolese lands by M23.

He also indicated that Kabila chose to return to Juma, as he was protected by the “enemy”.

PPRD did not comment.

On Friday, the government accused Kabila, 53, of high treason and ordered the seizure of all his property.

Kabila previously denied the presence of links to the M23. He did not comment on the last steps by the Congolese government, or confirmed that he returned to Dr. Kongo.

However, earlier this month he said that he would return to the country. PPRD officials have denied that Capella is currently in Goma.

On Saturday, his spokesman Barbara Nazimbi Posted on X Capella will address the nation in the coming hours or days.

When asked about the BBC the Great Lakes, the M23 spokesperson did not confirm and did not deny the existence of Kabila in Goma, saying: “I do not see any problem for him here.”

After he swore as president after his father’s death, he won twice in the elections. The second and final election period was officially ended in December 2016, but he refused to step down, saying that it was not possible to organize the elections, which led to fatal protests.

He remained in power for another two years until the elections were held in 2018.

In January 2019, he handed power to Félix Tshisetedi, the official winner of the disputed elections, which many election monitors said that Martin Volo truly won it.

Capella and Chiskedy accused of agreeing on a deal to exclude him from power – which both men denied them.

But the relations between the spouses worsened and their parties are officially ended in December 2020.

Capella left Dr. Congo in 2023, officially to study in South Africa.

In January 2024, a doctoral thesis was validated on the political geography of African relations with the United States, China and Russia at the University of Johannesburg.

In a written statement to announce his upcoming return, Capella said he was driven by the desire to help solve the institutional and security crisis in Dr. Congo.

Jeune Africa also told the magazine in French that he wanted to “play a role in searching for a solution after six years of complete decline and one year in exile.”

But Ben Radley, a political economist and lecturer in international development at Bath University, indicated that the leader of the political group that includes M23, Cornell Nanga, was the head of the electoral committee during the era of Kabila and was a “close ally”.

“In addition, the historical continuity with his father, Laurent Capella, who also entered the Congo from the east in the late 1990s in his final career to the presidency, in the minds of many Congolese,” he told the BBC.

Alfred is place.