In a statement dated Friday, April 18, the Ministry of Justice announced that it had instructed both the Auditor General of the Armed Forces (FARDC) and the Prosecutor General at the Court of Cassation to initiate criminal proceedings against Kabila.

The ministry accuses Kabila of playing a direct role in the ongoing insurgency by the AFC/M23, which has, in recent months, resulted in the capture of strategic areas in eastern Congo, including the cities of Goma and Bukavu.

“In addition, the seizure of all the former Congolese Head of State’s movable and immovable assets has been ordered,” the statement reads.

Additionally, the Ministry of Justice has imposed movement restrictions on what it describes as Kabila’s “collaborators involved in this case of high treason against the Nation."

The latest development follows Kabila’s recent visit to rebel-controlled Goma after his return to the DRC. The rebels seized the city in January, citing poor governance, ethnic cleansing, and the persecution of minority Kinyarwanda-speaking communities.

Kabila, who ruled the country from 2001 to 2019, had been living in exile in South Africa and Zimbabwe. His return came after he pledged to help address what he described as “serious security issues and challenges in all other sectors of national life.”

Kabila remains an influential figure in Congolese politics, with a loyal base of supporters across the country.

Recently, his wife, Olive Lembe, claimed she is being targeted by the country’s security agencies, following reports that security forces had raided the former president’s residence.

“It is persecution that we are suffering at the hands of the security services and this regime,” Lembe said in an interview with local media on Thursday, April 17.

“They are persecuting us and deliberately damaging the image of our activities.”

The latest development follows Kabila's recent visit to rebel-controlled Goma after his return to the DRC. The rebels seized the city in January, citing poor governance, ethnic cleansing, and the persecution of minority Kinyarwanda-speaking communities.