Rwanda: Kabila-Led FRN Takes Over Doha Peace Talks With Kinshasa

What the report says

The New Times, as carried by AllAfrica, reports that a newly formed movement led by former Democratic Republic of Congo president Joseph Kabila, the Front pour la refondation de la nation (FRN), has assumed the rights, obligations and commitments previously held by the AFC/M23. The handover is tied to the Doha peace process with Kinshasa, which the article says the new group will continue to engage with as talks over the eastern DRC conflict proceed.

According to the report, the FRN was launched in Goma on October 12, 2026, and marked the dissolution of the AFC/M23 structure. A statement attributed to Freddy Kaniki, identified as the FRN secretary general and executive coordinator, said the new movement inherits the AFC’s full commitments, especially those connected to the Doha negotiations. Kabila was named FRN president, while Corneille Nangaa, Bertrand Bisimwa and Maj Gen Sultani Makenga were appointed vice-presidents. Makenga also kept his role as chief of staff of the Congolese Revolutionary Army.

The article places the move within the wider Qatar-facilitated Doha process, launched in April 2025, which aims to address the roots of the conflict between the Congolese government and AFC/M23. It notes that the talks have produced three signed protocols out of eight, but implementation has been limited amid disputes over ceasefire terms and prisoner releases.

The piece also says the Doha track is meant to complement the June 27, 2025 Washington Accords between Rwanda and DR Congo. It adds that Kinshasa had not publicly responded to the FRN announcement or the future of the talks, and references Kabila’s earlier treason case and death sentence in absentia, without detailing any new legal developments.