The Senate of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) will on Thursday debate whether to lift the parliamentary immunity of former President Joseph Kabila, paving the way for possible prosecution over allegations of supporting the Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group.
If lawmakers vote in favor, the 53-year-old could face charges including treason, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and involvement in an insurrectionary movement. The government accuses Kabila of backing the M23 rebels, who have taken control of large areas in the country’s conflict-ridden eastern provinces.
President Félix Tshisekedi has directly accused his predecessor of conspiring with the M23, whose recent offensives have reignited decades-long instability in the region.
Kabila, who ruled from 2001 to 2019, has not been seen in the DRC since 2023. His entourage has confirmed his absence but has kept his current location undisclosed.
Justice Minister Constant Mutamba in April called on military courts to take up the case. However, Kabila currently holds the honorary title of senator for life—a role that grants him parliamentary immunity. In response, the military prosecutor formally requested that the Senate strip him of this privilege.
A 40-member special Senate commission was set up to assess the request and submitted its findings on Wednesday. According to a Senate statement released Thursday, the plenary session will begin at 1300 GMT, with the sole item on the agenda being the presentation and adoption of the commission’s report.
If the commission recommends lifting Kabila’s immunity and the Senate endorses it, lawmakers will still need to determine the legal process for implementation. Constitutional experts are debating whether the final decision would require a two-thirds majority in both houses of Parliament. Tshisekedi’s coalition currently holds a commanding majority in both chambers.
Kabila is the only former president in DRC history to have been granted a lifetime Senate position. Recent moves to strip him of immunity come amid signs that he may be plotting a political return. Although no formal evidence has emerged of his re-entry into the country, Kabila has issued increasingly vocal criticisms of Tshisekedi’s administration.
In the meantime, authorities have suspended his party, the People’s Party for Reconstruction and Democracy (PPRD), and conducted raids on several of his properties.
