Marcelin Cishambo, a former governor of South Kivu, joins the AFC/M23 rebellion

Rebel spokesperson Lawrence Kanyuka has announced that Marcelin Cishambo, the former governor of South Kivu Province in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, has joined the Alliance Fleuve Congo (AFC/M23).

In a post on X on June 4, Kanyuka announced that “the Honorary Governor of South Kivu, Marcelin Cishambo, and a delegation composed of political figures, businessmen, members of the opposition, and members of the diaspora” had arrived in Goma, the rebel-held capital of North Kivu Province.

“The AFC/M23 urges all patriots to do the same.”

In South Kivu, which is mostly under rebel control, Cishambo served as governor from July 2010 to August 2017.

Last month, Joseph Kabila, the former president of the Congo, joined the rebels as well. After accusing President Felix Tshisekedi’s administration of populism, lies, arrogance, institutionalizing nepotism and tribalism, and impunity, among other evils, that undermined national unity and left the nation vulnerable, Kabila returned to Goma just two days later.

Kabila, 53, was the leader of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 2001 until January 2019, when Tshisekedi took over.

Kabila accused Tshisekedi of breaking a pact that put him in power, and the two later fell out. Kabila is alleged to have supported the AFC/M23 rebels by Tshisekedi.