# Joseph Kabila

Joseph Kabila Kabange (/kæˈbiːlə/ kab-EE-lə, French:; born 4 June 1971) is a Congolese politician and military officer who was the fourth President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 2001 to 2019. He took office ten days after the assassination of his father, President Laurent-Désiré Kabila in the context of the Second Congo War. He was allowed to remain in power after the 2003 Pretoria Accord ended the war as the president of the country's new transitional government. He was elected as president in 2006 and re-elected in 2011 for a second term. Since stepping down after the 2018 election, Kabila, as a former president, serves as a senator for life. Kabila was the country's second-longest serving president.
Kabila is credited with ending the Second Congo War and restoring relative stability to most of the country, though conflict continued in eastern DR Congo against rebel forces supported by neighboring Rwanda and Uganda. He encouraged foreign investment in the mining industry and improved the infrastructure. The size of the country's economy increased by five times during his presidency. But economic growth slowed down in the later years, and it had been very unequal. The majority of DR Congo's population still lived below the international poverty line by the time he left office. He helped organize electoral institutions and in 2006 presided over the DRC's first multi-party election in decades, though both that and his victory in 2011 faced accusations of electoral fraud and saw protests. He led an authoritarian government that was known for embezzlement, corruption, and human rights violations, including security forces killing protestors. The United States has sanctioned associates of Kabila for corruption and undermining democracy.
Kabila's term was due to expire on 20 December 2016, according to the terms of the constitution adopted in 2006. Officials suggested that elections would be held in November 2016, but on 29 September 2016, the nation's electoral authority announced that the election would not be held until early 2018. Talk focused on the need for a census before holding elections. Kabila's popularity declined and he also faced growing pressure from the international community to give up power. An agreement was reached with the influential Catholic Church hierarchy to appoint a new government and prepare to hold elections. In August 2018, Kabila announced that he would step down and not seek a third term in the December 2018 general election. Kabila was succeeded by Félix Tshisekedi in the country's first peaceful transition of power since independence. Independent observers concluded that Tshisikedi lost heavily to another candidate, Martin Fayulu, and that Kabila had fixed the official result for the candidate most likely to be most helpful to him in the latter's post-presidency period.

## Early life and education (1971–1996)

Joseph Kabila Kabange and his twin sister Jaynet Kabila were born on 4 June 1971. According to official accounts, the twins were born at Hewabora, a small village in the Fizi Territory of the South Kivu Province, in eastern DRC. Rumors have abounded that Kabila was actually born in Tanzania, which would make him a citizen of that country. He is the son of long time rebel, former AFDL leader and president of the DRC Laurent-Désiré Kabila and Sifa Mahanya.
Kabila's childhood coincided with the low point of his father's political and military career. He was raised in relative remoteness, with few records of his early days. Kabila attended a primary school organized by his father's rebel forces, before moving to Tanzania where he completed primary and secondary school. Due to his father's status as an enemy of Zairean strongman Mobutu Sese Seko, Kabila posed as a Tanzanian in his school years to avoid detection by Zairean intelligence agents.

## Guerrilla and army years (1996–2001)

Following high school, Kabila followed a military curriculum in Tanzania, then at Makerere University in Uganda. In October 1996, Laurent-Désiré Kabila launched the campaign in Zaire to oust the Mobutu regime with his newly formed army, the Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo-Zaire (AFDL). Joseph Kabila became the commander of an AFDL unit that included "kadogos" (child soldiers) and likely played a key role in major battles on the road to Kinshasa, but his exact whereabouts during the war have been difficult to establish. Joseph Kabila appears to have been present at the liberation of Kisangani where media reports identified him as commander of the rebel force that took the city after four days of intense fighting.
Following the AFDL's victory, and Laurent-Désiré Kabila's rise to the presidency, Joseph Kabila went on to get further training at the PLA National Defense University, in Beijing, China.
When he returned from China, Kabila was awarded the rank of major-general, and appointed Deputy Chief of Staff of the Congolese Armed Forces (FAC), in 1998. He was later, in 2000, appointed Chief of Staff of the Land Forces, a position he held until the elder President Kabila's assassination in January 2001. As chief of staff, he was one of the main military leaders in charge of government troops during the time of the Second Congo War (1998–2003).

## Peace talks and transitional government (2001–2006)

Joseph Kabila rose to the presidency on 26 January 2001 after the assassination of Laurent-Désiré Kabila, becoming the world's first head of government born in the 1970s. Aged 29, he was considered young and inexperienced, and reportedly did not want to become the president, but was the only candidate that his father's advisers could agree on. In his inauguration speech, Joseph Kabila spoke about the need to "restore peace and national communion," restart the negotiations that stalled under his predecessor, return to democracy, and to liberalize the economy.
He subsequently attempted to end the ongoing civil war by negotiating peace agreements with rebel groups backed by Rwanda and Uganda, the same regional armies who had brought Laurent-Désiré Kabila's rebel group to power three years before. The process began in 2001 and continued despite difficulties during the talks, including the resumption of fighting. Under international pressure from South African president Thabo Mbeki and UN special envoy Moustapha Niasse, the final peace settlement was based on the 2002 agreement signed at the Inter-Congolese Dialogue in Sun City, South Africa, which nominally ended the Second Congo War. It maintained Joseph Kabila as the president and head of state of the DRC. A transitional government was set up under him, including the leaders of the country's two main rebel groups, the MLC and RCD–Goma, as vice-presidents. The two other vice-presidents were representatives of the civilian opposition and the government respectively. It also set up the basis for the legislature and the armed forces, and elections were to be held within two years, which could be extended by six months.
The implementation of the peace agreement took place with international monitoring, including with the presence of the largest United Nations peacekeeping mission in its history. The first cabinet was set up in June 2003, followed by the National Assembly and the Senate in the next month. The Independent Electoral Commission (CEI) was created in 2004, and also that year the Nationality Act was passed to address previous disputes regarding the issue. The parliament began working on the constitution in February 2005, and passed a draft in May 2005, in the presence of both Kabila and Thabo Mbeki. It created an independent judiciary and a semi-presidential system where a prime minister is appointed by the president but must have the support of the parliamentary majority.
When the slow process of passing an electoral law led to talks of elections being postponed by six months in early 2005, there was a brief split within the government with the MLC, which also involved delays in appointments to government offices, though it was remedied after Kabila spoke to Vice President Jean-Pierre Bemba. Meanwhile, the historic opposition party UPDS called for protests, and some newspapers in Kinshasa spoke of a "Ukrainian scenario," but planned demonstrations by UPDS were blocked by police. Between June and December 2005, the electoral commission was able to register 25 million voters across the DRC despite the poor state of the infrastructure. This was in preparation for the country's first free electoral expression since 1965, the constitutional referendum, held at the end of the year. The constitution was approved with 84 percent of the vote, and 62 percent voter turnout, with the highest support being in the eastern DRC. This was despite a boycott by over 40 political parties. Kabila promulgated the constitution in February 2006.
The creation of the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC) by integrating government troops and rebel groups proceeded more slowly. Kabila established a separate "military household" outside of the FARDC general staff, which had been founded in 2003, and his own presidential guard that received better pay and equipment than the regular army. The former rebel leaders likewise continued to command their own forces outside of the FARDC chain of command and in practice controlled their original territory. In May 2005 a plan was adopted to disarm, retrain, and reorganize former rebel groups into a number of integrated brigades, but its implementation was not completed before 2006 and the army remained in a state of disorder.
On 28 March 2004, an apparent coup attempt or mutiny around the capital Kinshasa, allegedly by members of the former guard of former president Mobutu Sese Seko (who had been ousted by Kabila's father in 1997 and died in the same year), failed. On 11 June 2004, coup plotters led by Major Eric Lenge allegedly attempted to take power and announced on state radio that the transitional government was suspended, but were defeated by loyalist troops.
In October 2004 Kabila visited the eastern part of the DRC for the first time since the end of the war. The president's visit to Kisangani, which had been occupied by rebel and foreign troops, was portrayed as a demonstration of the restoration of stability and unity to the country. However, the presidential guard disarmed the former rebels there, who were awaiting integration into the FARDC, and moved them into camps outside of the city. Western observers also saw this trip as signalling the start of his election campaign. Kabila's campaign platform included a reconstruction plan known as Cinq Chantiers (Five Construction Sites), consisting of infrastructure, job creation, education, water and electricity, and health.

## First presidential term (2006–2011)

Kabila ran for the presidency as an independent, though the Alliance of the Presidential Majority was formed to support his campaign, which included his People's Party for Reconstruction and Democracy (PPRD) and about 30 other parties. During the election campaign Kabila was attacked by his opposition with the claim of him being Rwandan instead of Congolese, in a country where many had a negative view of Rwanda, and being described as the candidate that represented foreign powers. Kabila was still seen as the frontrunner in the election by Western observers, due to the political opposition being divided and lacking resources, while the former rebel leaders were widely hated.
A presidential election was held on 30 July 2006, having been delayed from an earlier date in June. The new constitution lowered the minimum age of presidential candidates from 35 to 30; Kabila turned 35 shortly before the election. In March 2006, he registered as a candidate. Although the new constitution stipulates that a debate be held between the two remaining candidates for the presidency, no debates took place and many declared this unconstitutional.
According to widely disputed provisional results announced on 20 August, Kabila won 45% of the vote; his main opponent, vice-president and former rebel leader Jean-Pierre Bemba, won 20%. The irregularities surrounding the elections results prompted a run-off vote between Kabila and Bemba which was held on 29 October. On 15 November, the electoral commission announced the official results and Kabila was declared the winner, with 58.05% of the vote. These results were confirmed by the Supreme Court on 27 November 2006, and Kabila was inaugurated on 6 December 2006 as the country's newly elected president. Both international and national observers stated that the election had been generally free and fair, while noting some irregularities. He named Antoine Gizenga, who placed third in the first round of the presidential election (and then backed Kabila in the second round) as prime minister on 30 December.
In 2006, Kabila responded to evidence of widespread sex crimes committed by the Congolese military by describing the acts as "simply unforgivable". He pointed out that 300 soldiers had been convicted of sex crimes, although he added that this was not enough.
One of the major economic projects of his first presidency, continuing into the second, was the Sicomines (Sino-Congolais des Mines) "resources-for-infrastructure" agreement with China. The deal was reportedly negotiated after Kabila's government was unable to secure funding for his Cinq Chantiers program from Western countries. The DRC signed a memorandum of understanding in September 2007 that granted a consortium owned by the China Railway Engineering Corporation the majority of shares in a joint venture called Sicomines, while the DRC's Gécamines owned the rest. Sicomines would be given mining licenses in the Katanga Province, with CREC agreeing to build of infrastructure in exchange, and to secure US$6.5 billion from Chinese banks to finance it. The agreement marked the first time that China became a major partner of the DRC and was the largest deal of its kind in the Congo's history.
It was considered controversial because the DRC government guaranteed the loans, assuming the risk instead of the Chinese signatories. After the IMF and civil society groups became concerned about the DRC's ability to repay the loans, negotiations continued and the final deal was signed in 2009. They removed the DRC's garauntee for the mining investment but kept it for the infrastructure investment, which was reduced to US$3 billion. Sicomines was exempt from paying taxes in the DRC until the loans had been repaid. Kabila was criticized by the Congolese opposition and civil society groups for the deal, including for the lack of transparency during negotiations, which were done mostly by one of Kabila's advisors, and for the terms disproportionately favoring China. His cabinet members argued that the DRC, while being in a weaker position, still benefited from the investments, and said that the government was pressured to bring about quick results for its infrastructure development promises. Supporters of the Sicomines agreement described it as a "win-win" deal for China and the DRC.

## Second presidential term (2011–2016)

In December 2011, Kabila was re-elected for a second term as president. After the results were announced on 9 December, there was violent unrest in Kinshasa and Mbuji-Mayi, where official tallies showed that a strong majority had voted for the opposition candidate Étienne Tshisekedi. Official observers from the Carter Center reported that returns from almost 2,000 polling stations in areas where support for Tshisekedi was strong had been lost and not included in the official results. They described the election as lacking credibility. On 20 December, Kabila was sworn in for a second term, promising to invest in infrastructure and public services. However, Tshisekedi maintained that the result of the election was illegitimate and said that he intended also to "swear himself in" as president.
In January 2012, Catholic bishops in DR Congo also condemned the elections, complaining of "treachery, lies and terror", and calling on the election commission to correct "serious errors".
On 17 January 2015, Congo's parliament passed an electoral law requiring a census before the next elections. On 19 January protests led by students at the University of Kinshasa broke out. The protests began following the announcement of a proposed law that would allow Kabila to remain in power until a national census could be conducted (elections had been planned for 2016). By Wednesday 21 January clashes between police and protesters had claimed at least 42 lives, although the government claimed only 15 people had been killed.
The Senate responded to protests by striking the census requirement from its law. Moïse Katumbi announced in October 2015 that he would leave the ruling party due to disagreements over the scheduled election.
Jaynet Kabila, the sister of Kabila, was named in the Panama Papers. Document leaks in 2016 revealed that she is a part-owner of a major Congolese television company, Digital Congo TV [fr], through offshore subsidiaries.
Kabila is vastly unpopular, partly because of the conflicts in the Congo, but also because of the widespread belief that he has enriched himself and his family while ignoring millions of poor Congolese. There have been protests against his attempts to change term limits and extend his rule. Harsh demonstrations erupted on 20 April 2016 in Lubumbashi, one of Congo's biggest cities.
When Moise Katumbi, the former governor of Katanga Province in the Democratic Republic of Congo and now an opposition figure, announced that he was running for president in an election that was supposed to be held by the end of 2016, his house was surrounded by security forces wanting to arrest him.
Although Kabila's forces have scored an important victory against one large rebel group, the M23, in 2013, many other armed groups have splintered into dangerous movements. And by 2016 new ones had risen, like militias in the Nyunzu area that have killed hundreds of people.

## Delayed election and extended presidency (2016–2019)

According to the Constitution of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, President Kabila should not be allowed to serve more than two terms. On 19 September 2016, massive protests rocked Kinshasa calling for him to step down as legally mandated. Seventeen people were killed. Elections to determine a successor to Kabila were originally scheduled to be held on 27 November 2016. On 29 September 2016, the nation's electoral authority announced that the election would not be held until early 2018. According to the electoral commission's vice president, the commission "hasn't called elections in 2016 because the number of voters isn't known." However, the opposition alleges that Kabila had intentionally delayed the election to remain in power.
Partially in response to the delayed election, the United States issued sanctions against two members of Kabila's inner circle, John Numbi and Gabriel Amisi Kumba, on 28 September. These actions were seen as a warning to President Kabila to respect his country's constitution.
More demonstrations were planned to mark the passing of the end of the presidential mandate. Opposition groups claim that the outcome of late elections would be civil war.
Maman Sidikou, the Secretary-General's Special Representative for DR Congo and head of MONUSCO, said that a tipping point into uncontrollable violence could come about very quickly if the political situation is not normalised.
Kabila's second term as president of the Democratic Republic of Congo was due to end on 20 December 2016. A statement issued by his spokesperson on 19 December 2016, stated that Joseph Kabila would remain in post until a new president is in place following elections which will not be held until at least April 2018. Kabila subsequently installed a new cabinet led by prime minister Samy Badibanga, resulting in protests in which at least 40 people were killed. Under articles 75 and 76 of the Constitution of the Democratic Republic of Congo, should the office of the president become vacant, the Chairman of the Senate, presently Léon Kengo would assume the presidency in an acting capacity.
On 23 December, an agreement was proposed between the main opposition group and the Kabila government under which the latter agreed not to alter the constitution and to leave office before the end of 2017. Under the agreement opposition leader Étienne Tshisekedi will oversee that the deal is implemented and the country's Prime Minister will be appointed by the opposition.
In late February 2018 the ministry of international affairs of Botswana told Kabila that it was time to go and said the "worsening humanitarian situation" in DRC is compounded by the fact that "its leader has persistently delayed holding elections, and has lost control over the security of his country".
On December 30, 2018 the presidential election to determine the successor to Kabila was held. Kabila endorsed Emmanuel Ramazani Shadary, his former interior minister. On January 10, 2019, the electoral commission announced opposition candidate Félix Tshisekedi as the winner of the vote.

## Post-presidency (2019–present)

Since leaving the presidency, Kabila has made Kingakati farm his main residence. The estate, located 50 km east of Kinshasa, was his second home while he was still in power.
In April 2021, President Felix Tshisekedi succeeded in ousting the last remaining elements of his government who were loyal to former leader Kabila.
In May 2021, Tshisekedi called for a review of mining contracts signed with China by Kabila, especially the Sicomines multibillion 'minerals-for-infrastructure' deal.
In November 2021, a judicial investigation targeting Kabila and his associates was opened in Kinshasa after revelations of alleged embezzlement of $138 million. A Bloomberg News investigation based on leaked bank records alleged that Kabila's family members received tens of millions of dollars in bribes from Chinese companies involved in the Sicomines deal.
In February 2025, Kabila criticised President Tshisekedi for mishandling the M23 campaign through poor governance and accused him of seeking to become "absolute ruler of the country" by suppressing political opposition. Tshisekedi accused Kabila of supporting the M23 rebels at the Munich Security Conference that same month. In early March 2025, a cabinet member in the Tshisekedi administration, Jean-Pierre Bemba, also accused Kabila of supporting M23 and the Congo River Alliance, as well as the Mobondo militia in the western DR Congo clashes. The executive secretary of Kabila's party, the PPRD, denied the accusation. Also that month, Kabila reportedly met with Moïse Katumbi and other opposition leaders to discuss the political future of the country. He also attended the funeral of Namibian president of Sam Nujoma, where he spoke to foreign leaders. In an interview in Namibia, Kabila compared the situation to the Second Congo War and called for an inclusive peace process in the M23 conflict, and for the withdrawal of foreign troops from Congolese territory.

## Personal life

Kabila married Olive Lembe di Sita, on 1 June 2006. The wedding ceremonies took place on 17 June 2006. Kabila and his wife have a daughter, born in 2001, named Sifa, after Kabila's mother, and a son born in 2008 named Laurent-Désiré Jr. He owns property outside of Kinshasa, including 71,000 hectares of farmland, and his family fully or partially owns 80 companies across almost every industry in the DRC, including in mining. Kabila's hobbies include watching the NBA, reading, playing PlayStation 4, and driving his motorcycles.
Kabila, having been raised outside the country, only spoke English and Swahili fluently when he became president, and was not fluent in either French, the DRC's official language, or Lingala, a common language in the capital Kinshasa.
As Kabila is an Anglican Protestant and Lembe di Sita is Catholic, the wedding ceremonies were ecumenical; they were officiated by both the Catholic Archbishop of Kinshasa, Cardinal Frederic Etsou Bamungwabi, and Pierre Marini Bodho – presiding bishop of the Church of Christ in Congo, the umbrella church for most denominations in the Congo, known within the country simply as "The Protestant Church".
In July 2021, Joseph Kabila finished his master's degree, getting the certification from the University of Johannesburg in South Africa. He completed Master's programme in Political Science and International Relations through distance learning.

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* ↑ "Congo Reviews $6.2 Billion China Mining Deal as Criticism Grows". Bloomberg. 28 September 2021. Archived from the original on 7 December 2021. Retrieved 7 December 2021.
* ↑ "China Cash Flowed Through Congo Bank to Former President's Cronies". Bloomberg. 28 November 2021. Archived from the original on 7 December 2021. Retrieved 7 December 2021.
* ↑ "DRC: Investigation opens on Joseph Kabila over $138 million embezzlement". Africanews. 24 November 2021. Archived from the original on 7 December 2021. Retrieved 7 December 2021.
* ↑ "DRC: Kabila blames Tshisekedi's leadership for rising tensions in eastern DRC". Africanews. 24 February 2025. Retrieved 24 February 2025.
* ↑ "Jean-Pierre Bemba: « C'est Joseph Kabila qui est derrière l'AFC, le M23 et les miliciens Mobondo »" [Jean-Pierre Bemba: "Joseph Kabila is behind the AFC, the M23 and the Mobondo militia"]. Radio Okapi. 6 March 2025.
* ↑ Kasongo, Ange Adihe; Riley, Sonia (6 March 2025). "Congo ex-president holds talks on political outlook amid rebellion, sources say". Reuters.
* ↑ Mwiza, Shallon (5 March 2025). "DR Congo crisis: Kabila calls for removal of foreign troops". The New Times.
* ↑ "Solennel mariage religieux du président Joseph Kabil". 17 June 2006. Archived from the original on 19 December 2008. Retrieved 17 May 2011.
* ↑ "DR Congo ex-President Joseph Kabila gets Master's degree". The East African. 19 July 2021. Archived from the original on 11 November 2022. Retrieved 11 November 2022.