Former President of the Congo's Democratic Republic, Joseph Kabila, returned to the country for the first time in two years, when he arrived in the rebels' eastern city of Goma.
Kabila's arrival comes after the senator deprived him of support for the Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group, which fought the Congolese army.
Kabila, who had previously denied ties to the rebel group, recently condemned the judicial system and accused it of being “used for political purposes.”
The 53-year-old led a Congo doctorate for 18 years after he succeeded his father, Laurent, who was shot in 2001.
He handed over power to President Felix Tessiskidi in 2019, but they later stood out.
KABILA's reconstruction and the Democratic People's Party (PPRD) address to the BBC confirmed early reports from M23 that Kabila had arrived in Goma.
The innocent Mirimo told the BBC Swahili: “Kabirah should be fully in the country. For us, it's like the father returning to his children.”
Last month, authorities in the capital Kinshasa banned the PPRD, which accused of “ambiguity” about M23's occupation of Congolese territory.
Rebel spokesman Lawrence Kanyuka welcomed Kabila to Goma in a message on X: “We wish him a great time in the liberated area.”
Another spokesman, Willy Ngoma, shared similar information.
Congolese authorities accused Kabila of war crimes and treason, accusing “there are a lot of documents, testimony and material facts” connecting the former leader to M23.
In a now-deleted YouTube video released on Friday, Kabila called the Congolese government a “dictatorship” and said the country was “declined in democracy.”
Congolese government spokesman Patrick Muyaya rejected Kabila's allegations, saying he “has nothing to offer the country”.
The battle between the Congolese Army and the M23 first broke out in 2012 and ended with a peace agreement the following year. But in 2021, the group raised its weapons again, saying that the promises in the deal had been violated.
Since the beginning of the year, the M23 has made significant progress in the mineral-rich east, including Goma in January.
The conflict has displaced hundreds of thousands of civilians over the past few months.
Kabila has lived outside South Africa for the past two years. Earlier last month, he said he would return to help find a solution to the conflict.
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