Joseph Kabila, a former president of the Democratic Republic of Congo, has denied the allegations levelled against him by Uganda, who claimed that he gave refuge to an Islamist rebel group, and as such, allowed for the expansion of the group and their exploitation of mineral resources.
Last week, Yoweri Museveni, the president of Uganda, Yoweri Museveni, had accused Kabila, saying that he had let the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), who were also devoted to Islamic State, to settle as well as conduct economic activities in the state, such as mining gold and selling timber.
Kabila, who was the president of Congo from 2001 to 2019, then denied the allegations, saying that it was a ploy from Museveni to destabilize and divide the citizens of Congo.
“The gratuitous false accusations of President Museveni who is one of the main destabilizers in the region are simply ridiculous and aim to distract the Congolese people and divide them,” Kabila said.
In his statement, the former president then said that his administration had labelled the ADF as a terrorist group, and that they (his administration) had continually updated and informed the United Nations and the international community “on the abuses perpetrated by the ADF and the need to intervene”.
The ADF, which was established in 1996, was initially a Ugandan rebel group that constantly attacked the Rwenzori region in western Uganda. The rebels were eventually pushed out and defeated, after which, the survivors escaped across the border and settled in the jungles of eastern Congo.
The group’s fighters often conduct assassinations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo against both civilian and military targets. They also sporadically launch assaults in Uganda.
Last month, in one of the worst massacres ever, ADF militants invaded Uganda, seized a secondary school, and slaughtered 42 people, most of whom were students.
Ozioma Samuel-Ugwuezi
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