DR Congo's new opposition coalition launched in Kinshasa

The Democratic Republic of Congo has a new opposition political platform and it has declared war on what it has described as “the old order”.

Launched on Wednesday in Kinshasa by Jean-Marc Kabund, the Coalition of the Congolese Left has pledged to break with corruption and the country's “predatory system”.

The former leader of the ruling Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS) party, Kabund was released from prison in February by presidential pardon.

A one-time right-hand man of Felix Tshishekedi, he was sentenced to seven years in jail in 2022 after falling out with the president and forming his own political party.

At Wednesday’s launch of the new coalition, Kabund harshly criticised the entire Congolese political class, calling for a “radical break” with the current system.

To the applause of hundreds of activists, he said the coalition’s vision of society was based on left-wing values, democracy, and social justice.

In order to defuse the ongoing security crisis in the east of the country, where the army is battling Rwanda-backed M23 rebels, he called for a dual dialogue.

One between the DRC and Rwanda under the supervision of the international community, and another inclusive national dialogue between Congolese to restore cohesion.