Sema Fonkem 06 November 2026
When you read from the BBC, CNN or Al Jazeera, the word rebel is commonly used when speaking of opposition leaders in countries facing armed conflict.These newsrooms have a habit of using black writers for such articles, while a non-African editor decides the final headline and publication.
For decades, western media, such as the BBC have successfully sensationalised the term rebel when describing an African opposition leader facing power struggles in a country where the ruling party has militarised the nation in order to suppress free speech and other human rights.
These articles are never balance, but are written with the intention of instilling fear and making the opposition leader fighting for a piece of the pie to look bad.
In this BBC article, Ondiro Oganga claims Joseph Kabila has turned to rebellion to regain power, but fails to specify the circumstances that led Kabila to collaborate with the Front for the Refoundation of the Nation (FRN).
The truth is that when a government has influenced the justice system and used the military to suppress freedom of expression and deny the right to peaceful talks, citizens have no choice but to take up arms to defend themselves, fight for their rights, and effect change.
The FRN’s military coalition may be linked to structures used by the March 23 Movement (M23) and Congo River Alliance (AFC), but their strategy for challenging President Felix Tshisekedi’s government is not yet of public knowledge.
Although Oganga claims that Kabila’s announcement as FRN leader confirms he has been collaborating with M23, the FRN coalition was officially launched on October 12, 2026. Both Rwandan President Paul Kagame, and former Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) Head of State Joseph Kabila have previously denied any involvement with M23.
Kabila may have been sentenced to death in absentia, but that does not mean he his guilty has accused by Tshisekedi’s government.
You do not need rocket science to understand that both Tshisekedi and Kabila are unfit to lead DRC to property because much development has not occurred during their terms in office.
Citizens of DRC live in extreme poverty with an average person earning and surviving on approximately $2.15-a-day, about 8 million people are internally displaced, and an estimated 1.2 million people are refugees in neighbouring countries.
Since the era of late President Mobutu Sese Seko, political rivalry has been centred on the fight for state resources rather than the improvement of public services.
The term rebel cannot justified in Oganga’s article because the report ignored the geopolitical state of the DRC, failing to mention that the ongoing armed resistance was provoked through government’s use of lethal force and unjustified prison sentences against citizens who are vocal about leadership failures. Labelling freedom fighters as rebels in this atmosphere is an attempt to incriminate their actions.
