By Sandra Kenneth
Former Democratic Republic of Congo President Joseph Kabila has filed a lawsuit in a Washington court seeking to be removed from a U.S. Treasury blacklist, contesting sanctions imposed against him earlier this year.
Kabila, who governed the DRC from 2001 to 2019, argues that the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned him in April based on unsubstantiated claims. U.S. authorities accuse Kabila of providing financial and political backing to M23, a Rwanda-backed rebel group that captured two Congolese provinces last year.
In his legal filing, Kabila asserts that the U.S. government has failed to identify any specific transfer of funds or political incentives provided to the rebel organization.
The lawsuit follows a period of heightened turmoil for the former leader. After years in self-imposed exile, Kabila emerged last year in Goma just months after the eastern city fell under M23 control. Shortly after, a Congolese military court sentenced him to death in absentia on charges of treason related to his alleged ties with the rebels.
Despite a peace agreement brokered between Kinshasa and Kigali, clashes continue in eastern Congo, with both governments trading accusations over ceasefire violations.
