In announcing the sanctions Thursday, the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control accused Kabila of providing financial support to the AFC to influence the political situation in eastern Congo and of encouraging Congolese troops to defect and join the rebel ranks.

Kabila’s office dismissed the sanctions as based on allegations that are not supported by concrete evidence, and rejected any responsibility for the tensions in Congo.

Kabila ruled from 2001 to 2019. Since 2023, he has lived in South Africa.

In early 2025, he made public appearances in eastern Congo in areas controlled by the rebels and expressed his interest in returning home to "contribute to finding a solution" to the crisis.

Kabila claimed he had made several achievements during his tenure, including the reunification of the country, gradual pacification and national reconciliation.

The Congolese government meanwhile, welcomed the US sanctions on Kabila, saying it was “an important step” in the fight against impunity and the destabilization of eastern Congo.

But Kabila threatened legal recourse to challenge the sanctions he described as surprising.

The M23 has been at the center of the conflict in eastern Congo. The rebel group, allegedly supported by neighboring Rwanda, according to the UN and Western nations, controls significant territory in eastern Congo, including the provincial capitals of Goma and Bukavu, which were seized early in 2025.

A military court in Congo last year sentenced Kabila to death in absentia for treason and war crimes. Anadolu Agency