Bottom Line

Joseph Kabila’s latest address deepened his confrontation with the Tshisekedi government, drawing a threatening response from the presidential party. African Union facilitators completed consultations in Kinshasa after meeting AFC/M23 leaders in Goma. An ambush in South Kivu killed or wounded at least 20 personnel linked to Erik Prince’s security company, while CODECO-attributed attacks killed at least 12 civilians in Djugu. North Kivu suspended provincial fuel taxes in an effort to end a supply disruption at Kasindi.

Politics and Diplomacy

Kabila address draws a threatening response from the presidential party

Former president Joseph Kabila accused the Tshisekedi government of authoritarianism, corruption and pursuing an eastern war it lacks the means to win. He also criticized the government’s approach to national dialogue and its strategic partnership with the United States and said he would outline further political initiatives.

Government and governing-party figures responded by accusing Kabila of promoting instability and supporting the country’s enemies. Augustin Kabuya, interim president of the UDPS, warned that Kabila risked “leaving his skin like Savimbi”. The reference was to Jonas Savimbi, leader of Angola’s National Union for the Total Independence of Angola, who was killed by government forces in Moxico Province in February 2002. UNITA agreed to a ceasefire six weeks later, giving Kabuya’s comparison the character of a threat of violent defeat.

Opposition figure Emery Okundji said the concerns raised by Kabila deserved consideration while rejecting both a return to his rule and unconditional support for Tshisekedi.

African Union facilitators extend their regional consultations

African Union facilitators completed two days of consultations in Kinshasa after meeting AFC/M23 leaders in Goma earlier in the week. Tshisekedi asked the delegation to pursue verifiable security commitments and the withdrawal of foreign forces.

The panel plans to continue to Uganda and Burundi before visiting Beni and Bunia. The mission forms part of an African Union roadmap intended to coordinate the Doha negotiations between Kinshasa and AFC/M23 with the Washington process between the DRC and Rwanda.

Security and Conflict

Ambush causes major losses among Erik Prince-linked personnel

An armed team employed by Erik Prince’s Vectus Global was ambushed in South Kivu on September 17 while traveling between locations. At least 20 people were killed or wounded. The dead included at least seven Congolese personnel and a former member of New Zealand’s special forces; former US special-forces soldier and mixed-martial-arts fighter Tim Kennedy was among those wounded.

Reuters placed the attack in South Kivu but did not identify the road or locality. Congolese government-linked sources attributed the operation to Rwandan forces, while Vectus Global declined to comment.

Vectus provides security and military consulting services to the Congolese government and has supported efforts to defend Uvira against AFC/M23 and allied forces. The losses reveal that Prince-linked personnel have been operating directly in the conflict zone.

CODECO-attributed attacks kill civilians and burn returnees’ homes

An attack attributed to CODECO killed 11 civilians in Djugu territory. In a separate October 10 attack in Bahema Badjere chiefdom, a child was killed, more than 35 homes were burned and at least ten people disappeared.

The second attack targeted villages where displaced residents had begun returning, forcing families to flee again. CODECO is a predominantly Lendu armed-group coalition active in Djugu territory.

Fighting continues across Masisi, Rutshuru and the Uvira highlands

AFC/M23 and Wazalendo fighters clashed again around Kasake, near Ngungu in Masisi territory, days after government-aligned groups claimed the locality. Reinforcements and drones were reported at Kinigi, while control of Kasake remained contested.

In South Kivu, fighting was reported around Bijombo and toward Magunda between an AFC/M23-aligned coalition and government-aligned forces. Separately, gunfire near Kiyandwe in Rutshuru caused panic and prevented farmers from reaching their fields.

Twelve military detainees escape from Beni prison

Twelve military detainees escaped from Kangbayi central prison in Beni during the night of October 9–10. The group reportedly included four Ugandan nationals and escaped through an opening made near the prison toilets.

Health

Ebola vaccine rumors disrupt schools as prevention expands

Vaccination of frontline personnel continued in Ituri under the BRAVO study, while more than 300 schools in North Kivu received handwashing equipment and other prevention supplies.

In Oïcha, rumors of compulsory vaccination caused children to flee schools. The panic followed the passage of a humanitarian vehicle near one school after some parents had warned children that such vehicles might be carrying vaccination teams. The rumors centered on fears that children would be vaccinated at school without parental consent. Similar misinformation has disrupted schools elsewhere in the Beni-Ituri area.

Haut-Katanga launches polio response after three cases

Haut-Katanga began a door-to-door vaccination campaign after three polio cases were detected in the Mufunga Sampwe and Kambove health zones. The October 8–12 campaign targets children under five.

The DRC has recorded no case of naturally occurring, or “wild,” poliovirus since December 2011. It nevertheless continues to experience outbreaks of vaccine-derived polio. These occur when the weakened virus used in oral vaccines circulates for an extended period among poorly vaccinated populations and mutates until it can once again cause paralysis.

By September 10, the World Health Organization had recorded 72 laboratory detections of variant poliovirus nationally in 2026, predominantly type 2. The Haut-Katanga campaign is intended to interrupt transmission by rapidly increasing immunity among young children.

Economy and Trade

North Kivu suspends fuel taxes after Kasindi supply disruption

North Kivu’s military governor suspended provincial taxes on petroleum products for one month, ordered an audit of their management and demanded lower retail prices.

The action followed a dispute that left more than 300 tanker trucks blocked at Kasindi and contributed to higher fuel prices in Beni. The dispute involved a charge of approximately $50 per cubic meter that the business federation said was already incorporated into the customs system.

Government considers $100 million mechanism for fuel purchases from Dangote

The government is considering a $100 million financing mechanism for direct fuel purchases from Nigeria’s Dangote refinery. The proposed mechanism would involve Congolese public and private entities financing direct imports from the refinery.

Central bank keeps policy rate at 12.5 percent

The Central Bank of Congo kept its policy rate at 12.5 percent, pausing an easing cycle that began in October 2025.

The rate stood at 25 percent from August 2023 until October 2025, when it was reduced to 17.5 percent. Further cuts brought it to 15 percent in January, 13.5 percent in April and 12.5 percent in July. The current rate is half the level maintained through most of 2024 and 2025.

Kamoa-Kakula and Kipushi report stronger third-quarter production

Kamoa-Kakula’s copper production rose 19 percent during the third quarter, according to Ivanhoe Mines.

Kipushi separately produced a quarterly record of 77,147 tonnes of zinc and remained near the upper end of its annual production guidance.

Infrastructure and Public Services

DRC and Congo-Brazzaville advance electricity and bridge projects

The DRC and Congo-Brazzaville signed a protocol advancing the “Boucle de l’amitié énergétique”, a planned cross-border electricity-transmission network.

The project would connect the Inga–Kinshasa system with Brazzaville and Congo-Brazzaville’s gas-fired power station at Pointe-Noire, allowing electricity to move between the two national grids. The first phase would strengthen transmission between Pointe-Noire and Inga through Brazzaville. Later phases envisage expanding generation at both Inga and Pointe-Noire and extending supplies toward industrial areas in the former Katanga region.

The two governments also set June 2027 as the target for beginning construction of the Kinshasa–Brazzaville road-and-rail bridge.

Asphalt work begins on the Mbujimayi–Boya road

Asphalt work has begun on 150 kilometers of agricultural road linking Mbujimayi with Boya through Tshishimbi, Tshiaba and Bakua Sumba. The Caisse nationale de péréquation is financing the three-year project, which has been divided into six 25-kilometer sections.

Mbujimayi is the capital and principal consumer market of Kasaï Oriental, while Boya lies in Miabi territory, an agricultural area that also hosts SACIM’s diamond operations. The road is intended to connect isolated production areas with Mbujimayi and reduce the cost of moving crops into the city.

Kinshasa opens first of 400 planned waste-transfer sites

Kinshasa inaugurated the first of 400 planned neighborhood waste-transfer sites on Avenue Saïo in Ngiri-Ngiri. The enclosed site contains waste containers, lighting and controlled access, allowing local collectors to consolidate household refuse before trucks move it to a final-disposal facility.

Kinshasa generates approximately 12,000 tonnes of waste a day, 98 percent of which is dumped or burned in the open. Refuse deposited in rivers and drainage channels contributes directly to the capital’s recurrent flooding.

Mpasa, Kinshasa’s only final-disposal site, is being rehabilitated after landfill operations stopped, while most of the 61 transfer stations installed under earlier sanitation programs are no longer usable. A separate $250 million World Bank program will finance a modern sanitary landfill and improve waste collection for three million residents.