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Spotlight | DRC
Tshisekedi eyes up spymaster candidates in the running to fill void left by ousted François Beya

DR Congo President Félix Tshisekedi. © Michael Tewelde/Xinhua News Agency/Newscom/maxPPP

At a time of growing tension with neighbouring Rwanda, Félix Tshisekedi is trying to reorganise his country's intelligence apparatus, which has been damaged by the imprisonment of François Beya Kasonga, his former special adviser on security. [...]

Published on 15/06/2022 at 06:00 GMT Reading time 6 minutes Olivier Liffran, Joan Tilouine

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Diplomacy

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DRC
African Union
Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo
Bernard Emie
Claude Ibalanky
Denise Nyakeru Tshisekedi
DGSE
Emmanuel Macron
Etienne Tshisekedi
Felix Tshisekedi
Fortunat Biselele
Franck Paris
Francois Beya Kasonga
Gilbert Kankonde Malamba
IBM
Jean-Baptiste Ekwaki
Jean-Bosco Kazura
Jean-Claude Bukasa
Jean-Herve Mbelu Biosha
Joao Lourenco
Joseph Kabila
M23
Marthe Kasalu Jibikila
Mobutu Sese Seko
National Intelligence Agency
Paul Kagame
Philémon Mamba Bwa Zebo
Roland Kashwantale
Roland Kashwantale Chihoza
Rose Mutombo Kiese
Sylvestre Ilunga
UN
Union for Democracy and Social Progress
Zoe Kabila

DRC
Tshisekedi's Paris visit takes shape

The DRC president's three-day visit to France is set to include an honours ceremony at Les Invalides, as well as football, fashion and talks with Emmanuel Macron.

Subscribers only Diplomacy 04.04.2024

DRC
Tshisekedi forced to reshuffle intelligence chiefs after ANR boss taken ill

ANR intelligence agency boss Jean-Hervé Mbelu Biosha's health problems have forced DR Congo President Félix Tshisekedi to rush through a security services reshuffle that had been on the cards for at least a year.

Subscribers only Defence, Politics 31.05.2023

Africa
Denis Sassou Nguesso, Alassane Ouattara, Félix Tshisekedi and Azali Assoumani

Intrigues big and small: every Tuesday, Africa Intelligence takes a peek into the corridors of power in Africa and beyond.

Subscribers only Politics 16.05.2023

DRC, France
Macron dispatches his advance guard to Kinshasa

In advance of his scheduled March visit, Emmanuel Macron this week dispatched his top adviser on Africa, Franck Paris, to Kinshasa to prepare for this politically sensitive trip.

Subscribers only Diplomacy 10.02.2023

DRC
Nzanga Mobutu fishes for government ministry, wants father's remains repatriated

The son of the late dictator Mobutu Sese Seko secretly met with President Félix Tshisekedi in Kinshasa. Nzanga Mobutu, a former minister, is hoping to get back into government and wants his father's remains returned to DR Congo.

Subscribers only Politics 24.01.2023

Nzanga Mobutu in Washington, DC, USA, October 2021.

DRC
Oil and mining poised for shake up after major cull in president's office

In a bid to slim down his teams, Félix Tshisekedi has cut the number of colleges advising him while finding new positions for the top aides who have been dismissed such as Marcellin Bilomba or Michel Eboma Ablavi, who are likely to retain their political influence.

Subscribers only Energy, Mining 16.01.2023

DRC, Rwanda
DRC security services detain alleged Rwandan spies

A dozen Rwandan nationals are being held in incommunicado detention by the Congolese security services. At least five are suspected by Kinshasa of being spies in the service of Paul Kagame - an allegation that Kigali denies.

Subscribers only Politics 23.12.2022

DRC
How Tshisekedi once tried to negotiate M23 surrender with a million dollars

From October 2020 until late 2021, the Tshisekedi administration hosted a delegation of senior members of the M23 rebel group in Kinshasa. Tasked with negotiating the terms of their surrender, the ex-deputy prime minister Gilbert Kankonde Malamba requested a fund of $1.

Free access Politics 17.11.2022

DRC
Claude Ibalanky's dealings with M23 embarrass Tshisekedi administration

The head of the National Mechanism for Monitoring the Addis Ababa Framework Agreement, Claude Ibalanky, has been criticised for his handling of the situation with the M23. Africa Intelligence has been given access to the minutes of a meeting where he met the rebel group's leaders.

Subscribers only Politics, Diplomacy 15.11.2022

In Focus | DRC
Former warlord Roger Lumbala's dangerous liaisons with Tshisekedi clan

A former warlord and government minister, Roger Lumbala is accused of complicity in crimes against humanity committed in the early 2000s and is being held in France pending trial. Africa Intelligence delves into the investigation, in which President Félix Tshisekedi and some of his advisers and military officials make an appearance.

Subscribers only Politics 07.11.2022

Roger Lumbala in 2013, then a member of M23.

Spotlight | France, Rwanda
Paris and Kigali discreetly strengthen intelligence ties

The head of French military intelligence, Jacques Langlade de Montgros, is due in Kigali in the near future to further promote intelligence cooperation between the two countries. Underway since 2021, this rapprochement has encountered a certain degree of resistance on the French side.

Subscribers only Diplomacy 04.11.2022

Guinea
MEP Marie Arena scrutinises human rights in Guinea

The MEP Marie Arena is considering an emergency resolution on human rights violations allegedly committed in Guinea by the junta led by Colonel Mamadi Doumbouya.

Subscribers only Diplomacy 21.10.2022

DRC, Rwanda
Rwanda standoff divides Tshisekedi's inner circle

The DRC president's confrontational stance towards Rwanda in his address to the UN General Assembly was in line with that of several of his government colleagues. Other advisers are trying to soften his tone in the hope of conciliation.

Subscribers only Diplomacy 06.10.2022

Spotlight | DRC
Cloak and daggers in the highest echelons of the Congolese state

President Tshisekedi's strategic adviser Vidiye Tshimanga has been secretly caught on film meeting two fake investors on several occasions. Parts of these recordings have been made public and they cast an unflattering light on the practices, and also the tensions, within the president's office.

Subscribers only Politics 16.09.2022

DRC
François Beya heading to Paris to be treated at the American Hospital

The former Congolese spymaster is due in the French capital at the end of the week. His release from custody is the result of a long plea made by the Beya clan along with African and Western foreign ministries.

Subscribers only Politics, Diplomacy 17.08.2022

DRC
Kabila's PPRD to hold party conference in September

The committee preparing the next conference of former president Joseph Kabila's Parti du Peuple pour la Reconstruction et la Democratie (PPRD) is to be set up this Friday.

Subscribers only Politics 28.07.2022

Spotlight | DRC, Rwanda
Diplomatic cat and mouse from New York to Paris over Rwanda's alleged support for M23 rebels

Western capitals and the United Nations remain wary of dealing with the evidence that they say they have concerning Rwanda's support for the rebel M23 movement, much to the displeasure of Kinshasa.

Subscribers only Diplomacy 01.07.2022

France, Rwanda
Foreign Legion colonel to lead defence cooperation with Kigali

Paris is continuing its efforts to normalise diplomatic relations with Rwanda through the drafting of a military cooperation programme. This will be entrusted in July to a newly appointed defence attaché.

Subscribers only Defence, Diplomacy 23.06.2022

Spotlight | DRC, France, Rwanda
Macron's fine diplomatic balancing act between Kagame and Tshisekedi

As tensions between Kinshasa and Kigali continue to grow in eastern DRC, a confidential meeting between the French and Rwandan presidents took place in Paris in early June. Emmanuel Macron plans to speak by phone next with Felix Tshisekedi and is backing Angolan mediation.

Subscribers only Diplomacy 17.06.2022

Paul Kagame and Emmanuel Macron, here in December 2021 at the Elysée Palace.

DRC
Beya arrest sparks unease from Washington to Kigali

The fate of Felix Tshisekedi's former senior security adviser François Beya, who was arrested and has been detained for nearly 100 days, continues to worry governments on the continent and further afield, who have sent their envoys to Kinshasa to enquire about the former spymaster.

Subscribers only Diplomacy 13.05.2022

Spotlight | East Africa
Congolese peace talks at Nairobi's Safari Park Hotel inch forward

President Kenyatta and the Congolese government hope that bringing talks on the stability of eastern DR Congo to Nairobi will give new impetus to the peace negotiations. But the absence of some of the warring parties limits their scope.

Subscribers only Politics 04.05.2022

Félix Tshisekedi and Uhuru Kenyatta exchanged by videoconference with the representatives of the armed groups on April 27, 2022.

DRC
The story behind Lebanese entrepreneur Mahmout Bahja's incarceration in a Congolese gaol

A Lebanese businessman who came to DRC claiming to work on agricultural and livestock projects was quietly arrested in January by the Congolese intelligence service and has been in its hands ever since. Africa Intelligence reveals the circumstances leading up to his arrest.

Subscribers only Politics, Business 22.02.2022

DRC
Arrest of Tshisekedi's security adviser spreads ripples from Kigali to Washington

Regional capitals are closely following the case of presidential security adviser Francois Beya, who has strong connections in Brazzaville, Bangui and Luanda and is also well-known in Western security circles, especially in the US, France and Israel.

Subscribers only Politics 10.02.2022

François Beya Kasongo, special adviser to Félix Tshisekedi on matters of security.

Inner circles | DRC
Félix Tshisekedi's diplomacy: great international expectations but with neither troops nor resources

In Berlin today at the invitation of Angela Merkel, the DRC president is using every available means to pull his country out of diplomatic isolation. Rather than relying on a diplomatic corps that was largely inherited from his predecessor Joseph Kabila, he has preferred to rely on a group of loyalists from within the presidency.

Subscribers only Diplomacy 27.08.2021

Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi receiving his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame on June 25, 2021.

DRC, France
DGSE and DRC intelligence chiefs bond on sidelines of Macron-Tshisekedi meet

While in Paris to attend the French summit on African financing on 18 May, the DRC's top intelligence staff met with their French counterparts to further strengthen security cooperation between the two.

Subscribers only Diplomacy 25.05.2021

French President Emmanuel Macron greets Democratic Republic of the Congo's President Felix Tshisekedi.

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African Union
Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo
Bernard Emie
Claude Ibalanky
Denise Nyakeru Tshisekedi
DGSE
Emmanuel Macron
Etienne Tshisekedi
Felix Tshisekedi
Fortunat Biselele
Franck Paris
Francois Beya Kasonga
Gilbert Kankonde Malamba
IBM
Jean-Baptiste Ekwaki
Jean-Bosco Kazura
Jean-Claude Bukasa
Jean-Herve Mbelu Biosha
Joao Lourenco
Joseph Kabila
M23
Marthe Kasalu Jibikila
Mobutu Sese Seko
National Intelligence Agency
Paul Kagame
Philémon Mamba Bwa Zebo
Roland Kashwantale
Roland Kashwantale Chihoza
Rose Mutombo Kiese
Sylvestre Ilunga
UN
Union for Democracy and Social Progress
Zoe Kabila

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Set up email notifications for these topics

DRC Tshisekedi's Paris visit takes shape

DRC Tshisekedi forced to reshuffle intelligence chiefs after ANR boss taken ill

Africa Denis Sassou Nguesso, Alassane Ouattara, Félix Tshisekedi and Azali Assoumani

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DRC Oil and mining poised for shake up after major cull in president's office

DRC, Rwanda DRC security services detain alleged Rwandan spies

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DRC Claude Ibalanky's dealings with M23 embarrass Tshisekedi administration

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Spotlight | France, Rwanda Paris and Kigali discreetly strengthen intelligence ties

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Spotlight | DRC, France, Rwanda Macron's fine diplomatic balancing act between Kagame and Tshisekedi

DRC Beya arrest sparks unease from Washington to Kigali

Spotlight | East Africa Congolese peace talks at Nairobi's Safari Park Hotel inch forward

DRC The story behind Lebanese entrepreneur Mahmout Bahja's incarceration in a Congolese gaol

DRC Arrest of Tshisekedi's security adviser spreads ripples from Kigali to Washington

Inner circles | DRC Félix Tshisekedi's diplomacy: great international expectations but with neither troops nor resources

DRC, France DGSE and DRC intelligence chiefs bond on sidelines of Macron-Tshisekedi meet

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Senegal
Guns, gold and oil drive Russia's Dakar courtship

Botswana, South Africa
From Gaborone to Antwerp, is De Beers's empire on the rocks?

Spotlight | DRC
Tshisekedi eyes up spymaster candidates in the running to fill void left by ousted François Beya

DRC
Tshisekedi's Paris visit takes shape

DRC
Tshisekedi forced to reshuffle intelligence chiefs after ANR boss taken ill

Africa
Denis Sassou Nguesso, Alassane Ouattara, Félix Tshisekedi and Azali Assoumani

DRC, France
Macron dispatches his advance guard to Kinshasa

DRC
Nzanga Mobutu fishes for government ministry, wants father's remains repatriated

DRC
Oil and mining poised for shake up after major cull in president's office

DRC, Rwanda
DRC security services detain alleged Rwandan spies

DRC
How Tshisekedi once tried to negotiate M23 surrender with a million dollars

DRC
Claude Ibalanky's dealings with M23 embarrass Tshisekedi administration

In Focus | DRC
Former warlord Roger Lumbala's dangerous liaisons with Tshisekedi clan

Spotlight | France, Rwanda
Paris and Kigali discreetly strengthen intelligence ties

Guinea
MEP Marie Arena scrutinises human rights in Guinea

DRC, Rwanda
Rwanda standoff divides Tshisekedi's inner circle

Spotlight | DRC
Cloak and daggers in the highest echelons of the Congolese state

DRC
François Beya heading to Paris to be treated at the American Hospital

DRC
Kabila's PPRD to hold party conference in September

Spotlight | DRC, Rwanda
Diplomatic cat and mouse from New York to Paris over Rwanda's alleged support for M23 rebels

France, Rwanda
Foreign Legion colonel to lead defence cooperation with Kigali

Spotlight | DRC, France, Rwanda
Macron's fine diplomatic balancing act between Kagame and Tshisekedi

DRC
Beya arrest sparks unease from Washington to Kigali

Spotlight | East Africa
Congolese peace talks at Nairobi's Safari Park Hotel inch forward

DRC
The story behind Lebanese entrepreneur Mahmout Bahja's incarceration in a Congolese gaol

DRC
Arrest of Tshisekedi's security adviser spreads ripples from Kigali to Washington

Inner circles | DRC
Félix Tshisekedi's diplomacy: great international expectations but with neither troops nor resources

DRC, France
DGSE and DRC intelligence chiefs bond on sidelines of Macron-Tshisekedi meet