Former President, Joseph Kabila, of DR Congo has rejected accusations from Uganda that he had given asylum to an Islamist rebel group, allowing them to expand and exploit mineral resources.
Kabila had been president from 2001 to 2019 until he was succeeded by current president Felix Tshisekedi.
Recall that Ugandan leader, Yoweri Museveni, had stated that Kabila had permitted the Allied Democratic Forces, ADF– with ties to Islamic State (IS)– to set up big camps and mine gold and sell timber, among other commercial activities.
But Kabila had stated that the unjustified false accusations of President Museveni, who had been one of the main destabilizers in the region, were outrightly ridiculous, and is only aimed to distract and divide the Congolese people.
The ADF which was established in 1996 was originally a Ugandan rebel group that carried out attacks in Rwenzori region, western Uganda, but they were eventually routed after which they fled across the border, into the eastern Congo jungles where they have since been.
One of the most notable and grisly attacks, had been committed last month, when ADF rebels crossed the border into Uganda, and invaded a secondary school, killing 42 people, including students.
Kabila had in a statement commented that his government fully recognised the ADF as a terrorist organisation and as such, has kept the international community, including the United Nations, properly informed on the abuses executed by the ADF.