The Alliance Fleuve Congo (AFC/M23) has strongly condemned what it describes as a disinformation campaign orchestrated by the Kinshasa regime and its allies, including Teohna Williams, Senior Advisor for Civilian Protection at MONUSCO.
In a statement issued on Sunday, AFC/M23 spokesperson Lawrence Kanyuka said the campaign aims to undermine the Doha dialogue and distract from the regime’s offensive operations, including attacks behind AFC/M23 lines, such as those carried out in Goma from April 11–12, 2025.
Kanyuka criticized Williams’ May 22, 2025 briefing, in which she reportedly claimed that the situation in Goma has deteriorated since its “liberation” by M23 forces.
“These falsehoods, coming from a biased actor, cannot deceive informed observers,” Kanyuka said.
He asserted that prior to AFC/M23’s intervention; Goma and its surroundings were overwhelmed by displacement camps used by the government coalition as human shields.
“The regime deliberately placed long-range artillery among civilians, putting innocent lives at risk. Thanks to our intervention, many displaced persons have now safely returned to their villages,” he said.
According to Kanyuka, Goma previously endured rampant lawlessness, with both military and armed civilians instilling fear in residents.
“The city was a sanctuary of death, summary executions, violence against women, arbitrary arrests based on appearance, ethnic persecution, hate speech, even public displays of cannibalism. Weapons were widely distributed to civilians, all under MONUSCO’s complicit silence, silence that Williams never once condemned,” he stated.
He emphasized that AFC/M23 has since restored order in the city:
“Life has returned to normal, and peace has been restored. We are currently conducting security operations to recover weapons distributed by the regime or abandoned, which remain a source of residual banditry.”
Kanyuka also addressed claims made by Ambassador Zenon Mukongo, the DRC’s representative to the United Nations. In a letter to the Security Council dated May 23, 2025, Mukongo accused M23 of seizing the towns of Kishishe, Bambo, and Luwhinja. Kanyuka countered this with the FARDC’s own press release dated April 12, 2025, signed by spokesperson General Sylvain Ekenge.
“That document outlines the areas under FARDC control and the towns cited by the ambassador are not among them. In fact, Bambo and Kishishe have been under our control since November 2022,” he said.
Rejecting what he called “slander” from Kinshasa and its international supporters, including Williams, Kanyuka defended the progress made in Goma:
“Unlike the chaos under their rule, we have re-established security, enabled the return of displaced persons, and eliminated abuses. The falsehoods spread by Mukongo, contradicted by FARDC’s own reports highlight the regime’s duplicity.”
Kanyuka concluded by calling on the international community to reject misinformation and support genuine peace efforts:
“We urge the global community to condemn these manipulative narratives and support the Doha peace process, instead of shielding those who undermine it.” He said.
