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

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.

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.

Palace Intrigues
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.

Congo Sassou Nguesso holds discreet talks with Chadian opposition's Succès Masra

Ivory Coast Alassane Ouattara rules out imminent reshuffle

Comoros Azali Assoumani's backdoor diplomacy during Charles III's coronation

DRC despite being sidelined, Claude Ibalanky gets busy in Bujumbura

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.