LOZITHA (16 November 2025): Former DRC president, Joseph Kabila has become an adopted son in the Kingdom. He, was a notable guest at the Kingdom’s National Thanksgiving Day of Prayer at the King’s Lozitha Palace on Saturday 15th November.
And if those Saturday prayers were heard, the answer that will make him happy will come from Doha in Qatar, where a deal ending the bloody conflict in the DRC was announced.
The King who delivers the main sermon at this annual prayer service urged the nation to draw closer to God and remain steadfast in prayer. The service is understood to mark the countdown to the Kingdom’s sacred ceremony, Incwala in which the King tastes the first fruit, signalling the readiness of the year’s harvest. Between now and the main Incwala day in December or early January, the King withdraws from normal administrative duties and concentrates on the ceremony.
In a gesture of political reconciliation two weeks ago, the king released one of two jailed political activists, former MP Mthandeni Dube. But Dube’s associate and former Hosea MP, Bacede Mabuza remains in jail.
Amongst preachers at the service was US televangelist and President Trump’s spiritual advisor, Dr. Mark Burns.
The thanksgiving service that is also attended by Her Majesty the Queen Mother and members of the Royal family and several dignitaries. Along with President Ian Khama of Botswana and President Jacob Zuma, former leader of South Africa who was missing this time, President Kabila has become a regular presence in the Kingdom.
Kabila, 54, was president of DRC for 18 years after succeeding his father, Laurent who was assassinated in 2001. Laurent was a rebel leader who ultimately toppled Zaire’s long-time dictator, Mobuto Sese Seko and renamed Africa’s second largest country DRC.
Following heavily disputed election, Joseph Kabila backed Tshisekedi to succeed him in 2019. The two however fell out in 2023, forcing Kabila to seek self-imposed exile. Tshisekedi’s reign has however been marred by serious instability. The M23 rebels allegedly supported by Rwanda and Uganda overran the eastern DRC and took the mineral-rich city of Goma.
In recent months, Kabila expressed a desire to help end the civil war, and in April travelled to Goma – a visit that incensed Tshisekedi as confirmation that the M23 rebels were Kabila’s brainchild. A military court tried Kabila in absentia on accusations of treason, crimes against humanity, and war crimes, including murder, sexual assault, torture and insurrection. He denied the charges, but did not appear in court to defend himself, and was condemned to death
As prayers were being conducted at Lozitha’s Mandvulo Hall, a breakthrough in peace talks between DRC government and the Rwandan-backed M23 rebel group was announced in Doha, Qatar.
The “comprehensive” deal sets a roadmap to stop the deadly fighting and improve the dire humanitarian situation in the Central African nation. If the agreement holds, unlike that in July, Kabila may be able to return home.
Jm/today/16.11.2025
