Congo reshuffles cabinet to bring onboard opposition members

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KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — The Congolese government has reshuffled its cabinet which now includes opposition members in an effort to cobble together support across the remaining regions where the government still retains control.

In a television address by the government spokesperson, Tina Salama, late Thursday, the government announced the 53 members of the new cabinet, including Adolphe Muzito, a former prime minister under former President Joseph Kabila as the vice prime minister in charge of the budget. More than 90% of the old cabinet members have been retained.

The incumbent president, Felix Tshisekedi, defeated Kabila in 2019, putting an end to the latter's 18-year rule of the central African country.

Direct talks in Doha scheduled for Friday between the Congolese government and the M23 rebel group will not take place as neither party has traveled there. On Thursday, the rebel group claimed it had not received an official invitation to the talks.

More than 100 different groups are fighting in the mineral-rich eastern region. Prominent among them is the M23 movement, which now controls key cities in the region.

The M23 group had said it would not be engaging in further talks if Kinshasa does not release approximately 700 members and sympathizers it has allegedly imprisoned. The government had committed to releasing the prisoners but no release has been recorded.

On Thursday, the government denounced the rebel group’s violation of the peace agreement signed in June.

In February, the president announced wide-ranging political changes and a proposed “government of national unity” to forestall the conflict in the eastern part from spilling over into broader fighting.

Initially announced as a smaller cabinet, the new one remains bloated, only one fewer than than the last cabinet announced in May 2024 as an effort to retain broad support across the country.