During a military parade at Camp Kokolo, the Congolese army headquarters, in Kinshasa, on October 13, President Félix Tshisekedi officiated at a ceremony in which Lt-Gen Christian Tshiwewe Songesha, the man he appointed as the new chief of general staff of the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC), took over from Gen Célestin Mbala Musense.

 

The move, as reported, was part of broader military reforms aimed at boosting efficiency. This was the first major change made by Tshisekedi in the army since he came to power.

 

In a presidential order read out on state television earlier, on October 3, Tshisekedi said the army was “heterogeneous” and needed “a purge to separate the wheat from the chaff.” As indicated, the Congolese leader wishes to have an army that obeys a single leader and has a singular command structure.

 

Tshisekedi said the Congolese army was composed of former Zairean armed forces, former rebels from 1997 and other insurgents integrated into the country’s army and, as such, some officers “still obey their former leaders.”

 

The October 13 ceremony marked by a parade of FARDC units from the Land Force, Air Force, Naval Force and Republican Guard of the Kinshasa garrison began with a word from the outgoing chief of general staff, Mbala. The latter was first appointed to head the army in July 2018, by former President Joseph Kabila.

 

Mbala paid tribute to the President for the confidence granted to him, having led the Congolese army during the electoral and post-electoral period of 2018. Mbala, among other things, wished Tshiwewe success while calling on the military to be loyal and obedient to the new army authorities.

 

Tshiwewe, 54, was the commander of the elite unit in charge of the President’s security.

 

He took the oath of obedience and loyalty to the President of the Republic, and made a commitment to defend the independence and territorial integrity of the country until the supreme sacrifice. He also swore to carry out, with loyalty, all the missions that the president will entrust to him. The chorus of loyalty was music to Tshisekedi’s ears. The purges within the military signal Tshisekedi’s intention to have full control of the armed forces but more so in terms of loyalty, than efficiency, as he readies to seek a second five-year term in December 2023.

 

The end of Tshisekedi’s first five-year term is fast approaching and he has already declared that he will stand for re-election.    Tshiwewe, a three-star general, is the very first FARDC chief of general staff not from the ranks of the former forces armées zaïroises (FAZ) from the Mobutu era.

 

The new deputy chief of staff in charge of operations, Jerome Chico Tshitambwe, also comes from Republican Guard. Tshisekedi also replaced the leadership of military intelligence, appointing Maj-Gen Christian Ndaywel to replace Gen Michel Mbala Mandiangu. The latter replaced Gen Delphin Kahimbi who died in February 2020 under unclear circumstances.

 

"Almost the entire staff has been replaced by young officers. Several are from the Republican Guard, but not all, and that's because they have proven themselves," the president's deputy director of communications, Giscard Kusema, said.

 

The question is; what have they proven themselves in? Loyalty? Perhaps, yes. Efficiency in dealing with the militia groups killing citizens in the east of the country? No. The wave of appointments in the army and intelligence services came on the back of dismissals, including that of François Beya Kasonga, 67, a former presidential security adviser accused of undermining state security. He was arrested on February 5 by the National Intelligence Agency (ANR). There were claims that Beya was at the center of a "conspiracy" against Tshisekedi even though the former was said to have played a vital part in the transfer of power from Kabila to Tshisékedi in January 2019.

 

The former Congolese spymaster known as “Fantomas” often told those close to him that he was the victim of a fight within the presidency. Beya rubbed shoulders with the high spheres of power in the country for four decades and was accused of being in Kabila’s pay. Having first served under Mobutu Sese Seko, Beya served four leaders including Kabila but was kept by Tshisikedi as security adviser after the latter’s first election in 2018.

 

At the time of his arrest, Beya was investigating the disputed sale of a mine that apparently involved presidential advisor Fortunat Biselele – a discreet but powerful advisor to Tshisekedi – and former head of the electoral commission Corneille Nangaa. Biselele is close to First Lady Denise Nyakeru, a fact that fueled speculation that the she was behind Beya’s arrest.

 

Also indicted was Gen Philemon Yav, a commander of one of the FARDC units fighting rebels in the restive eastern region, who was accused of planning to facilitate the M23 rebels to capture Goma, the largest city in North Kivu. Yav was replaced by Lt Gen Marcel Mbangu Mashita to take over command of Congolese forces’ so-called troisième zone de défense, which comprises the provinces of Orientale, Maniema, North Kivu and South Kivu.

It remains to be seen whether Tshiwewe and other Tshisekedi loyalists will, for example, instill discipline in the troops, take back control of territory in the country’s restive east captured by the M23 rebels, and remain loyal to the head of state.

 

Anticipating such questions, Tshisekedi noted that “the reform will take time to produce results,” because the problems of the Congolese army are historical, dating back to the 1990s.

 

It is not clear how, or if, Tshisekedi’s purge to separate the wheat from the chaff in the army will sort out the problem of insecurity in the restive eastern part of the country.

 

Previously, Tshisekedi placed three provinces under a state of siege, removed civilian leaders and appointed military chiefs as governors. That, however, did not end the violence in North Kivu, South Kivu, and Ituri provinces.

 

The stakes are higher than ever before. And time is ticking away.