CURRENT CNDP INTERNAL DYNAMICS: NKUNDA LOYALISTS

C O N F I D E N T I A L KINSHASA 000446 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/07/2019 TAGS: PGOV PREL PREF CG SUBJECT: CURRENT CNDP INTERNAL DYNAMICS: NKUNDA LOYALISTS BACK IN THE FOLD REF: KINSHASA 422 Classified By: Ambassador William J. Garvelink for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) Summary: We recently met with Maitre Muiti, one of Nkunda's former right-hand men. He confirmed the return of Nkunda loyalists to the CNDP political fold. However, Muiti underscored the CNDP leadership's anxiety about the GDRC's commitment to the March 23 agreement, and he cast doubts on the robustness of the integration process. End summary. CNDP Leadership -------------- ¶2. (C) As reported (reftel),the CNDP leadership met at Kirolirwe (Nkunda's longtime headquarters in Masisi) on April 26 to elect -- for the third time in four months -- its political officers. Desire Kamanzi was confirmed as President and Jean Munyampenda was given a wide-ranging brief for political affairs, which Muiti described as amounting to a "Minister of the Interior" portfolio. More significantly, several Nkunda-loyalists were promoted or returned to leadership positions. Jean Nzabirinda (Hutu) was made Vice-President; Kambasu Ngeve (Nande) moved from deputy to full Secretary-General; Muiti (Hunde) expects to be confirmed as permanent secretary to the political bureau; and, most interestingly, Rene Abandi (Tutsi) -- recently returned from self-imposed exile in Rome -- was re-appointed to the external relations position that he held under Nkunda. Agreement with the GDRC -------------- ¶3. (C) Muiti said that the CNDP leadership is very apprehensive about the GDRC's lack of follow-up to the March 23 agreement (Comment and Note: However, subsequent to our conversation with Muiti, we learned that Prime Minister Muzito signed the decree creating the national monitoring committee ("Comite de Suivi") for the agreement. Muiti must not have known about this important step forward at the time. Nevetheless, meaninful progress will be necessary to allay lingering CNDP concerns. End comment and note). Integration -------------- ¶4. (C) Muiti claimed that hundreds of CNDP fighters had deserted from the FARDC. Part of the problem was non-payment of salaries; another issue was that the FARDC was trying to move many of them away from their home areas. Muiti added that most of the CNDP troops were principally focused on defending their communities, not serving in a an army with responsibilities throughout the entire DRC. He claimed that 40 percent of PARECO fighters had deserted post-integration for the same reasons (Comment: We are skeptical as to the veracity of this claim. End comment). At the same time, he also said that the CNDP has an interest in closer relations with PARECO-Hutu. ¶5. (C) Comment: The return of Nkunda-loyalists to the CNDP leadership fold is significant. It augurs well for those espousing a Rwandophone agenda, although we are not prepared to support or oppose such an agenda at this point. It also appears that the "new CNDP" and its supporters in Kinshasa and Kigali continue to prefer a policy of inclusion for those initially opposed to the "hostile takeover" of the CNDP, rather than a policy aimed to punish the "old CNDP" elements. Abandi's return means that the only significant member of the "old CNDP" to remain outside the fold is Bertrand Bisimwa, Nkunda's former spokesman and possible brother-in-law. A knowledgeable source maintained that the old guard has access to large bank accounts and to significant, ongoing diaspora funding, an incentive to bring them back into the movement. Muiti's comment about integrated CNDP fighters deserting the FARDC points to a negative and potentially destabilizing dynamic within the integration process. End comment. GARVELINK