Kabila

[kuh-bee-luh-]

noun

1. Laurent Désiré 1939–2001, president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo 1997–2001.

Kabila

/ kæˈbiːlə /

noun

1. Laurent ( French lorã̃). 1940–2001, Congolese politician and guerrilla leader: he overthrew the Mobutu regime in Zaïre, becoming president of the renamed Democratic Republic of Congo (1997–2001): assassinated

Example Sentences

Ever since Mobutu died from prostate cancer in exile in Morocco in 1997, following his toppling by Laurent-Desire Kabila's Uganda and Rwanda-backed rebellion, the former dictator's legacy has divided the DRC.

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Former Democratic Republic of Congo President Joseph Kabila has been sentenced to death in absentia for war crimes and treason.

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The charges concern accusations that Kabila has been supporting the M23, a rebel group who have wreaked devastation across the country's eastern region.

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Kabila handed power to President Félix Tshisekedi in 2019, but they later fell out and Kabila went into self-imposed exile in 2023.

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President Tshisekedi accused Kabila of being the brains behind the M23 and senators stripped him of his legal immunity, paving the way for his prosecution.

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