Maj.Gen Kakule Appointed new North Kivu Province Governor
By Spurb Ernest
Kakule replaces Major General Peter Cirimwami Nkuba, who was shot dead by the March 23 Movement (M23) rebels during a fierce gun fire exchange with Armed Forces of Democratic Republic of Congo in Kasengezi – Sake, Nyiragongo territory.
Major General Evariste Somo Kakule has been appointed the new military governor of North Kivu province, eastern Democratic republic of Congo. Kakule replaces Major General Peter Cirimwami Nkuba, who was shot dead by the March 23 Movement (M23) rebels during a fierce gun fire exchange with Armed Forces of Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC) soldiers and coalition in Kasengezi in Sake, Nyiragongo territory.
Cirimwami had visited the front line to take pictures to portray how the government army had stopped M23 fighters from conquering Sake town.
Fighting saw Goma city falling into hands of M23 rebels on Monday this week as well as Goma International Airport on Tuesday. Some FARDC soldiers and the coalition retreated into Rwanda while others sailed through Lake Kivu to Bukavu in South Kivu.
On Wednesday, Ministry of National Defense and Veterans released a statement announcing Kakule will serve as military governor of the province that is currently under a state of siege. Kakule has been the commander of the 31st Rapid Reaction Brigade of the FARDC, based in Kindu in the province of Maniema.
The officer was elevated a few days before to the rank of major general by another presidential order.
A lull of gun sound was observed in Goma on Wednesday with some civilians who led fled to Rwanda starting to return. M23 rebels had captured Goma city during the 2012 insurgency but later withdrew after about seven days to allow peace talks with the government.
But after withdrawal, the government in conjunction with mercenaries and United Nations troops turned and launched an assault on M23 until they fled to Uganda and Rwanda. The insurgency resumed in 2022, led by Bertrand Bisimwa and Emmanuel Sultan Makenga where they captured FARDC positions in Tchanzu and Runoni in Rutshuru territory and later advanced to capture Bunagana border.
Since then the insurgency left many parts of North Kivu and south Kivu provinces in the hands of the rebels. Bisimwa and Makenga in August 2024 formed an alliance with the leader of the Alliance Fleuve (River) Congo (AFC) Corneille Nangaa Yobeluo, former Country’s electoral commission chairman to amplify the insurgency against the government.
The DR Congo government has repeatedly accused Rwanda of supporting M23, a claim that both Rwanda and M23 deny. The rebels assert that their fight is against corruption, xenophobia and discrimination within the DR Congo’s leadership.
