DRC : General Masunzu arrested, a symptom of an army in crisis

SOS Médias Burundi

Bukavu, November 4, 2025 – Lieutenant General Pacifique Masunzu, commander of the 3rd Defense Zone of the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC), was reportedly arrested on Sunday, according to several military sources.

Witnesses claim that the arrest took place in Kisangani, the capital of Tshopo province, shortly after the visit of the FARDC Chief of Staff, who was returning from an official mission to Bujumbura, Burundi’s commercial capital.

“The Chief of Staff arrived in Kisangani from Bujumbura.” He went to General Masunzu’s residence, where his phones were confiscated before he was taken to Kinshasa, the Congolese capital,” a source close to the case told our newsroom.

The reasons for the arrest remain unclear.

No official statement from the Congolese army has yet confirmed or commented on General Masunzu’s arrest.

However, several theories are circulating in Kinshasa security circles. Some suggest alleged links with former President Joseph Kabila, who recently launched a coalition hostile to the Congolese government. Others accuse him of ineffectiveness in the face of the M23’s advance in the east of the country.

Other sources claim that the high-ranking officer interfered in operations against General Olivier Gasita. The latter was forced to leave the city of Uvira, which became the capital of South Kivu province, after the fall of Bukavu, its former capital, which fell to the M23 rebels earlier this year.

General Gasita was suspected by some members of the civil society and the Wazalendo militias, supported by Kinshasa, of being a Rwandan spy and of tolerating the M23’s advances. Demonstrations against his installation resulted in deaths and paralyzed the city of Uvira before the army decided to evacuate him, assisted in particular by the Burundi National Defense Force (FDNB).

Yet, both generals are members of the Banyamulenge community, a Tutsi minority that has been persecuted for many years. But they have always regarded each other with suspicion.

A high-ranking commander with a strategic career

Lieutenant General Pacifique Masunzu, originally from South Kivu, headed the 3rd Defense Zone, which covers five provinces : Tshopo, Ituri, North Kivu, South Kivu, and Maniema. Prior to this appointment, he commanded the 2nd Defense Zone based in Lubumbashi, Haut-Katanga.

A series of arrests in the Congolese Army

His alleged arrest adds to a long list of arrests within the FARDC (Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo).

According to several observers, more than 28 generals have been arrested in recent months, accused of collusion with the enemy or desertion in the face of the front lines.

The M23, a former Tutsi rebellion, took up arms again in late 2021, accusing Congolese authorities of failing to honor their commitments to reintegration. Since the beginning of the year, its fighters affiliated with the Congo River Alliance (AFC) have controlled several strategic, mineral-rich areas in the provinces of North Kivu and South Kivu, as well as their capitals : Goma and Bukavu.

Congolese authorities accuse Rwanda of supporting the rebels, which Kigali firmly denies. Burundi, for its part, has deployed approximately 10,000 soldiers in eastern Congo to fight alongside the FARDC and their allied militias against the M23.

Pending an official statement from the Ministry of Defense or the General Staff, the fate of Lieutenant General Pacifique Masunzu remains uncertain.