Sultani Makenga


Sultani Makenga is the military chief of March 23 Movement, a rebel military group based in eastern areas of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Sanctions have been ordered against him by the United Nations Security Council in November 2012. He has denied accusations that the M23 rebellion is backed by Rwanda. His faction of the M23 have clashed with those loyal to its political leader, Jean-Marie Runiga Lugerero. In May 2013, the M23 rebels clashed with FARDC and there were rumors that Makenga got badly wounded. Other rumors are that Makenga died, being the reason for his not showing up in public.
On November 7, 2013, after the M23 was defeated by the FARDC backed by the UN FIB, Makenga surrendered with hundreds of M23 fighters in Mgahinga National Park, Uganda. He and his troops are held in a secret location.
In early 2017, he tried to start again a guerilla war in DRC with 200 men. He failed and some of his militants were even hired by the Ugandan government to crush protests.