Marie-Ange Mushobekwa is a Congolese journalist, political-party founder, former government minister and former national lawmaker. On 13 October 2026, she emerged in a new political dispute after publicly distancing herself from the armed approach she attributed to former president Joseph Kabila.
She did not announce support for President Félix Tshisekedi; she said she would continue working in the opposition in Kinshasa by peaceful, republican means. The development followed the announcement of a new Kabila-led political-military coalition in Goma.
Who is Marie-Ange Mushobekwa? She is a 52-year-old politician and former television journalist from Bukavu in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. She served as human-rights minister from 2016 to 2019, later held a national parliamentary seat, and leads the Mouvement pour la cohésion nationale. In October 2026, she rejected an armed political route associated with Joseph Kabila.
Why she distanced herself from Joseph Kabila
Mushobekwa worked within the political orbit of Joseph Kabila for years and held a cabinet post during his presidency. Her latest position is therefore a distinction within a long political relationship, rather than an announcement that she has joined the governing camp.
In an account published at 7:03 a.m. Kinshasa time (9:03 a.m. in Uganda), Opinion Info described her declaration as a decision to reject armed methods while remaining politically opposed to the government. CongoRassure also reported the declaration, placing her message during the night of 12–13 October. The precise time of her original X post has not been independently established.
The immediate background is the Front pour la refondation de la nation (FRN), a new coalition chaired by Kabila and announced in Goma on 12 October. She did not explicitly name the FRN in the statement described by Actualite.cd, but rejected a turn to armed politics she associated with the former president.
Her position should not be confused with the reasons other former allies gave for leaving the PPRD. Readers can explore XTRAfrica's background on Kabila and M23 and its explainer on the AFC/M23 movement.
How old is Marie-Ange Mushobekwa, and where was she born?
The Congolese parliamentary tracking project Talatala records her date of birth as 19 December 1973 in Bukavu, South Kivu. She is therefore 52 years old as of 13 October 2026, and will turn 53 in December 2026.
BIOGRAPHY
Who Is Marie-Ange Mushobekwa? Age, Career and Kabila Split
Oct 13, 2026
Oct 13, 2026
7 min read
Published
Updated:
Marie-Ange Mushobekwa is a Congolese journalist, political-party founder, former government minister and former national lawmaker. On 13 October 2026, she emerged in a new political dispute after publicly distancing herself from the armed approach she attributed to former president Joseph Kabila.
She did not announce support for President Félix Tshisekedi; she said she would continue working in the opposition in Kinshasa by peaceful, republican means. The development followed the announcement of a new Kabila-led political-military coalition in Goma.
Who is Marie-Ange Mushobekwa? She is a 52-year-old politician and former television journalist from Bukavu in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. She served as human-rights minister from 2016 to 2019, later held a national parliamentary seat, and leads the Mouvement pour la cohésion nationale. In October 2026, she rejected an armed political route associated with Joseph Kabila.
Why she distanced herself from Joseph Kabila
Mushobekwa worked within the political orbit of Joseph Kabila for years and held a cabinet post during his presidency. Her latest position is therefore a distinction within a long political relationship, rather than an announcement that she has joined the governing camp.
In an account published at 7:03 a.m. Kinshasa time (9:03 a.m. in Uganda), Opinion Info described her declaration as a decision to reject armed methods while remaining politically opposed to the government. CongoRassure also reported the declaration, placing her message during the night of 12–13 October. The precise time of her original X post has not been independently established.
The immediate background is the Front pour la refondation de la nation (FRN), a new coalition chaired by Kabila and announced in Goma on 12 October. She did not explicitly name the FRN in the statement described by Actualite.cd, but rejected a turn to armed politics she associated with the former president.
Her position should not be confused with the reasons other former allies gave for leaving the PPRD. Readers can explore XTRAfrica's background on Kabila and M23 and its explainer on the AFC/M23 movement.
How old is Marie-Ange Mushobekwa, and where was she born?
The Congolese parliamentary tracking project Talatala records her date of birth as 19 December 1973 in Bukavu, South Kivu. She is therefore 52 years old as of 13 October 2026, and will turn 53 in December 2026.
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Her name sometimes appears with the surname Likulia, including in parliamentary records. She is not a newly appointed official: her public life spans decades, first through broadcasting and then through national politics. A 2007 profile in Spain's El País described her as a television news presenter and political interviewer who used journalism to draw attention to sexual violence against Congolese women.
Journalism before government office
Mushobekwa worked as a television journalist and interviewer on the Congolese channel Antenne A. Her public profile developed through political interviews before she entered cabinet. The 2007 El País interview described the obstacles facing working women in the DRC at that time, including laws and social pressures affecting their professional independence.
Those experiences help explain why she has been associated with public debates over women's rights, state institutions and political participation. Reporting on women's experiences in eastern Congo was part of her earlier career; it should not be mistaken for a claim that she personally represented every women's organisation or human-rights group in the country.
From party founder to minister and parliamentarian
She founded the Mouvement pour la cohésion nationale (MCN) in June 2010. The party initially aligned with the UDPS and participated in the 2011 legislative elections, according to Actualite.cd's 2021 account.
In December 2016, Prime Minister Samy Badibanga's published cabinet included Mushobekwa as minister of human rights, as recorded by Radio Okapi. She remained in the portfolio through 2019. That work placed her in the difficult position of representing the government's human-rights record during a period of deep political disagreement over security, protests and accountability.
From March 2019, she also temporarily handled the communication and media portfolio. A United Nations account of an April UNESCO event identifies her as acting communications minister and government spokesperson, and records her participation in discussions about journalists' safety. She later served as a national deputy for Kabare in South Kivu. Parliamentary tracking records connect her to that constituency, although administrative databases do not all display the same end date for her term.
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On 15 June 2022, the National Assembly invalidated her mandate and those of four other lawmakers, citing unjustified absences. Radio Okapi reported the parliamentary decision. The lawmakers contested aspects of the process, which was subsequently considered by the Inter-Parliamentary Union. This was a parliamentary mandate dispute, not a criminal conviction.
Her relationship with opposition politics
Mushobekwa's career does not fit a simple ruling-party-versus-opposition narrative. She established an independent political party, entered a Kabila-era government, and later said the MCN would operate in opposition. In January 2021, she publicly committed herself to opposition politics within republican institutions, a position reported at the time by Actualite.cd.
Her October 2026 statement continues that theme while drawing a line against armed political activity. A disagreement over the methods adopted by Joseph Kabila does not, by itself, prove she has endorsed the current administration or withdrawn from opposition politics. For the wider regional context, see XTRAfrica's reporting on Kabila's Goma political activity.
Family information and public record
Public records and reporting have used the name Mushobekwa Likulia. The 2007 El País interview referred to her as married, and later reporting has discussed her children in connection with a public legal case. In June 2026, Radio Okapi reported the military court's outcome: two police officers were convicted, while the accused senior intelligence official was acquitted. These findings should not be rewritten as a conviction of the acquitted official.
Marie-Ange Mushobekwa career timeline
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Marie-Ange Mushobekwa?
She is a Congolese journalist and politician who formerly served as human-rights minister and a national deputy.
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How old is Marie-Ange Mushobekwa?
She is 52 on 13 October 2026, based on her recorded birth date of 19 December 1973.
Where is Marie-Ange Mushobekwa from?
She was born in Bukavu, South Kivu, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
What is Marie-Ange Mushobekwa's other surname?
Her name is also recorded as Marie-Ange Mushobekwa Likulia, including by the parliamentary tracker.
Which ministry did Marie-Ange Mushobekwa lead?
She served as minister of human rights from 2016 to 2019 and temporarily handled communication and media duties in 2019.
What political party does she lead?
She is associated with the Mouvement pour la cohésion nationale (MCN), which she founded in 2010.
Did she join President Tshisekedi's political camp?
Her 13 October 2026 statement did not announce such a move. She said she intended to remain in the opposition.
Why did Mushobekwa distance herself from Joseph Kabila?
She rejected the armed political route she attributed to Kabila following news of the new FRN coalition, while distinguishing that disagreement from her opposition to the government.
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