Goma City Changed Forever Under AFC/M23 Administration

Once chaotic, dirty with no lights at night and protected by UN troops, Goma City had resigned to a failed Metropolitan until the AFC/M23 checked in on February 6th 2025.

The past uninterrupted 12 months of AFC/M23 rule of Goma city have showcased the rebels capabilities in managing a city.

Goma city Streets are swept, garbage collection trucks are commonly seen traversing the city , street lights are now functioning, the border operates 24/7, construction works everywhere, a fundamental change is ongoing.

To celebrate this one-year milestone, the AFC-M23 coordinator Colonel Nanga, his deputy Bertrand Bisimwa, Governor Bahati Musanga, his deputy Manzi, and several prominent figures on Friday were seen walking through the city center to visit infrastructure construction sites on the occasion of the first anniversary of the North Kivu governor.

“In a single year, the AFC/M23 has done what Kinshasa was unable to achieve in eight years. Effective security, functional administration, operational public services, visible infrastructure, revived economic activity. These are facts. And facts are the worst enemies of a regime built on lying propaganda,” the Rebels alliance said in a statement.

The rebels added, “the rehabilitation of infrastructure is not a symbolic act: it is an act of de facto sovereignty. Reconnecting communities, securing trade, reviving the local economy, restoring the dignity of the population: this is what Kinshasa has never known how to do, nor wanted to do.”

Goma City population is estimated up to 2–3 million people. The city is experiencing rapid growth, with a 4.86% increase projected for 2025.

The control of Goma is crucial for several reasons. First, it means that a sizeable and strategically important border province of the DRC is now in rebel hands.

North Kivu is an active volcanic region that is rich in various minerals such as coltan, which is used in electronic equipment and the aerospace industry.