Early life and CNRD insurgency

An ethnic Tetela,^[2] Kisase was born around the 1940s.^[3] He took part in conflicts of the Congo Crisis in the 1960s,^[4] fighting as an insurgent in the Simba rebellion.^[5] In 1965, the uprising was mostly crushed by Armée Nationale Congolaise (ANC) troops commanded by Mobutu who consequently took power in the Democratic Republic of the Congo as dictator, eventually renaming it "Zaire". Kisase continued to resist Mobutu's rule as part of a Simba remnant force until 1967 when he went into exile in Sudan.^[3] He eventually relocated to East Germany for military training before finally immigrating to West Germany where he earned a medical degree.^[5] Kisase lived in Berlin during his exile in Germany.^[1][6] As a result of his background, he was nicknamed "The German" once he returned to Zaire to lead a rebellion.^[1] Historian David Van Reybrouck described him as a nationalist in the Lumumbist tradition.^[2]

In 1990, Kisase resumed his rebel activity.^[7] He became the leader of a rebel group, eventually known as the National Council of Resistance for Democracy (Conseil National de Résistance pour la Démocratie, CNRD).^[8] The CNRD posed as armed wing of the MNC-L,^[7] a Congolese political party. In contrast, researcher Thomas Turner stated that the CRND was formed when Kisase broke away from a MNC-L splinter faction.^[9] From 1990 to 1991, Kisase and 300 of his followers were trained by the Libyan secret service. When Libya was forced to close "terrorist" training camps under international pressure,^[7] Kisase relocated to Kampala, Uganda,^{[lower-alpha 1]} to organize a new uprising against Mobutu.^[6] He cooperated with the Ugandan External Security Organisation, and had a good working relationship with Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni's government^[10] which granted him a safe house in Kampala.^[11] Kisase trained at Ugandan military academies for three years,^[6] while the CNRD began operating in the Rwenzori Mountains at the Ugandan-Zairian border^[4] and occasionally attacked the Zairian Armed Forces (FAZ).^[6] Until 1996, he waged an insurgency against Mobutu with Ugandan^[11] and Libyan support.^[12] The Ugandans considered him a reliable ally,^[6] even though he maintained some distance to his patrons, wanting to keep his autonomy.^[13] In 1994, the Rwandan Civil War ended in a victory of the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) rebel group, whereupon Kisase reportedly sent his fighters to Rwanda for further training.^[7]

By 1996, his group counted about 400 militants, and possessed a sympathizer network extending from Goma to Bunia.^[8] At the time, the Ugandans were training thousands more CNRD recruits. Museveni's government hoped to transform the CNRD into an intensely pro-Ugandan force within Zaire.^[6]

AFDL commander

In 1996, an international anti-Mobutu coalition began to emerge, with states and groups with widely diverging backgrounds and aims uniting to invade Zaire. Two states, Uganda and Rwanda, hoped to create a large Zairian/Congolese rebel force to aid this invasion.^[10][14] President Museveni recommended Kisase as one of the potential leaders of said force to Paul Kagame, the leading statesman of Rwanda.^[14][15] On 18 October 1996, Kisase and three others, namely Laurent-Désiré Kabila, Anselme Masasu Nindaga, and Déogratias Bugera, signed an agreement for their respective rebel/opposition groups to unite as the Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo (Alliance des Forces Démocratiques pour la Libération du Congo-Zaïre, AFDL).^[8] The four AFDL leaders had little in common in regards to backgrounds, politics, and age. Accordingly, they mostly cooperated due to the pressure of their respective foreign supporters.^[13]

At the time of the rebel coalition's formation, Kisase was the only member of the newly formed AFDL high command who had any kind of substantial armed force and supporter network.^[8] However, his force was still too weak to form the AFDL's core; instead Tutsi militants and Banyamulenge militias formed the coalition's main fighting force.^[14] Kisase was appointed general, received training by the Rwandan Patriotic Army (RPA), and garnered a reputation as a strategist.^[1] As a result of his military experience, he was the most respected commander in the AFDL.^[16] Under Kisase's leadership, the AFDL managed to enlist some long-time Congolese rebels such as former FLC-L militants.^[5] After the AFDL invaded Zaire alongside its foreign allies, starting the First Congo War, he requisitioned a FAZ uniform with a blue beret he found, as the rebels lacked uniforms. By November 1996, he was based in Goma where he mainly focused on maintaining order and deal with violence and disorder caused by the Great Lakes refugee crisis.^[3]

As time went on, Kisase became increasingly independent from his foreign sponsors. He began to critically address the future implications of foreign influence on the Congolese rebels,^[17] making his nationalistic stance clear.^[18] He wanted to transform the AFDL into a genuine Congolese liberation force instead of a proxy group for other states.^[1] His stance was strengthened by his frustration at being excluded from military and strategic decisions by the Rwandan officers, something about which he complained to them repeatedly.^[19] His rhetoric attracted many recruits, a large number of whom were suspicious of the AFDL's foreign supporters, most importantly Rwanda. This resulted in the Rwandan government starting to treat him with distrust; in contrast, AFDL spokesman Kabila took the opposite position, generally behaving "subservient" to the Rwandans and thus positioning himself as their favorite.^[20] At the same time, Kabila began to sideline the three other AFDL leaders, posing as future President of Zaire to their objections.^[14]

When the AFDL and its foreign allies began to push the FAZ back and take territory in eastern Zaire, tensions between Kisase and the Rwandans further worsened. He publicly opposed the widespread looting by the RPA. On one occasion, he prevented the RPA from taking an electric generator from Goma Airport, arguing that it belonged to the Congolese state; this incident consequently became "famous".^[18] His speeches also became more and more critical of the Rwandans,^[21] with him calling their actions "Tutsi colonialism".^[11]

Assassination

The "most authoritative accounts" of the First Congo War claim that Kisase was ultimately murdered by the RPA.^[16] According to these accounts,^[16] once the AFDL had secured a foothold in Zaire and consolidated, the Rwandan leadership moved to eliminate Kisase.^[21] They asked him to deal with the growing resistance by Mai-Mai militias^[22] which opposed the presence of both pro-FAZ as well as pro-AFDL forces on their lands.^[18] Historian Gérard Prunier argued that this request was "with some irony" based on his reputation as a nationalist. Kisase argeed to venture to Butembo; shortly before the trip, his bodyguards were replaced with some who had previously served with Kabila. Despite this development, he still took the mission, and was murdered^[22] on 4,^[1] 6,^[12][23] 7,^[16] or 8 January.^[18] His body and that of a bodyguard were later found at a road near Goma.^[11] Based on the account of a rebel officer, The Washington Post stated that he was shot by "Rwandan Tutsi troops".^[23] The Ugandan government concurred, claiming that Rwanda had murdered him to remove "competition".^[11] Ugandan intelligence officers accused the Rwandan Directorate of Military Intelligence of having organized the assassination.^[24] Van Reybrouck, Philip Roessler, and Harry Verhoeven stated that Kabila was involved in or condoned the murder.^[25][16] According to Filip Reyntjens, "someone close to the victim" maintained that the murder was ordered by Kabila and carried out by RPA Major Jack Nziza.^[12]

Many AFDL officers never accused Rwanda of the murder,^[16] instead implicating Kabila alone or an actual Mai-Mai attack.^[26] However, Kabila lacked loyal men to carry out the assassination on his own at the time.^[26]

Legacy

On 17 January, Kabila publicly lied that Kisase had been wounded by the Mai-Mai, claiming that he would soon return to active service.^[22] The Rwandans even ordered the Makerere University Hospital to make room for Kisase, so that he could be treated there.^[27] Later on, it was alleged that he had been killed in an ambush at Beni.^[1] The murder remained unsolved, partially due to Kabila having no intention to clear up the removal of his political rival.^[27]

Kisase's demise weakened Uganda's influence on the AFDL, while improving the relative importance of two other AFDL leaders: Kabila and Masasu. Ultimately, Kabila emerged as the strongest figure among the rebels.^[26] Following the fall of Mobutu's regime, Kabila became President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.^[27] In 1999, MNC-L leader Albert Onawelho Lumumba demanded that Kabila clear up his involvement in the murder of leading Lumumbists including Kisase.^[28]

Kisase's family was still living in Germany as of the early 2000s.^[1]