Former Democratic Republic of Congo President Joseph Kabila is back in the country for the first time in two years, having arrived in the rebel-held eastern city of Goma, spokespeople for the rebels as well as a youth leader from his party have said.

Kabila’s arrival comes after senators stripped him of his immunity over alleged support for the Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group which has been fighting the Congolese army.

Kabila, who has previously denied links with the rebel group, recently decried the justice system , alleging it was “exploited for political ends”.

The 53-year-old led DR Congo for 18 years, after succeeding his father Laurent, who was shot dead in 2001.

He handed power to President Félix Tshisekedi in 2019, but they later fell out.

Speaking to the BBC, a Goma youth leader for Kabila’s People’s Party for Reconstruction and Democracy (PPRD), confirmed earlier reports from the M23 that Kabila had arrived in Goma.

“Kabila should be allowed full access to the country. For us it is like a father has returned to his children,” Innocent Mirimo told BBC Swahili.

Last month, the PPRD was banned by the authorities in the capital, Kinshasa, who accused of having an “ambiguous attitude” towards the capture of Congolese territory by the M23.

In a message on X, rebel spokesperson Lawrence Kanyuka welcomed Kabila to Goma saying: “We wish him a pleasant stay in the liberated areas.”

A similar message was shared by another spokesperson, Willy Ngoma.

The Congolese authorities accuse Kabila of war crimes and treason, alleging there is a “substantial body of documents, testimony and material facts” that link the former leader to the M23.

In a now-deleted YouTube video released on Friday, Kabila called the Congolese government a “dictatorship”, and said there was a “decline of democracy” in the country.

Congolese government spokesperson, Patrick Muyaya, rejected Kabila’s allegations, saying he had “nothing to offer the country”.

Fighting between the Congolese army and the M23 first broke out in 2012 and ended in a peace deal the following year. But in 2021 the group took up arms again, saying the promises made in the deal had been broken.

Since the beginning of this year, the M23 has made major advances in the mineral-rich east, including taking Goma in January.

The conflict has led to the displacement of hundreds of thousands of civilians in the last few months.

Kabila has been living outside the country, in South Africa, for the past two years. At the beginning of last month he said he would be returning to help find a solution to the conflict.