President Félix Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of the Congo was denied the right to speak during an extraordinary Southern African Development Community (SADC) summit held by videoconference on Wednesday, December 17, 2025, in a rare diplomatic sanction linked to unpaid contributions and lingering fallout from a failed regional military deployment in eastern Congo.
The summit, chaired by South Africa as interim SADC chair, was convened to discuss the political crisis in Madagascar.
According to internal SADC sources, the Congolese president was barred from intervening after the organization enforced its financial compliance rules against member states in arrears.
The decision stems from the DRC’s outstanding payments related to the SADC Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (SAMIDRC).
Kinshasa had pledged $200 million toward the operation but still owed approximately $48 million as of August 2025.
Under SADC procedures, the arrears triggered sanctions, including the suspension of speaking rights at official meetings.
SAMIDRC was deployed between 2023 and 2024 to support Congolese forces against the M23 rebellion, at an estimated annual cost of nearly $500 million.
The mission’s mandate formally ended in March 2025, after suffering a humiliating military setback that left M23 in control of significant areas of eastern Congo.
The force withdrew without achieving its stated objectives, a failure that continues to shape internal debates within SADC.
Although the mission has since ended, its financial liabilities remain unresolved. The funding gap forced Troop Contributing Countries (TCCs) to absorb much of the cost of the deployment.
South Africa, the largest contributor, is estimated to have spent over R2 billion (about $110 million) on its participation, intensifying concerns among member states over uneven burden-sharing.
Sources familiar with internal discussions told Kivu Today that President Tshisekedi informally conveyed to the SADC Secretariat that the DRC could not justify paying for a mission it considered defeated and ineffective.
According to these sources, the Congolese leader argued that continued payment would amount to financing an operation that failed militarily.
The remarks were understood as a direct expression of dissatisfaction with SAMIDRC’s performance, including that of the forces deployed, among them Congolese troops.
The DRC was not alone in facing sanctions. Seychelles and Comoros, which are also in arrears on their SAMIDRC contributions, were similarly deprived of speaking rights during the virtual summit.
The restriction extended to preparatory meetings held earlier in the day, including those of experts and ministers, where the Congolese delegation was likewise unable to take the floor.
The incident highlights growing strain within SADC over financial discipline, the sustainability of regional military interventions, and the political consequences of operational failure.
For Kinshasa, it marks a moment where battlefield outcomes, unpaid dues, and blunt diplomacy converged into a public regional rebuke.