SUMMARY

The Union des patriotes pour la libération du Congo (UPLC) was a Nande dominated alliance of the many Mayi Mayi militias active around Beni and Butembo. The group was formed in 2016 by François Kambale Twabhiramundu also known as Katembo Kilalo who was the leader of Mayi Mayi Kilalo and had previously been involved in both PARECO and Mayi Mayi Simba and Mambari Bini Pélé also known as Saperita who had been part of PARECO and Kambale Mayani, also known as Kapitula.

UPLC had between 200 and 400 combatants. The alliance was headquartered near Kalunguta on the Ndengere hill in Beni territory. In its first years, UPLC was active in the surroundings of Kipese, near Lubero town but it moved its area of operations northwards towards the Beni territory in mid-2018.

The group originally mobilized to defend the Nande community against attacks by the ADF further north. However in January 2018, the group reoriented its fight toward the Government of DR Congo (Zaire) led by President Laurent-Désiré Kabila after his government once again had postponed the elections.

Some UPLC combatants reported that they had been forced to join the group following abductions or lured by fake promises of employment by recruiters. UPLC mainly sustained itself through taxation of farms and at checkpoints. The combatants used dawa before combat.

Mayi Mayi Kyandenga also known as MNLDK is a group that seems to have splintered from UPLC, the two groups have remained ties. UPLC has had short-lived coalitions with Mayi Mayi Mazembe factions in the Lubero territory.