SUMMARY
The Force d’autodéfense Biloze Bishambuke (FABB), also known as Mayi Mayi Biloze Bishambuke and Forces armées Biloze Bishambuke, was an umbrella movement of predominantly Bafuliiru and Banyindu self-defense groups active in the Hauts and Moyens-Plateaux of South Kivu, DR Congo (Zaire). The movement emerged around Milimba village in 2012. It initially consisted of locally organized groups that had mobilized in response to cattle theft, attacks on Bafuliiru communities, and conflict with rival armed groups, particularly Mayi Mayi Yakutumba. Since at least 2020, groups operating under the Biloze Bishambuke label increasingly used the name FABB.
FABB’s original objective was the defense of Bafuliiru and Banyindu communities, their cattle, property, land, and access to local resources. The group did not initially articulate a stated incompatibility concerning control of the Congolese government or a specified territory. Its activities were instead connected to local self-defense, intercommunal conflict, competition over cattle and land, and struggles for influence in the Hauts and Moyens-Plateaux. From 2019, Biloze Bishambuke maintained a stated incompatibility concerning control of the Government of DR Congo. After the December 2018 presidential elections, while being part of the CNPSC alliance representatives of Biloze Bishambuke stated that the electoral process had been rigged and that the installation of the new president had enabled Joseph Kabila to retain political influence through an illegitimate arrangement. They described this perceived perversion of democracy as a reason to remain armed and continue opposing the government. After splintering from the CNPSC alliance in 2021, FABB was treated as a separate actor with an incompatibility concerning the Congolese government.
Biloze Bishambuke originated from the mobilization of Mai Mai Chochi in Milimba in 2012. Commander Chochi was a Munyindu veteran of earlier local Mai Mai groups. During the 1990s, he had served as an escort to General Dunia in Sowe. During the 2000s, he had served as head of operations in the Assani Ngungu, also known as Braun, group. Chochi demobilized when this group merged with another armed movement in 2010, but he returned to armed activity in 2012 after a civilian administrator in Minembwe ordered his arrest in connection with a land conflict involving Banyamulenge farmers.
FABB operated in the Hauts and Moyens-Plateaux of South Kivu, including Milimba, Tanganyika sector, the Itombwe Highlands, Bijombo, Mikenge, Bigaragara, and Rugezi. The movement initially had its strongest presence around Milimba, where many of its combatants originated. It later expanded towards Bijombo and the Itombwe Highlands. Its areas of activity were characterized by intercommunal conflict, disputes over land and cattle, competition over mining areas, and the presence of Congolese, Burundian, and Rwandan armed groups.
Biloze Bishambuke was mainly composed of Bafuliiru and Banyindu fighters, although it also cooperated with other armed networks in South Kivu. The umbrella included groups led by Chochi, Mulumba, Kazadi, Ilunga, Kashomba, Mushombe, Luhala Kasororo, Assani Malkiya, and Assani Mbakani. Its membership was difficult to establish because many groups were semi-autonomous and included both combatants and civilians who were only intermittently mobilized for armed activity.
FABB did not maintain a stable centralized command structure. Its constituent groups were semi-autonomous and coordinated their actions on an ad hoc basis, particularly in response to attacks by rival armed groups. The movement did not initially have a defined leadership or a consistent command-and-control structure. Over time, however, some commanders acquired greater influence over specific areas and factions. This decentralized structure contributed to frequent uncertainty over which armed groups and commanders were part of FABB at any given time.
The movement’s military capacity depended on its constituent local militias, their access to weapons, and their alliances with other armed groups. FABB fighters used small arms and other light weapons and conducted attacks, ambushes, and local defensive operations. The group’s expansion into the Itombwe Highlands and areas around Bijombo increased its involvement in broader armed conflict. FABB also became connected to the exploitation of gold mines around Bigaragara and Rugezi, which provided a source of revenue and intensified competition between commanders.
Biloze Bishambuke initially fought against Mayi Mayi Yakutumba and other armed groups that it accused of stealing cattle and attacking Bafuliiru communities. It later regularly clashed with Ngumino and Twirwaneho, both predominantly Banyamulenge armed groups. FABB was also repeatedly accused of attacks against Banyamulenge civilians. The group’s activities therefore extended beyond local defense and included violence against civilian populations associated with rival communities.
Commander Chochi was an important founder of the movement. Assani Mbakani was identified as the main military commander in 2021. In 2022, self-proclaimed General Jean-Pierre Mugengere was reported to have commanded a FABB faction in Mikenge, Mwenga territory. Ngomanzito later replaced Hassani Mbakani as military commander. Naluhogola served as FABB’s political leader or president. The leadership remained contested, however, and different commanders exercised authority over separate factions and local areas.
FABB’s relations with other armed groups shifted over time. In late 2017, Biloze Bishambuke was one of the few Fizi-based Mai Mai groups that had not allied with Yakutumba’s CNPSC coalition. From 2018, however, Biloze Bishambuke became part of the CNPSC coalition. Between 2018 and 31 December 2020, UCDP treated FABB as part of CNPSC rather than as a separate armed actor. The inclusion of FABB in CNPSC did not mean that all Biloze Bishambuke constituent groups had lost their local identity or autonomy. The coalition remained composed of semi-autonomous Bafuliiru and Banyindu self-defense groups, whose local command structures and alliances continued to shift.
After 2020, FABB was again treated as a separate actor in UCDP data. It maintained cooperation with other armed groups, including CNPSC elements, FDPC/ML, and some Bavira armed networks such as Mayi Mayi Makanaki. Sources also reported possible collaboration between some Biloze Bishambuke groups and the Burundian armed group RED-Tabara. In 2023 and 2024, FABB reportedly cooperated with [AFC]/#/actor/8885)/M23 through links with RED-Tabara and Twirwaneho. This cooperation created tensions within FABB and with allied Mayi Mayi groups, including Yakutumba’s forces. The reported collaboration was particularly linked to the exploitation of gold mines around Bigaragara and Rugezi after the Burundian army dislodged RED-Tabara from areas around Bijombo in January 2023.
Internal divisions intensified in early 2024. In March 2024, Ngomanzito suspended Naluhogola, accusing him of collaborating with enemy forces and misappropriating funds received during an [AFC]/#/actor/8885) meeting in Nairobi. Ngomanzito and Hassani Mbakani also clashed after Hassani opposed continued cooperation with RED-Tabara and [AFC]/#/actor/8885)/M23. These disputes reflected disagreements over alliances, control of gold-mining revenues, authority over local areas, and competition between FABB commanders.
