Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo – A year after M23 rebels seized control of Goma, the capital of eastern DRC’s strategic North Kivu province, the streets are bustling with foot and car traffic and markets operating almost as normal.
But on roads across the city, some of the most essential buildings remain shut.
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On one street, the yellow and black logo on Rawbank stands above a bolted door and a shut ATM machine; nearby, the blue and white Ecobank sign stands above doors sealed by big blue shutters; and on another street, the blue and orange Access Bank logo and flags frame more locked doors.
It was early on Monday, January 27, 2025, when M23 rebels made good on their threat from a few days prior and seized Goma, before advancing in DRC’s east and taking other key cities in the weeks and months that followed.
With the deteriorating security situation, all banks in Goma shut, and ATMs stopped operating. The effects on the local population were harsh – and immediate.
Sitting at the door of a pharmacy she runs in central Goma, Sheilla Zawadi watches the traffic on the road go by, recounting the way her business and livelihood have changed in the last year.
She has an account with Access Bank, but lost her bank card just before the city fell to the rebels – and she does not have a mobile banking app to conduct transactions electronically.
Fortunately, she has a Visa card, which allows her to withdraw money – as long as she finds a bank or ATM.
So, like many others in Goma, the 37-year-old mother of three decided to make a plan – crossing from Goma into neighbouring Rwanda to find a bank.
But the workaround came with challenges – and more expense.
“To withdraw the equivalent of $100, I had to pay up to $15 in fees at the ATMs. And in Rwanda, I could only withdraw money in the local currency, which was the Rwandan franc.”
After that, she’d cross over from Rwanda, meeting informal money dealers along the border between Gisenyi and Goma, who would help change the Rwandan francs into dollars and then into Congolese francs. But she loses money with every exchange.
“It’s more expensive to withdraw money in another country. If only the banks would reopen,” she complains.
A year after banks shut, they have not resumed operations even as the security situation has normalised. The government in Kinshasa and M23 officials who now run the city trade blame about who is responsible, while the banks themselves have not said much or referred on occasion to “temporary closure” due to the “security situation”.
The border between Gisenyi and Goma is always busy. People line up in a single file to cross from one side to the other. Every day, dozens flock to ATMs and banks in downtown Gisenyi to withdraw their money the same way Zawadi does. Others also use ATMs installed at the customs office between the DRC and Rwanda.
Meanwhile, in Goma, the economy is cash-based, or, for those who can, run through electronic transfers.
In the city’s main market, traders and buyers say commodity prices have surged, while everyone is struggling to make a decent living.
“Before, we used to buy in bulk at an affordable price. Today, prices have risen sharply and customers hardly buy anything any more,” said trader Esperance Mushashine. “We’re holding on as best as we can, but the situation isn’t improving.”
Difficult for ‘economy to return to normal’
Before M23 rebels captured Goma a year ago, there were days of fighting.
The group, which is known to be backed by Rwanda, is one of 100 armed groups operating in the east. It claims to be fighting the government for the rights of DRC’s minority Tutsi population.
A couple of days before M23 took Goma, Congolese General Peter Cirimwami, the military governor of North Kivu, was killed on the front lines, reportedly in a rebel assault.
A day later, the rebels announced they would capture Goma and warned the Congolese army, its allied militias called Wazalendo, Southern African Development Community (SADC) troops, Burundian army, European mercenaries and peacekeepers to surrender.
The Sunday night before the siege, at about 10pm local time (20:00 GMT), the rebels entered the city in military clothes amid heavy gunfire and explosions.
By early Monday, they announced they were in control of Goma, while Congolese soldiers and their allied militias fled or surrendered.
The Congolese government later said thousands of people were killed in the M23 advance, while hundreds of thousands were displaced.
Afterwards, the rebels said they had brought peace to the city, as they soon advanced into other parts of DRC’s east, capturing Bukavu, the capital of neighbouring South Kivu province, and other key cities and towns over the months to come.
In Goma, many citizens found relief in the change of leadership, but for others, the challenges were only beginning.
Gustave Katsuva, a resident of Goma, receives his assets through the Kenyan bank Equity BCDC, one of the main banks operating in eastern DRC. Despite the closure of banks in Goma, he says he continues to manage his account as if nothing had changed.
“Those of us who have been lucky enough to request or access online banking can access our money and our salaries via mobile apps, and we have lots of options for withdrawing cash. I can see notifications related to my salary payments,” he said, pointing out that he can also transfer money from his bank account to Mobile Money.
But he says he loses about 3 percent of his money every time he withdraws dollars in the city of Goma.
Economic analysts say the closure of commercial banks is weakening the local economy and has made the dollar scarce in an economy that has been dollarised for decades.
“The closure of banks and microfinance institutions does not facilitate the circulation of capital and currency,” said Deo Bengeya, a university professor in Goma. “Neither does it make it easier for the economy to return to normal.”
According to an economic analyst, who spoke to Al Jazeera on condition of anonymity, “the banks were closed following the loss of control of Goma by the authorities in Kinshasa. Billions of dollars of savers’ money cannot be left to chance in banks in a region held by rebels.” He points out that the authorities in Kinshasa were and are the “only ones responsible” if the money was lost as a result of the war, and they avoided the worst by closing the banks and moving the cash to “secure” locations far from the ”sound of boots”.
Since the fall of Goma, M23 rebel leaders and Congolese authorities have been trading accusations over the closure of banks in Goma and other regions under M23 administration.
The coordinator of the M23-AFC political-military alliance believes that holding the population’s savings against their will may constitute a war crime.
“They ordered the banks not to open. The banks are holding the savings on [President Felix] Tshisekedi’s orders,” said Corneille Nangaa Yobeluo, head of the M23-AFC.
These allegations are false, according to the Congolese authorities, who describe them as “misleading”.
“The banks are not closed by government order. No bank can legally operate under US sanctions,” Congolese Communications Minister Patrick Muyaya Katembwe emphasised during a media briefing last year.
Al Jazeera reached out to the banks to ask about the reasons for continued closure, but most did not respond. Access Bank in eastern DRC said they were “not authorised” to comment. Equity BCDC Bank did not reply, but in a rare statement published in July last year, they informed customers that “branches in Goma and Bukavu have been temporarily closed for several months due to the security situation.”
‘Elusive’ peace
Although economically, there is much to complain about following the closure of the banks and Goma International Airport, the population remains divided over the capture of Goma.
M23 leaders say they have brought peace and basic services to the city, including a stable supply of water and electricity – and many residents agree.
“Since the AFC has been here, we have seen an improvement in the overall security of the population because today, at least, we can sleep peacefully. There are no more targeted killings of motorcyclists and money changers. Peace reigns here in Goma,” says Gentil Mulume, a resident.
According to M23, there were about 50,000 armed men in the city of Goma before they seized it, and it is this over-militarisation that they say was the root cause of instability in North Kivu.
Mulume also said he noted the good faith of the AFC-M23 authorities in resolving the social difficulties of the people of Goma.
“These days, water flows in the city 24 hours a day, there is no longer a water shortage and no untimely power cuts. We are seeing work being done on the road infrastructure.”
“Did they bring electricity to Goma? Did they bring water? Did they find Goma without roads?” asked Dieudonne Muweza, an architect, who believes that the M23-AFC leaders should prove themselves.
“I think the M23 leaders should show us the difference between their mode of governance and that of Kinshasa,” he observed, saying nothing has changed. He hopes for the total withdrawal of the M23-AFC from all areas under their control.
Muweza has been between jobs since M23 took over the city and wants all ongoing peace initiatives to be concluded to enable the Congolese people to enjoy an “endless peace” that seems “elusive” right now.
A year since M23’s rapid advance, peace deals mediated by the United States and Qatar have been signed by the rebels and the DRC’s government, while regional efforts also continue. The rebels recently withdrew from the city of Uvira, on the border between the DRC and Burundi, allowing the “symbolic” return of authorities installed by Kinshasa.
But for Congolese across the east of the country, the future remains uncertain.
“They [M23] have done well on security, but we are very hungry,” said David Linda, a resident of Goma. “Peace is good. People are sleeping well. The guns are silent. But we don’t have food.”
A year after her life and bank account were thrown into disarray, Zawadi, the pharmacy owner – like other businesspeople in Goma – is still finding workarounds to make a living. Most of her customers pay her using internet or mobile banking, depositing into her bank account electronically. After that, she still crosses the border into Rwanda to withdraw foreign currency and change it to US dollars and then back into Congolese francs – losing a percentage with every transaction.
She finds it a difficult cost to bear, especially in a time of simmering conflict and uncertainty, where every expense has to be carefully weighed. But until the banks reopen, this is her only choice.