Democratic Republic of Congo has launched a bid to strip former President Joseph Kabila of immunity so he can face trial on charges of supporting the M23 insurgency in the country's east, where the government is seeking to draft a peace deal this week.

He took over leadership of the country in 2001 at the age of just 29, after his father and former coup leader, President Laurent Kabila, was assassinated. DRC presidents, former presidents and senators are immune from prosecution unless they commit “gross misconduct” according to the country’s constitution.

The authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo are seeking to lift former President Joseph Kabila's immunity from prosecution after accusing him of backing rebels in the east. There was a "substantial body of documents,