Jean-Lucien Bahuma Ambamba

Major General Jean-Lucien Bahuma Ambamba (1957–2014) was a Congolese army officer. Bahuma, described as an "exceptional soldier" by Le Potentiel and one of the Congo's "most popular and reform-minded officers" by The Economist, commanded the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC) in the provinces of North and South Kivu during the M23 rebellion and Allied Democratic Forces insurgency.

Early life and education Bahuma was born in the village of Tolaw in Isangi Territory, near Kisangani, in 1957. He began his military career under the regime of Mobutu Sese Seko, attending military academies in the Congo and France.

Military career During the Second Congo War, he commanded the military wing of the Movement for the Liberation of the Congo (MLC) and was later re-integrated into the Congolese army.

Bahuma was appointed to the command of the 8th Military Region, covering Kivu, by President Joseph Kabila following the fall of Goma to M23 rebels in 2012. The fall of Goma in November 2012 was widely perceived as an embarrassment for the FARDC and the United Nations' MONUSCO peacekeeping force and led to calls for reform. Morale among government forces in the region was low. He gained a reputation as a reformist, alongside Lieutenant General François Olenga and Colonel Mamadou Ndala, and attempted to turn the FARDC into a professional military force.