James Kabarebe (born 1959) is a Rwandan retired military officer who serves as Minister of State for Regional Integration in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

[2] In his role of Minister of Defence he was accused of being the de facto leader of the March 23 Movement, a militia in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.

[5] The aim of the army was to defeat the ex-FAR and Interahamwe, Hutu militia groups that had committed the genocide against the Tutsi and were engaged in cross-border attacks on Rwanda, destroy the refugee camps that the militia groups and Hutu civilians were living in, and overthrow Zairian President Mobutu Sese Seko.

In his time as chief of staff, the 10th division, stationed in eastern Congo, began adding more Banyamulenge, Banyarwanda and ex-Rwandan Defence Forces troops who tended to oppose Kabila.

[7] Following his dismissal as Chief of Staff in July 1998, Kabarebe and Ugandan and Congolese allies[1] began planning an attack on western Congo, intended to quickly topple the Kabila regime.

[1] In an effort to take Kinshasa the coalition cutoff the power to the city causing according to the UN "the death of an unknown number of civilians, particularly children and hospital patients.

[9] Kabarebe was one of ten Rwandan officials accused in 2006 by Jean-Louis Bruguière, a French judge, of having taken part in the shooting down of the plane of then-president Juvenal Habyarimana.

In 2012, a report from a United Nations Security Council group of experts accused Kabarebe and other Rwandan officials of being the de facto leaders of the M23 militia.