[3] In 1991 Makaya became a close collaborator of the opposition figure Bernard Kolélas, president of the Congolese Movement for Democracy and Integral Development (MCDDI).

He participated in pacifying the country during the unrest following the 1992 presidential election in which Bernard Kolélas, a candidate who reached the second round, lost to Pascal Lissouba.

A militant base developed inside the Congo, but the party leadership was dispersed between several countries including the United Kingdom, France, Benelux, West Africa and Canada.

[3] In October 2015, opposed to the constitutional referendum initiated by the government (which would allow Denis Sassou-Nguesso to run for a third consecutive term), he organized an undeclared peaceful demonstration, which turned into a confrontation with the police.

[6] However, he remained imprisoned for 6 months without trial, before appearing on 30 May 2016 before an investigating judge, who referred him to the criminal court, but only retained the charge of "incitement to disturbance" of public order ”.

[9][10] Amnesty International denounced the unfounded accusations and called for his release, considering that “Paulin Makaya is a prisoner of conscience who is still charged by the Congolese authorities with political commitment and the exercise of the right to freedom of expression.

[10][12] In January 2019, during Makaya's first public speech on the occasion of the greetings to the press, he called on the government to organize a national conference including the opposition, the party in power and the diaspora, in order to get the Congo out of the crisis, and demanded the release of other imprisoned opponents, such as Jean-Marie Mokoko and André Okombi Salissa.