The FRPI was established in November 2002 from the Ngiti ethnolinguistic group, a subgroup of Lendu, as an ally to the Lendu-dominated Nationalist and Integrationist Front (FNI). The Ngiti, organized under traditional leaders, thus formed a counterweight to the Rwanda-backed and Hema-dominated Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC) in the Ituri conflict. The FRPI was supported by the Uganda-backed Forces for Renewal faction of the Rally for Congolese Democracy.