Dr Mukwege can play better role in eastern DRC

Dr. Denis Mukwege

Dr Denis Mukwege, the Nobel Peace Laureate who hails from the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is well-known for his Panzi Hospital located in Bukavu town and treating women survivors of wartime sexual violence.

Majority of the women treated at Mukwege’s hospital are victims of rape and other acts of sexual violence perpetrated by militia groups operating in eastern DRC, mostly the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), a Rwandan militia designated as a terrorist group by the US State Department.

While 10 years ago, Dr. Mukwege seemed to have understood, just like Rwanda, that medical services to victims of violence alone would not solve the problem and called for the need to eliminate the rebel groups, his current demeanor is a total discordance to the reputation he had built over the years.

When, in 2018, Dr Mukwege and Iraqi activist Nadia Murad were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts to end the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war and armed conflict, the people of the Great Lakes region hoped that he would use his global clout and work with regional leaders to find a permanent solution to peace and security in the region by eliminating foreign militia groups that operate in eastern DRC.

Regional leaders, especially Rwanda's President Paul Kagame, always called for regional cooperation in eliminating all negative forces operating in eastern DRC through the establishment of a joint operation force. The FDLR, RNC, RUD-Urunana, ADF-NALU, various Congolese militias, and other foreign armed groups are the main perpetrators of sexual violence meted out on women who show up daily at the gates of his famous hospital.

Efforts to pacify the region should be motivated by the cooperation of regional countries in the exchange of information and intelligence.  Dr.Mukwege can do a far better job putting to good use the popularity he has gained over the years and mobilize the population to support regional governments’ efforts to pacify eastern DRC.

In 2020, Dr. Mukwege resigned as head of a coronavirus task force in DRC's South Kivu Province. At the time, he said, he decided to resign in order to devote himself entirely to his medical duties and to treat the influx of patients at Panzi Hospital. Unfortunately, his untimely decision to resign from the important role he had to play for his country in the management of the pandemic paints him as someone who may not be disposed to do the right thing.

People may misinterpret his actions to as those of a man that only commits to do something when he can foresee some personal gain be it financial or celebrity status, or the international awards and all the perks that come with them.

He deserted his operating theatre and the victims of rape and violence he always talked about and now spends much of his time attending questionable political rallies and international conferences where he does not talk about medicine and humanitarian action but, instead, is stocking anti-Rwanda sentiments.

Dr Mukwege deliberately ignores all the factors that account for the problems of peace and security in his country and prefers to find a scapegoat to blame. He has been on record several times piling blame on “Tutsi communities” of DRC and accompanied the blames with claims that they are supported by the government of Rwanda. By doing so, Dr. Mukwege is certain of doing one thing; infusing the already corrosive anti- Rwanda sentiments.

Dr Mukwege should know that political success will never be attained by amplifying the misapprehension of facts that account for the problems in DRC. Nor does he need to develop some thoughtless theories such as “Balkanization” to win the hearts of the people.

Having political ambitions is no crime. But it should aim at addressing the problems of the general public of DRC. Targeting a section of the population and wrongly blowing the whistle on them as “killers” who have to be dealt with, will only make him a bad leader; one that won’t make any difference whatsoever.

Dr. Mukwege, as a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, should focus on real issues based on facts. By seeking truth from facts, he should see the Mapping Report for what it is; a compilation of lies meant to tarnish the image of Rwanda. It is a report that even the UN has officially discredited but enemies of Rwanda and DRC – including remnants of the perpetrator of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda and their supporters – keep recycling to mislead international opinion and cover up for their crimes.

He should also separate villains from heroes. The Rwandan Patriotic Army stopped the genocide, and also repatriated millions of refugees who had fled to DRC, most of them as hostages of the ex-Forces Armee Rwandaise (ex-FAR), the genocidal Rwandan government's army. Those who remained in DRC are armed and responsible for the countless crimes that saw him being referred to as “the man who mends women.'' The latter portrays heroism on his side, and it is a reputation he ought to uphold even in his political goals.