The Luanda roadmap and Nairobi peace process are regional initiatives aimed at finding a lasting solution to the insecurity in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

 

They underlined the importance of immediate cessation of hostilities, creation of ideal conditions for dialogue and political consultation with a view to resolving the security crisis in the country’s eastern region, among others.

 

Sadly, months have elapsed but the Kinshasa has continuously sabotaged or abandoned these agreements, choosing to perpetuate conflict and insecurity in the region.

 

Among the key decisions of the November 2022 Luanda mini-summit was the prevention of violations of territorial integrity and normalizing political and diplomatic relations between Rwanda and DRC, a pact Kinshasa is breaking.

 

On January 24, Rwandans saw a third fighter jet from the DRC violating Rwanda's airspace. On November 7, and December 28, 2022, the same incident had occurred. There is ample documented evidence of Kinshasa’s continued aggression, and refusal to commit to searching for peace. The jet incursions are among other provocations following the cross-border shelling of Rwandan territory with a multiple rocket launcher system on March 19, May 23, and June 10, 2022.

 

 

Prior to the latest fighter jet incursion, the North Kivu Governor, Lt Gen Constant Ndima Kongba, while addressing a local media outlet, said that they need to be prepared for war against Rwanda.

 

Congolese leaders persistently accuse Rwanda of supporting the M23 rebels, and of being responsible for the insecurity in the east of their country. Kigali has denied these “baseless allegations” and constantly urged Congolese authorities to address their own internal crisis. The M23 rebellion is an internal Congolese political affair that should be dealt with by Kinshasa, Kigali emphasized, because the rebels are Congolese citizens who are being denied their rights, and persecuted.

 

He further alleged that the withdrawal of the M23, from Kibumba and Rumangabo was only a façade. Ndima  and others like him accused the East African Community Regional Force (EACRF) of only advertising the withdrawal for outdoor consumption.

 

This was preceded by staged demonstrations against the EAC Regional Force, in Goma and other parts of the country, on January 18, where demonstrators called for the EACRF to attack the M23 rebels, or leave the country.

 

Since December 2022, the rebels have withdrawn from their occupied territories. This was verified by the EACRF that immediately took over these positions. This was acknowledged by the EAC appointed facilitator, former Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, EAC regional force commanders, and the ICGLR verification mechanism.

 

This shows that the demonstrations and accusations are all part of DRC’s plan to exit the Nairobi and Luanda peace processes, which would cause the departure of the force and effectively end the continued and full deployment of the regional force, as agreed upon.

 

Kinshasa wants the regional force out of the way so that it can start a war. The DRC’s security crisis dates back to close to three decades. For a country that has had many drawbacks, one would think that bringing security and peace would be the leadership's priority.

 

Kinshasa is effectively escalating tensions.

 

Engaging in the Nairobi and Luanda peace processes, it turns out, was actually a strategy to buy Kinshasa enough time to buy weapons, recruit foreign mercenaries – Russia’s Wagner Group and ex-French Legionnaires are already in the country’s restive east – and forge a coalition of the Congolese army, Rwanda’s genocidaires, FDLR, and other militias, to fight the M23 rebels.

 

All this is clear indication that DRC is preparing for war, not peace. Kinshasa’s violations of the regional peace effort are a threat to security, trade, commerce and development.

 

Worse still, without any justification or cause for the war, Kinshasa will certainly lose. For decades, dysfunctional governments in Kinshasa have been driven by fear and greed to commit disastrous blunders.

 

The biggest blunder was to, nearly three decades ago, welcome and give safe haven to the perpetrators of the genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda. The Rwandan genocidal militia forces, now called FDLR-FOCA, continue wreaking havoc in the country, with impunity.

 

Human Rights Watch reported, in October 2022, that the Congolese army with a coalition of Congolese militia as well as the FDLR fight against the M23 rebels. While the M23 rebels are Congolese citizens fighting for their rights, the génocidaires' sole agenda is driven by a genocide ideology and, Rwandophones, especially the Tutsi in Rwanda and DRC, are targeted.

 

Human Rights Watch received credible information that Congolese army members provided more than a dozen boxes of ammunition to FDLR fighters in Kazaroho, one of their strongholds in the Virunga National Park, on July 21, 2022. Two months earlier, dozens of FDLR and local militia fighters took part in a large counteroffensive with government soldiers in the area around Rumangabo and Rugari.

 

One FDLR fighter told Human Rights Watch that he witnessed four transfers of ammunition. “It’s the government [troops] that would always provide us with ammunition,” he said. “They also gave us uniforms and boots.”

 

The Congolese government and army decided to form an evil alliance with a genocidal force.

 

Evil never wins.