Regional

Tshisekedi has nothing to lose; that makes him dangerous

2023-12-21 05:30:00

On his last day of campaigning for the December 20 elections, the outgoing President of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Félix Tshisekedi, said he is ready to wage a war on Rwanda, if re-elected.

“I will convene both chambers in congress as recommended by the constitution, and I will ask them for authorization to declare war on Rwanda. I say it, and I choose my words carefully because I am even ready for that, and today we don't even need to send troops on the ground to Rwanda, from here, we can reach Kigali,” Tshisekedi told Top Congo FM on December 18.

Tshisekedi’s declaration came as no surprise, as his political maturity has been questionable ever since he assumed office.

Having achieved nothing throughout his first five-year term, Tshisekedi has opted to invest in war because he has nothing to lose.

He lacked real achievements to convince Congolese people so that they can vote for him to get a second term. Inciting hate among Congolese against other politicians especially his opponents who highlight his failures, as well as blaming the leadership of neighboring Rwanda for his weakness was his only option.

If Tshisekedi was a ‘patriot’, he would have solved the long lasting security crisis in eastern DRC which claimed lives of hundred thousands of civilians, displacing millions others. He would have improved the capability of the Congolese army to uproot armed groups, instead of creating and arming militia groups that target Congolese Tutsi communities.

He opted to invest in war just to ward off the international community’s attention from his planned electoral coup.

Rwanda suffered a lot during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi and can no longer invest in war. The RPF-led government knows how much a war can be destructive. Apart from defending its territorial integrity and sovereignty, as every country does, or intervening to save people’s lives, Rwanda never entertains the idea of getting involved in aimless wars.

Tshisekedi speaks of war, as if it is one of his hobbies. If he had made some remarkable achievements, he would have invested money and effort in protecting them, not in unnecessary wars, which can destroy them.

Rwanda is busy building infrastructure, technology, and improving its tourism and service sectors, which has been one of the strong pillars in growing the country’s economy.

Tshisekedi made the war declaration while his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame, was in Kigali accompanied by several Heads of State and Government and other high-ranking officials, for the official launch of BioNTech’s first mRNA vaccine manufacturing plant in Africa.

Tshisekedi's mediocre politics was a calculated gamble aimed at shoring up support among nationalist voters. He feared heavyweight contender Moïse Katumbi.

Can the Kigali-Kinshasa relations be revived after elections? Time will tell.