Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi has continuously undermined the role of peacekeeping missions in restoring law and order in the east of his country by use of misinformation and hate speech among the Congolese population.

The unprecedented wave of disinformation, misinformation, and hate speech – initiated by his government – erodes the trust and confidence of the population in the peacekeeping missions, and undermines the peacekeepers’ capacity to protect endangered populations.

For decades, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has been subject to insecurity and violence stemming from a complex mix of local and foreign armed groups. Amid all the chaos, several foreign countries and international bodies have sent their troops to DRC to assist in ending hostilities. To date, the country has multiple deployments under the UN, multilateral, and bilateral arrangements

The United Nations mission has been in DRC for almost three decades. Even though it did not succeed in neutralizing armed groups, the mission supports the Congolese national army with military intelligence.

Despite all these efforts, Kinshasa is determined to fuel criticism against any peacekeeping mission in the country, which has led to deadly protests targeting the blue helmets.

In August 2023, about 60 civilians were shot dead, 220 injured while 222 were arrested following crackdown on an anti-UN protests in Goma, the capital of North Kivu Province in eastern DRC.

Related: DRC government defends Goma carnage. This speaks to Tshisekedi’s failure

In July 2022, 37 people including five UN peacekeepers, died during anti-UN protests in eastern DRC. The protest was called by a faction of the youth wing of Tshisekedi’s UDPS ruling party, which said in a statement it was demanding for the immediate withdrawal of the UN peacekeepers over what it described as their ineffectiveness.

Related: Tshisekedi party attack on UN peacekeepers violates international law

The East African Community – of which DRC became a member in mid 2022 – is also trying to stop the violence and armed conflicts in eastern DRC.

After the deployment of the EAC Regional Force (EACRF) which was mandated to create a buffer zone for pre-cantonment and cantonment processes, Tshisekedi tried to change the force’s mandate to attacking the M23 rebels. When then force commander Gen Jeff Nyagah refused, Tshisekedi humiliated him and threatened his personal security until Gen Nyagah resigned.

Instead of supporting the peace keeping missions, the Congolese President left no stone unturned to ruin their productivity by inciting hate speech against peacekeepers.

Related: Tshisekedi’s penchant for chaos, war taking a toll on EAC regional force

Tshisekedi wants these missions to exit DRC despite all efforts they have put in to keep the east of the country safe.

In September, EAC leaders extended the mandate of the bloc’s regional force in DRC for three more months to help consolidate the gains the force had made.

Related: DRC: EAC Regional Force’s mandate extended, Tshisekedi unsettled

With no peace in sight, one would wonder why Tshisekedi wants to ruin the efforts being made towards achieving peace. The Congolese president has been heavily arming terrorist groups, a move that only worsens the security situation in eastern DRC.

Observers say that Tshisekedi is working so hard to postpone the December 20 presidential elections. He wants another term, at whatever cost.