Amid escalating tensions between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, the latter has employed an intensive anti-Rwanda propaganda alongside persecution of Kinyarwanda-speaking Congolese.

Congolese government and military officials as well as extremist individuals are touring public and private media outlets spreading anti-Rwanda propaganda, with a narrative created by Kinshasa to cover up the weakness of Congolese leaders who failed their people.

In a series of so-called discussions about DRC’s problems, the invited panelists are trying their best to convince Congolese that Rwanda is behind everything going wrong in their country, from the security crisis, illegal mining, to environment degradation.

As part of the so-called discussions, on April 15, Congolese government spokesperson Patrick Muyaya posted on X (former Twitter) that “the FDLR is the eternal pretext [by Rwanda] for attacking the DRC”. This contradicts the stance of Kinshasa at a meeting in Luanda, Angola, on March 21, when Congolese Minister of Foreign Affairs Christophe Lutundula, pledged to the UN Security Council, to present a detailed plan for the dissolution of the FDLR, by April 2024.

Sources in Kinshasa say the arrest of Kinyarwanda-speaking Congolese, especially Congolese Tutsi, has worsened, with the majority being jailed without trial. They are accused of collaborating with M23 rebels, an allegation that DRC considers treason, and sentenced to death.

Detention centers and prisons in Kinshasa are overpopulated because of such arrests.

How long will this lie last? When will Congolese leadership accept that the three decades-long security crisis in eastern DRC resulted from irresponsible leaders of the country?

In 2022, the United Nations Special Advisor on the Prevention of Genocide to United Nations Secretary-General, Alice Wairimu Nderitu, noted that the current violence in eastern DRC mainly stems from the refugee crisis that resulted from when many individuals involved in the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda fled to eastern DRC, forming armed groups such as the FDLR which is still active there.

When will Kinshasa acknowledge that fighting between the Congolese national army and M23 rebels is an internal problem that needs to be solved by way of a political solution?

The M23 is a Congolese rebel group formed by Congolese citizens whose rights are denied by their own government. They have been persecuted for decades with total impunity, and they are fighting against an existential threat. For many years, the international community turned a deaf ear to the calls warning of the looming genocide against Congolese Tutsi. 

Blaming Rwanda for the rebellion is irrational. Rwanda has never got involved in internal affairs of other countries.

Instead, Kigali has been asking Kinshasa to disarm the FDLR genocidal group, which has been spreading genocide ideology in the region, and operates from eastern DRC with support from successive Congolese governments since 1994.

The FDLR has been hunting Congolese Tutsi, killing them with the Knowledge of Congolese administration. An 0ctober 2022 report by Human Rights Watch noted that FDLR fighters have killed hundreds of civilians over the years in eastern DRC, at times hacking them to death with machetes or hoes, or burning them to death in their homes.

The militia fighters committed countless rapes and other acts of sexual violence. The group had a long history of attacks against civilians, including summary killings, recruitment of children, extortion, and sexual violence.

Different reports noted that FDLR is provided with weapons, ammunitions, logistics and food stuffs by Kinshasa.

One FDLR fighter told HRW 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.”

With Muyaya and other Congolese leaders blaming Rwanda for DRC’s insecurity, their aim is to divert the public’s attention from their government’s failures.

Persecuting Kinyarwanda-speaking Congolese will bring no solution to DRC’s problems. It will only fuel hostilities. 

The Congolese Tutsi should not be sacrificed for Tshisekedi and his regime to stay in power.