Regional
Tshisekedi has nothing to lose; that makes him dangerous
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.
Related: DRC:
Tshisekedi’s mediocre politics will bring nothing good
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.