Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Amb. Olivier Nduhungirehe, has accused the Democratic Republic of Congo of cynicism over what it calls “Genocost”, a commemoration DRC links to Rwanda, which Nduhungirehe says instead marks a day of atrocities committed against Congolese Tutsis with the backing of the Congolese state.
On Sunday, 2 August 2026, in Kinshasa, DRC held a ceremony it described as commemorating a genocide committed against Congolese people through the theft of their country’s resources (“Genocost”), led by President Félix Tshisekedi himself.
This alleged genocide has not been recognized by any international body, and analysts say none is expected to recognize it. Congolese authorities blame it on Rwanda, even though it is a matter of record that Rwanda itself suffered the Genocide against the Tutsi, and has committed to fighting and preventing genocide wherever it occurs.
Rwanda has also repeatedly denied Congolese authorities’ allegations that it steals the country’s mineral resources.
Nduhungirehe said: “What Congo is doing is nothing short of cynicism.” He explained that the very date used for the “Genocost” commemoration marks 28 years since Congolese Tutsis began suffering atrocities backed by the Congolese government.
“I want to recall that August 2, 1998, the date they’re now calling ‘Genocost’ was in fact a disgraceful moment for Congo, particularly in Kinshasa, where Tutsis were openly targeted, hunted down, and beaten in what became known as lynchings. Some were seized on bridges and thrown off them. This is documented in photographs and footage,” he said.
Nduhungirehe said Abdoulaye Yerodia Ndombasi, DRC’s Foreign Minister at the time, had publicly used language targeting Congolese Tutsis, calling them “vermin and microbes that must be methodically eradicated.”
“And that’s exactly what happened. Belgium even issued an international arrest warrant for him, but he was never brought before Congolese courts,” he said.
Nduhungirehe said that rather than being held accountable for those remarks, this politician was given a state funeral when he died in February 2019, on the orders of President Félix Tshisekedi.
“So you can see what Congo is doing here, inventing something called ‘Genocost’ that has no basis in any international law, out of sheer cynicism, trying to cast itself as the victim when it is in fact the perpetrator. The Congolese government has spent years targeting Tutsis, and that remains the case even as we speak,” he said.
Minister Nduhungirehe said that beyond promoting this so-called “Genocost,” Congolese authorities have continued using various tactics to distort the truth about the abuses committed against Congolese Tutsis, and that evidence of this exists.
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