Rwanda’s Government Spokesperson has accused her Congolese counterpart of exploiting a solemn day of remembrance, after he used the anniversary of the Gatumba massacre to accuse Rwanda of politicizing the killings of Banyamulenge civilians.
The exchange followed a post on X by Patrick Muyaya, DRC’s Government Spokesperson and Minister of Communication and Media, responding to a commemoration event held on Sunday, 16 August by Banyamulenge living in Rwanda to mark the anniversary of the Gatumba massacre.
Muyaya took issue with remarks made during that commemoration, writing: “No, the Banyamulenge are not the ‘Rwandans of Congo.’ They are Congolese, just like all the other communities in our country.”
At the Rwanda-based commemoration, young Banyamulenge were urged to take an active role in ending the injustice still facing their community, using whatever means necessary — including armed resistance, if that’s what it takes — pointing to the Congolese government’s continued refusal to address the issue and its use of armed groups such as the FDLR.
Reacting to this, Muyaya accused Rwanda of using the Gatumba killings as a political tool against Congo.
In sharply worded remarks, Muyaya went on to accuse Rwanda — without evidence — of backing armed groups including M23, Twirwaneho, and RED-Tabara to destabilize Congo.
Muyaya wrote: “The ideologue of evil has revealed himself. This brain of the FPR and president of the so-called Advisory Council of Sages of Rwanda, the father, has sullied, without the slightest embarrassment and through unworthy remarks, a day of compassion dedicated to the memory of our Banyamulenge compatriots massacred at Gatumba. By calling on the youth of this Congolese community to take up arms against their own country, he reveals the role of Rwanda in the chaos ravaging the High Plateaus and other Congolese territories under occupation. His remarks also shed light on the ties between M23 and other armed groups spawned by Rwanda, notably Twirwaneho and Red-Tabara, to whom he supplies weapons.”
Rwanda’s Government Spokesperson, Yolande Makolo, called on Patrick Muyaya to stop resorting to what she called poisonous rhetoric, drawing on a day meant to honor the victims of the Gatumba massacre as a platform to attack Rwanda.
Yolande Makolo wrote: “Poison Muyaya continues to twist a day of remembrance for the victims of the Gatumba massacre into another platform for anti-Rwanda propaganda. The Banyamulenge who were slaughtered in 2004 by DRC’s Burundian allies were Congolese. Their memory is not Kinshasa’s political tool, nor is it an invitation for selective outrage while the Kinshasa-sponsored FDLR & other genocidal remnants still operate with impunity on DRC soil, in violation of the Washington Peace Agreement. Deliberately obscuring/distracting from the real sources of insecurity in eastern DRC is the core of ‘instrumentalisation.'”
Rwanda’s spokesperson added: “Remembering them is not a political tool of the Kinshasa government, nor should it be used as cover for the FDLR — backed by Kinshasa alongside other génocidaires still operating freely on DRC soil — to violate the Washington peace agreement.”
Rwanda’s Government Spokesperson urged Congolese authorities to stop distorting the well-documented root causes of insecurity in eastern DRC, calling on Kinshasa to stop resorting to disinformation on the matter.
RADIOTV10