Rwandan President Paul Kagame has sparked fresh debate across the continent after declaring that not all coups are inherently bad and warning that the wave of Gen Z–led protests spreading across Africa is a sign that something is deeply wrong within governments.
Speaking during a media briefing in Kigali on Thursday, Kagame delivered one of his bluntest assessments yet on the political tremors rocking West, Central and East Africa.
His comments come barely days after an attempted coup in Guinea-Bissau and amid heightened political instability from the Sahel to the Indian Ocean.
Kagame said African leaders should stop pretending that coups occur in a vacuum.
According to him, many are the inevitable outcome of years of corruption, misrule and stolen elections that leave citizens desperate and soldiers emboldened.
He insisted there are “good coups” and “bad coups,” arguing that some arise out of frustration with entrenched political elites who have plundered their nations while hiding behind weak institutions.
He said a bad coup is one driven by reckless officers intoxicated by the power of their guns.
The good kind, he said, occurs when citizens or a faction within the state finally decides “enough is enough” after being lied to and robbed for too long.
Kagame said he felt “vindicated” by the recent pattern of coups, including the chaotic events in Guinea-Bissau and the political breakdown in Madagascar.
He questioned why anyone would be shocked when states with long-running governance failures finally explode.
“What do you know about Guinea-Bissau that tells you such a coup should not have happened?” he asked. “Or even Madagascar? When you look at how these places have been run, why wouldn’t there be a coup?”
His remarks echo a growing sentiment across parts of Africa where military takeovers, once universally condemned, are increasingly seen by frustrated citizens as a crude reset button in countries where the political class has closed all democratic exits.
Kagame also weighed in on the rising Gen Z protest movements shaking East Africa.
From Kenya’s anti-finance-bill uprising to youth demonstrations in Uganda and the more recent unrest in Tanzania, Kagame said these protests are not random flare-ups but clear signs that governments have lost touch with their populations.
He said young people are demanding transparency, fairness and honesty, and leaders must explain openly why their countries are grappling with unemployment, debt and crumbling services.
He warned that violence arises when citizens believe their leaders are living lavishly while the public suffers.
“If there is news that this man is building a castle in Paris or New York or Brussels, they will come for your throat,” Kagame said. “It’s a matter of time.”
The Rwandan leader urged the African Union to design a system that can hold sitting civilian leaders accountable when they rig elections, loot public funds or trigger crises that eventually invite coups.
Kagame’s stance is certain to ignite controversy. Human rights organisations routinely accuse his government of suppressing dissent, even as he positions himself as a continental voice on governance reform.
But his comments will resonate with many young Africans who feel betrayed by old political orders and are increasingly taking to the streets—or supporting anyone who can upend the system.
As the coup wave continues and Gen Z unrest rises, Kagame’s remarks capture a shifting political mood on a continent where trust in civilian rulers has collapsed and the next shock could erupt anywhere.
Rwanda has suspended its development cooperation with Belgium, calling out the European country for leading an aggressive campaign, together with DR Congo, to sabotage its access to “development finance, including in multilateral institutions.”
Announcing the development on Tuesday, February 18, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, said Belgium had decided to choose a political side in the eastern DR Congo conflict at a time when the international community is being called upon to support the mediation process mandated by the African Union and the Joint EAC-SADC Summit.
“Belgium has made a political decision to choose a side in this conflict, which is its right, but politicizing development is plainly wrong. No country in the region should have its development finance jeopardized as a tool of leverage,” a statement published by the foreign affairs ministry read.
“Punitive, one-sided measures can only be construed as unwarranted external interference that undermines the African-led mediation process and thereby risks delaying the peaceful resolution of the conflict. Indeed, such measures have repeatedly failed to provide a solution in the past, only adding to the problems and deferring them to the future.”
Such efforts by Belgium, demonstrate that there is no longer a sound basis for development cooperation with Belgium, Rwanda said, noting that it is accordingly suspending the remainder of the 2024-2029 bilateral aid program with the European country.
It is understood that the total value of the programme was €95 million, of which €80 million remained.
“Rwanda will not be bullied or blackmailed into compromising national security. Our only aim is a secure border, and an irreversible end to the politics of violent ethnic extremism in our region,” the statement read.
“Rwanda needs peace and a durable solution, and no one should continue to tolerate the cycles of conflict which continually recur because of the failure of the DRC Government and the international community, decade after decade, to fulfil their commitments to dismantle the UN-sanctioned genocidal FDLR militia, and protect minority rights,” it went on.
Last week, President Paul Kagame’s Press Secretary, Stéphanie Nyombayire called out Belgium’s “hypocrisy” in accusing Rwanda of mineral exploitation in DR Congo, despite the European country’s colonial exploitation of DR Congo and building its wealth from the conflict-ridden country.
Belgium’s accusation, Nyombayire said, should be “a reminder that fake outrage does not erase the facts of history” given that the European country has a fair share of blame in creating the conflicts in DR Congo.
“A country now leading the charge against Rwanda, with accusations of exploiting the very resources on which Belgium’s entire wealth is built. The irony is unmatched.”
“If anyone is to carry part of the blame, it is the nation that was an integral part of creating and fueling ethnic divisions, that continues to harbor and give legitimacy to Genocide perpetrators while Antwerp Diamond District continues to thrive off of DR Congo diamonds,” she added.
Britain has warned Rwanda that its involvement in an escalating conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo could jeopardise the over $1 billion of aid it receives every year.
Rwanda-backed M23 rebels captured Goma, a city of 2 million people in the DRC, on Monday, ignoring widespread calls for them to halt their offensive and enact a ceasefire. They extended their advance on Wednesday.
Rwandan forces backed up M23 in Goma, according to Congo, the United States and other Western powers. Rwanda has denied its involvement.
Members of the M23 rebel group gather at their position amid fighting between them and the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC), in Goma, Easter Congo. Reuters
British foreign minister David Lammy told parliament on Tuesday Rwanda received over 1 billion dollars in global aid every year, including around 32 million pounds ($39.80 million) of bilateral UK assistance but “all of that is under threat when you attack your neighbours”.
“We in this House are clear that we cannot have countries challenging the territorial integrity of other countries,” Lammy said. “Just as we will not tolerate it in the continent of Europe, we cannot tolerate it wherever in the world it happens.”
“We have to be clear about that,” Lammy added.
This week’s events represent the gravest escalation of the decades-old conflict in eastern Congo since 2012. The hostilities are rooted in the spillover of Rwanda’s 1994 genocide into Congo and the struggle for control of Congo’s lucrative minerals.
The M23, a Rwanda-backed armed group, has seized most of Goma, a key city of a million people in the mineral-rich eastern DR Congo. Analysts say their motives combine security and economic interests with the deadly momentum of war.
Why did Rwanda and M23 take Goma?
Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame says its priority in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo is to destroy the Democratic Liberation Front of Rwanda (FDLR in French), formed from remnants of the forces that committed the 1994 genocide.
Many say Rwanda is more interested in the region’s rich resources of tantalum and tin used in batteries and electronics worldwide as well as gold.
“There is a desire to control the resources of eastern Congo,” said Thierry Vircoulon, of the French Institute of International Relations, dismissing talk of the FDLR as a “pretext”.
But Bram Verelst, of Africa’s Institute for Security Studies, said it was vital to understand that Rwanda’s security concerns stemmed from its horrific recent history.
“The Rwandan state today is largely built on the experience of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsis. It’s extremely sensitive to what it perceives as genocide ideology or any form of opposition,” he said.
“The way it perceives the FDLR as an existential threat goes beyond the actual military capabilities of the group.”
He also said there was an inescapable momentum to the conflict.
“A lot of what is happening now is the result of this mutual pursuit of a military approach that leads to more and more escalation.”
Can M23 hold Goma?
The M23 took Goma once before in 2012 but international pressure on Rwanda and internal divisions within the group led to its defeat.
“This time we’re less likely to see a split because it is much more deeply involved with the Rwandan Defence Forces,” said an analyst for Janes, a defence intelligence company, who asked not be named.
Romania mercenaries going through security check with Rwandan police after they surrendered to M23 fighters.
The M23 is determined to show it can govern effectively.
“They spend a lot of time in their propaganda critiquing the poor governance and corruption of the Congolese government,” said the analyst.
Vircoulon was sceptical about its prospects.
“The M23 does not have a lot of fighters. It will be very difficult to hold a city of one million,” he said.
Rwanda ultimately wants to force the Congolese into talks with the M23, which they have so far refused.
“As long as Kinshasa maintains this position, Kagame will not budge either. And so we risk a stalemate that lasts,” said Vircoulon.
Will the M23 go further?
Rwanda’s ambassador for the Great Lakes region, Vincent Karega, told AFP on Wednesday that the M23 could seize territory far beyond Goma, even going all the way to Kinshasa.
“It’s possible because all the (DRC) forces and military capabilities were concentrated in Goma. The rest of the country is not as protected,” he said.
Analysts said that was highly unlikely given the vast size of the country and the conflict’s dynamics.
But Verelst said it will keep pushing north to Lubero, south to Bukavu and west to Walikelo.
“It is certainly a possibility that we could see further expansion on multiple fronts, but it’s also a bit uncertain now, because the M23 needs to consolidate its gains,” he said.
The recent offensive has demonstrated the challenges faced by the Congolese army.
“The Congolese military has had significant issues with corruption, misappropriation of funding for equipment. Lack of pay has been a huge problem for morale,” said the Janes analyst.
He said the DRC army had invested $280 million since 2022, expanding training, taking on Israeli private military contractors and European partners to create Rapid Reaction Brigades.
“But although they look the part, we’ve seen they haven’t stood up to the M23 and Rwandan Defence Forces.”
Last month, DRC President Felix Tshisekedi dismissed his army chief of staff, Christian Tshiwewe, following failures on the eastern battlefield and reports of mass corruption in the recruitment of new troops.
Democratic Republic of Congo’s M23 rebels are moving south towards Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu province, in what appears to be an attempt to expand their area of control in the country’s east after capturing the city of Goma.
The latest advances are part of a major escalation of a decades-old conflict over power, identity and resources that has killed hundreds of thousands of people and displaced more than 1 million since its recent resurgence.
What is happening in Goma?
After entering Goma on Monday night, the rebels faced pockets of resistance, particularly around strategic areas including the airport. They took control of the airport by Tuesday evening, and hundreds of government troops and allied militia laid down their weapons.
By Wednesday morning, the rebels were in control of the devastated city, where some corpses could still be seen in the streets. Corneille Nangaa, leader of the Congo River Alliance (AFC), which includes Democratic Republic of Congo’s M23 rebels, told Reuters on Tuesday that they plan to govern Goma.
M23 forces were later advancing south from the town of Minova, along the western side of Lake Kivu, towards Bukavu, five diplomatic and security sources said.
Who are M23?
M23, which refers to the March 23, 2009, accord that ended a previous Tutsi-led revolt in eastern Congo, is the latest group of ethnic Tutsi-led insurgents to take up arms against Congolese forces. It launched the current rebellion in 2022.
The group has accused the government of Congo of not living up to the peace deal and fully integrating Congolese Tutsis into the army and administration.
It also vows to defend Tutsi interests, particularly against ethnic Hutu militias such as the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), founded by Hutus who fled Rwanda after participating in the 1994 genocide of close to 1 million Tutsis and moderate Hutus.
Since the start of 2025, the rebels have seized new territory and reached Goma, the capital of North Kivu province, prompting hundreds of thousands more people to flee their homes.
For more than a year, M23 has controlled Congo’s coltan-mining region of Rubaya, generating an estimated $800,000 per month through a production tax, according to the U.N. Coltan is used in the production of smartphones and other equipment.
The group’s spread into new territories in recent weeks gives it scope to acquire more mining revenue, analysts say.
Why is Rwanda involved?
The government of Congo, U.N. officials and Western powers including the United States have accused Congo’s neighbour Rwanda of fuelling the conflict by deploying thousands of its own troops and heavy weapons on Congolese soil in support of M23.
The accusations are based on a 2022 report by a U.N. Group of Experts that said it had “solid evidence” that Rwandan troops had been fighting alongside the M23 rebels.
Rwanda, which denies backing the rebels, says it has taken what it calls defensive measures and accuses Congo of fighting alongside the FDLR, which has attacked Tutsis in both countries.
Rwanda has a long history of military intervention inside Congo. It and Uganda invaded in 1996 and 1998, claiming they were defending themselves against local militia groups and going after the perpetrators of the 1994 Rwandan genocide.
What are UN peacekeepers and other forces doing?
U.N. peacekeepers had been supporting the Congolese army’s efforts to curb the M23 as part of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s (MONUSCO) years-old mandate to counter the many rebel groups active in eastern Congo.
An agreed withdrawal of the mission from Congo has been paused because of the deteriorating security situation. As of December, there were nearly 11,000 peacekeepers on the ground, mostly in the east.
Since the fall of Goma, the mission has evacuated some of its staff and families. Its base has received a large number of people seeking refuge, including government and army officials and various elements including the pro-government Wazalendo militia fighters who have surrendered their arms.
Private military contractors who were hired by the Congolese government to help in the fight against M23 and to train troops have also surrendered.
Rwanda’s defence force said 280 of them had surrendered to M23. Reuters reporters saw dozens of Romanian mercenaries who had been hired by Congo crossing into Rwanda — the start of their journey home, one said
The 16-member Southern African Development Community (SADC), which extended its military mission in Congo late last year to help the Congolese army fight the rebels, remains in place.
Both forces have suffered losses since the start of 2025.
In a stern rebuke that could escalate into a regional crisis, Rwandan President Paul Kagame has sharply warned South African President Cyril Ramaphosa that any preference for confrontation over diplomacy in the ongoing turmoil in Eastern Congo will be met with decisive action.
The rare statement, made via a public post on X (formerly Twitter), underscores a dramatic escalation in the already tense relations between Kigali and Pretoria.
Following confidential conversations held virtually by the two Heads of State on two occasions, Ramaphosa and other South African officials made statements which Kagame said contained a lot of distortion, deliberate attacks, and even lies.
The duo held talks following the fall of Goma, the capital of North Kivu Province of DR Congo, to the M23 rebel group, a Congolese outfit.
“If words can change so much from a conversation to a public statement, it says a lot about how these very important issues are being managed,” Kagame said.
At the core of the dispute is the role of various military forces in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Kagame firmly rejected Ramaphosa’s characterization of the Rwanda Defence Force (RDF) as a militia, stating, “The Rwanda Defence Force is an army, not a militia.” This was in response to Ramaphosa’s claim that the fighting in eastern DRC “is the result of an escalation by the rebel group M23 and the Rwanda Defence Force (RDF) militia engaging the Armed Forces of the DRC (FARDC) and attacking peacekeepers from the SADC Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (SAMIDRC).”
Kagame clarified that SAMIDRC is not a peacekeeping force but rather a belligerent force with no legitimate role in the situation. He argued that SAMIDRC was authorized by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to engage in offensive combat operations, aiding the Congolese government in fighting its own people. He further accused SAMIDRC of collaborating with genocidal armed groups like the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), which Rwanda views as a direct threat to its security. Kagame warned that these actions not only destabilize the region but also threaten to bring the war to Rwanda itself.
“Rwanda will never fail to protect its sovereignty and people,” Kagame emphasized, underscoring the nation’s commitment to security and peace.
Kagame also criticized the South African-led SADC mission in the DRC, labeling it not as a peacekeeping force but as a “belligerent force.” He accused SAMIDRC of aligning with the DRC government and collaborating with the FDLR, a group Rwanda considers a direct threat to its national security. According to Kagame, SAMIDRC’s intervention has not only failed to bring peace but has exacerbated the conflict by undermining the previous efforts of the East African Community Regional Force (EACRF).
“SAMIDRC displaced a true peacekeeping force, the East African Community Regional Force, and this contributed to the failure of the negotiation processes,” Kagame said.
Rwandan army match during a national public ceremony.
In a revealing twist, Kagame disclosed details of private conversations with Ramaphosa, asserting that the South African president had privately acknowledged that the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC)—not the M23 rebels—were responsible for the deaths of South African troops. This contradicts Ramaphosa’s public claims that the M23 was to blame.
During intense fighting earlier this week, South Africa lost 13 soldiers who were fighting alongside Congolese government forces (FARDC), European mercenaries, and a coalition of other groups, including the FDLR—a militia formed by perpetrators of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda.
“If South Africa wants to contribute to peaceful solutions, that is well and good. But South Africa is in no position to take on the role of a peacemaker or mediator. And if South Africa prefers confrontation, Rwanda will deal with the matter in that context any day,” Kagame stated.
This public spat signals a significant diplomatic standoff, with Kagame’s comments being interpreted by some as an informal declaration of war. The tone of his message raises concerns that the situation could escalate beyond harsh words, potentially pushing both nations toward military engagement if diplomatic efforts continue to falter.
The backdrop of this confrontation includes historical tensions, notably the 2014 assassination of Patrick Karegeya, a former Rwandan intelligence chief, on South African soil. This incident has long strained relations between the two countries.
In recent weeks, the M23 rebel group has captured the towns of Minova in South Kivu and Masisi in North Kivu, advancing toward the city of Goma. The rebels are demanding direct peace talks with the Congolese government, which has ruled out any possibility of negotiations, labeling the M23 a terrorist movement.
Regional initiatives to end the conflict politically have failed, with the Congolese government showing little political will and instead pursuing a military solution.
EAC calls for ceasefire
The East African Heads of State under the chairmanship of President William Ruto have called for a cessation of hostilities and protection of diplomatic missions in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
The call followed a virtual meeting convened by President Ruto, over the conflict on Wednesday.
President William Ruto chairs a virtual Extra-Ordinary Summit of the EAC Heads of State on DRC/PCS
The leaders urged the conflicting parties to facilitate access to humanitarian support for the affected people.
“The summit also expressed concern about the expanding crisis manifesting in attacks on diplomatic missions, embassies and staff based in Kinshasa. Accordingly, the summit urged the government of DRC to protect diplomatic missions, lives and property,” a communique from the summit reads in part.
“All parties to the conflict in Eastern DRC to cease hostilities and observe immediate and unconditional ceasefire and facilitate humanitarian access to the affected population.”
The Democratic Republic of Congo’s President Félix Tshisekedi did not attend the summit.
The EAC heads of state further noted that President Ruto will engage the chairperson of the South African Development Community (SADC) for a joint summit to discuss the way forward.
This is a result of their forces being involved in efforts to stabilise the DRC.
The leaders further urged President Felix Tshisekedi to engage the M23 and all other armed groups, as well as all other critical stakeholders to arrive at a peaceful resolution to the conflict.
In recent weeks, the M23 captured the towns of Minova, in South Kivu, and Masisi, in North Kivu, ahead of taking the city of Goma on Sunday night.
The rebels demand direct peace talks with the Congolese government, which has ruled out any possibility of talks with the rebels, accusing them of being a terrorist movement.
Regional initiatives have failed to end the war politically, with the Congolese government declining political will and pursuing a military solution.
As the international community watches closely, the possibility of a broader conflict looms large, threatening the stability of the Central African region. The urgency to mediate and de-escalate this burgeoning crisis is palpable, with both leaders needing to navigate this diplomatic minefield carefully to avoid an all-out confrontation.
The implications of this exchange could reshape regional alliances, peacekeeping strategies, and the geopolitical landscape of Central Africa, highlighting the critical need for swift and effective diplomatic intervention.
Protesters in Kinshasa, the capital of Democratic Republic of Congo, have been burning portraits of Rwanda’s president and tearing up Rwandan flags as M23 rebels have taken control of most the eastern city of Goma.
Their fury is focused on Rwandan President Paul Kagame, who they accuse of backing the rebels – an accusation long made by the UN.
To put it bluntly, a group of UN experts maintains the Rwandan army is in “de facto control of M23 operations”, detailing how M23 recruits are trained under Rwandan supervision and supported by high-tech Rwandan weaponry.
Goma, which lies at the foot of a volcano near Lake Kivu, sits on the border with Rwanda. It is the capital of mineral-rich North Kivu province – and is an important trading and humanitarian hub and the base for the UN’s largest peacekeeping mission.
The city had also become a refuge for those fleeing the conflict between M23 fighters and the army that erupted again in late 2021 – with the population swelling to around two million.
They all face further turmoil as fighting erupted there on Sunday night with loud explosions echoing through the streets, which are now strewn with bodies. The exact circumstances of what is going on is unclear as phone lines are down and electricity and water supplies have been cut off. But the M23 seem to have captured most, if not all, of the city.
“There was no question that there are Rwandan troops in Goma supporting the M23,” said UN peacekeeping chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix, though he added that it was it was difficult to tell the exact numbers on the ground in Goma.
Tellingly some Congolese army soldiers in Goma who surrendered on Monday, did so by crossing over the border into Rwanda.
Since the conflict begun, President Kagame has repeatedly denied any involvement in supporting the M23 rebels, who are well equipped, well armed and well trained.
However, this response has noticeably shifted as accusations continue to grow with “overwhelming evidence” showing Rwanda’s support for the rebel group, according to Richard Moncrief, International Crisis Group’s project director for the Great Lakes
“The tone has changed to justification for defensive measures,” he told the BBC. “It has become harder to deny Rwanda’s support for M23.”
On Sunday, Rwanda’s foreign ministry said in a statement: “This fighting close to the Rwandan border continues to present a serious threat to Rwanda’s security and territorial integrity, and necessitates Rwanda’s sustained defensive posture.”
It said it was concerned by “misguided or manipulative” statements that lacked context about the conflict.
For Kagame, the context all comes down to the Rwandan genocide that took place over 100 days in 1994.
The ethnic Hutu militia involved in killing up to 800,000 people – the vast majority from the Tutsi community – fled to what is now DR Congo, some forming the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR).
This rebel group is still active in the notoriously unstable eastern DR Congo – and still includes some of those responsible for the genocide.
Kagame, who headed the rebel Tutsi force that ended the killing more than three decades ago, sees this “genocidal militia” as an existential threat.
This month alone 400,000 people have fled their homes because of the fighting
His government has twice invaded DR Congo, saying it wants to stop Hutu rebel groups from staging cross-border attacks.
Earlier this month he called out his Congolese counterpart, Félix Tshisekedi, for failing to deal with the FDLR and talk to the M23, saying this was exacerbating the conflict.
Mr Moncrief believes that the targeting of Goma is more about making a political point as he says the M23 does not need the city strategically as it already “controls many more lucrative areas”.
“It is President Kagame’s way of exerting power over who is in charge of North Kivu,” said the Great Lakes expert.
Rwanda accused the military governor of North Kivu, who was killed in fighting last week, of collaborating with the FDLR.
The discovery of this kind of high-level collaboration, experts agree, would have been like a red flag to a bull for Rwanda.
Rwandan soldiers escorted surrendering Congolese troops over the border into Rwanda on Monday. Reuters
The M23’s origins are tied to these tensions – it is the latest incarnation of a rebel group that says it is fighting for the interests of the minority Tutsi community in eastern DR Congo.
Its first uprising more than a decade ago ended with a peace deal – when its fighters disarmed and mainly moved into camps in Uganda.
But three years ago, they began leaving the camps saying the deal was not honoured and within a couple months was seizing territory.
The UN peacekeeping mission – first deployed in 1999 – is not mandated to go on the offensive. Two regional forces – an East African one followed by a southern African one – specially deployed over the last few years at the request of Tshisekedi have failed to contain the M23.
This gives an indication of the M23’s sophisticated operations.
According to the UN group of experts, this includes five months of training at the M23’s main base in Tchanzu, hilly terrain not far from Rwanda’s border, that incorporates courses on theory and ideology and then practical elements including “war tactics”, “engagement rules” and “bush tactics”.
It said Rwandan officers were often at the camp, where recruits, including children, were brought – some joining up on a voluntary basis, others forced to do so in a systematic operation where local chiefs had to provide conscripts.
The experts said Sultani Makenga, who once fought for Kagame in the early 1990s in Rwanda and is now the M23’s military chief, attended some of the passing-out ceremonies between 25 September and 31 October 2024 that involved 3,000 recruits.
Rwanda’s spokesperson Yolande Makolo did not address the question of whether Rwandan officers were in the M23 camp but she did deny the charges about child soldiers, telling the BBC last year: “The claim about recruiting minors in camps is absurd, it’s blatant information warfare against Rwanda.”
However UN expert reports detail how the M23’s strength has grown since May when numbers were put at around 3,000.
The experts estimate that between 3,000 and 4,000 Rwandan army troops are on the ground in DR Congo – saying it based this on authenticated photographs, drone footage, video recordings, testimonies and intelligence.
Captured M23 fighters said that the Rwandans were known as the “Friendly Force”, with the experts’ December report saying the English term was “generically used” even when interviewees were speaking in other languages.
UN experts included photos of a short-range air defence system in their most recent report, saying three were spotted in M23 territory (Kibumba, Kitchanga and Karuba) in November being operated by soldiers using weaponry and backpacks similar to standard Rwandan army issue
They said these Rwandan special forces were there to train and support the rebels, and they did not interact with M23 regulars.
Rwanda’s ally Uganda, unhappy about another rebel group in DR Congo that threatens its security, has also been accused of helping the M23 – with its officers also spotted at Tchanzu. The UN experts say Uganda has also supplied weapons, hosted rebel leaders and allowed cross-border movements of M23 fighters – accusations Kampala denies.
Kagame recently expressed his frustration that after Tshisekedi came to power in 2019, his suggestion that Rwanda work alongside the Congolese army to tackle the FDLR had been rebuffed – unlike a joint offensive by DR Congo and Uganda against the Islamist Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebels.
This may explain the re-emergence of the M23 in 2021 – with evidence showing Rwanda’s backing of the group continues to grow.
Clémentine de Montjoye, senior researcher in the Africa division at Human Rights Watch, told the BBC that geolocated images placed Rwandan troops in Sake, a town just outside Goma last week.
The UN experts say the M23’s decision to capture the mining town of Rubaya, which fell to its forces in May, was “motivated by a strategic need to monopolise” the lucrative trade in coltan, which is used to make batteries for electric vehicles and mobile phones.
Its December report says the group now collects at least $800,000 (£643,000) a month from the taxation of coltan in Rubaya – and ensures that around 120 tonnes of the coveted mineral is sent directly to Rwanda every four weeks.
It includes satellite images to show how a road was widened by September on the Congolese side of the Kibumba border crossing to allow access for heavy trucks that were previously unable to use the route into Rwanda.
The M23 and the Rwandan army are accused of jamming GPS signals, making it impossible to operate drones and other aircraft
Ms De Montjoye explained how the advanced weapons being used by the M23 were not available to any other of the numerous armed groups operating in eastern DR Congo.
“Earlier last year, we documented how Rwandan forces, and M23 had fired 122mm rockets, hitting displacement camps,” she told the BBC.
“It’s certainly with the kind of military support that the M23 has received that they’ve been able to make such an advance [on Goma].”
The UN experts have documented many such examples, including the use of Israeli-made anti-tank guided missiles.
Mr Moncrief said the M23 was also using technology to interfere with Global Positioning System (GPS) that had stopped the Congolese army from flying drones it had acquired from China.
The UN experts said the “spoofing and jamming” near areas controlled by M23 and the Rwandan army had also disrupted other aircraft.
President Kagame has dismissed these UN reports, pouring scorn on their “expertise” and saying they ignore many outrages committed in DR Congo to focus on “imaginary problems” created by the M23.
The East African Community – currently headed by Kenya’s president – is now trying to mediate, though Tshisekedi has said he will not attend a hastily organised emergency summit.
Observers say Rwanda’s president will be telling any mediator that the FDLR is the only subject up for discussion as he is adamant their presence makes DR Congo an unsafe neighbour – something he reiterated at a press conference earlier this month.
“Honestly, for the last 30 years if anyone wanted to understand what the problems are [in DR Congo] and what solutions should be, you don’t even need to be an expert,” Kagame said.
Rwandan President Paul Kagame dismissed reports claiming that his country supports the M23 rebel group, which recently seized key towns in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
Kagame told reporters in the capital Kigali on Thursday that Rwanda has nothing to do with the rebel group and it does not make sense to blame Rwanda for the conflict in the DR Congo.
“These leaders of M23 and the majority of their fighters came from Uganda, where they had been refugees,” he said, adding that M23 rebels are not Rwandans but speak the Rwandan language, Kinyarwanda.
Kinshasa accuses Kigali of supporting the M23 rebels, a claim that Kagame has frequently denied.
A recent report by the United Nations Group of Experts claimed that Rwandan forces were helping the rebels in DR Congo.
Kagame said M23 fighters are Congolese, and even the past and present leaders admit it.
‘‘Why do we have over 100,000 refugees here in Rwanda originating for eastern Congo?” he said.
He said the Rwandan government disarmed M23 fighters who crossed into Rwanda in 2012-13 and gave back their arms to the authorities in DR Congo.
Kagame urged Congolese authorities to address the root causes of the conflict and negotiate with the rebel group to find a solution to end it.
Angolan President Joao Lourenco had been mediating between Tshisekedi and Kagame, but talks hit a deadlock last month.
A prominent opponent of the Rwandan president, Paul Kagame, has been barred from standing in next month’s election to challenge his three-decade rule.
Diane Rwigara, the leader of the People Salvation Movement, who was also barred in 2017, launched her election bid in May and submitted her candidacy last week. Her name was missing from the provisional list of candidates announced by the electoral commission on Thursday.
“After all the time, work and effort I put in, I am very disappointed to hear I am not on the list of presidential candidates,” Rwigara said on X. “Paul Kagame, why won’t you let me run?”
The election commission said she had failed to provide a criminal record statement as required, and that she had not met the threshold of 600 supporting signatures from citizens.
Only two other candidates – Frank Habineza, of the Democratic Green party, and Philippe Mpayimana, an independent – were cleared to run against Kagame.
A final candidate list is due on 14 June, a month before the presidential and parliamentary votes on 15 July.
Rwigara was barred from the 2017 race over accusations she had forged supporters’ signatures for her application. She was arrested and charged with forgery and inciting insurrection, and held behind bars for more than a year.
Rwigara is the daughter of Assinapol Rwigara, an industrialist and former significant donor to Kagame’s ruling Rwandan Patriotic Front party before he fell out with its leaders.
Kagame, Rwanda’s de facto ruler since the 1994 genocide and president since 2000, has won three elections with more than 90% of the vote and is widely expected to be victorious again in July.
He has been praised for putting the country on the path of economic transformation after the genocide but he faces frequent criticism over rights abuses and intolerance of the opposition.
In the run-up to this year’s vote, Rwandan courts had already rejected appeals from the prominent opposition figures Bernard Ntaganda and Victoire Ingabire to remove previous convictions that in effect barred them from standing.
Rwanda will hold presidential and parliamentary elections in July next year, when President Paul Kagame will seek to extend his roughly three decades in control of the East African country.
A presidential order in the official gazette said voting for president and 53 deputies in the lower house of parliament would happen across the country on July 15, and the remaining 27 deputies would be elected on July 16.
Kagame has been president since 2000 but effectively in control since his rebel force marched into Kigali in 1994 to end a genocide.
In September he told the Jeune Afrique magazine he would seek re-election, adding he was happy with Rwandans’ confidence in him.
He is eligible to continue in office for another decade, after a constitutional amendment in 2015 changed term limits.
A proposal by Kagame to allow the presidential and parliamentary elections to be held together was approved by the cabinet in March.
Kagame has won international acclaim for presiding over peace and economic growth since the end of the 1994 genocide, in which an estimated 800,000 ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus were killed.
But he has faced mounting criticism for what human rights groups say are the suppression of political opposition and the muzzling of independent media.
Kagame rejects those accusations.
The United States in 2015 criticised the constitutional change, saying Kagame should step down when his term ended and allow a new generation of leaders to come through.
In the interview with Jeune Afrique, Kagame said he was not bothered by criticism from Western countries.
Rwandan police on Thursday announced the arrest of six people including the owner of a popular YouTube channel and three opposition party members for “spreading rumours” intended to undermine the government.
The arrests came two weeks after a court sentenced a prominent YouTube commentator and genocide survivor to 15 years in prison for “inciting violence” following her criticism of President Paul Kagame.
In the latest round-up Wednesday, police took six people into custody including Nsengimana Theoneste, the owner of Umubavu TV — a YouTube channel with over 16 million views, which has previously urged Rwandans to denounce human rights abuses allegedly instigated by the government against citizens.
“They are an organised group with the intention to spread rumours intended to cause uprising or unrest among the population using different social media platforms,” Thierry Murangira, spokesman for the Rwanda Investigation Bureau (RIB), told AFP Thursday.
In a statement Wednesday, RIB urged Rwandans to be wary of social media commentators seeking to “undermine national security” and the government.
“Anyone arrested will be prosecuted in accordance with the law,” it added.
– ‘Intimidation’ –
Three of those arrested belong to the unregistered Dalfa Umurunzi (Development and Liberty for All) opposition party, said leader and founder Victoire Ingabire.
“I take this as intimidation,” she told AFP.
“I don’t know what the rumours they are arrested for are about.”
Ingabire returned from exile in 2010 to run against Kagame, but was arrested and jailed for eight years on terrorism charges, a term later extended to 15 years. She was released by presidential pardon in 2018.
Several people have fallen foul of Rwandan authorities after turning to YouTube to publish content critical of the Kagame government, raising concern among international rights groups.
Last month Yvonne Idamage, a 42-year-old mother of four, was convicted of six charges, sentenced to 15 years behind bars and fined the equivalent of $2,000 after she accused Kagame and his government of dictatorship.
Rwanda, ruled by Kagame since the end of the 1994 genocide which left some 800,000 mainly ethnic Tutsi dead, has often come under fire for rights abuses and a crackdown on freedom of speech, critics and the opposition.
In March, Human Rights Watch voiced alarm over Kigali’s crackdown on people using YouTube or blogs to speak out about sometimes controversial issues in Rwanda.
HRW said then that at least eight people reporting or commenting on current affairs — notably the impact of strict anti-Covid measures which have hit the poor hard — have been threatened, arrested or prosecuted in the past year.
While Kenyans are seriously hoping that our government gets back to it’s sense and help common mwanachi and make Kenyans proud again, Paul Kagame, even though an open dictator and killer of his opponents, he has launched the first of its kind African smartphone manufacturing plant in Kigali.
Pan-African conglomerate Mara Group, has opened its first factory in Rwanda as the company hopes to pioneer a brand of African-made smartphones with their official first product, Mara Phone.
This phone was made in my country! Congratulations @MaraPhones and thank you for choosing Rwanda as your first home on the continent. Made in Rwanda is growing in breadth and depth, thanks to a conducive business environment and deliberate policy to add value to our products. pic.twitter.com/8EGSuDN0X7
Located in Kigali’s special economic zone, the factory employees over 200 people to manufacture high-tech smartphones for the local market and further afield. Right now, Paul Kagame has issued an order that the company employs 90% Rwandese and the rest of Africans can share the remaining percentage of the employment opportunities.
With two models on sale for Sh15, 900 and Sh22, 900, the Mara Android phones are hoping to compete with Asian manufacturers like Tecno and Samsung who currently dominate Africa’s markets and not forgetting Apples iPhone that is also huge for prominent Africans.
“We realised a few years ago that to create positive social impact on our continent and in emerging markets we need to have high quality and affordable smartphones. That’s when we came up with Mara Phones.” CEO Ashish Thakkar, said during it’s launch
Smartphone penetration in Africa currently stands at around 66% which beats the global set bar of 60%. Africa is indeed the next face of smartphone world and market.
At a considerably higher price, critics are skeptical the Mara Phone will make a dent in the local market.
Yet thanks to partnerships with local banks and telecommunications firms, the Mara Group have created a finance model which allows users to pay for their phones over a period of two years. Yes, this is a genius move to say the least that every Kenyan would wish to have.
Rwandan President Paul Kagame commended the drive towards affordable smartphones and underlined the need to boost the adoption of high-tech products in his country.
“The smartphone is no longer a luxury item, it is rapidly becoming a requirement of everyday life,” he said.
“That trend is bound to increase in the years to come as more and more services migrate to digital platforms. We want to enable many more Rwandans to use smartphones. The cost and quality is very important and the introduction of Mara Phones will put smartphone ownership within reach of more Rwandans.” Kagame added.
President #Kagame on the launch of @MaraPhones: The smartphone is no longer a luxury item. It is rapidly becoming a requirement of everyday life. That trend is bound to increase in the years to come, as more and more services migrate to digital platforms.https://t.co/ClzcTwYJlbpic.twitter.com/rLfcdiGlvT
The Mara Group has a long history in Rwanda as they enjoy a 20% stake in the pan-African banking group Atlas Mara, which was co-founded in 2013 by Thakkar and the former CEO of Barclays Bob Diamond.
In 2015, the group acquired a majority share in the Banque Populaire du Rwanda. Atlas Mara is now scaling back its pan-African ambitions through a share swap with the rapidly expanding Kenyan lender, Equity Bank.
Equity, the Nairobi-based bank acquired 100% of Atlas Mara’s operations in Zambia, Mozambique and Tanzania along with 62% of the Banque Populaire du Rwanda.
Thakkar described his new factory as “historic” due to its position as the first smartphone manufacturing plant on the continent.
“In Africa, we don’t manufacture anything. We assemble in a few countries, but we don’t manufacture anything. We are the consumers but not the producers. When we first told people about Mara Phone they told us we were crazy and that it wasn’t possible. Our true belief in Africa, particularly Rwanda, is a dream come true. This is a historic moment which will help shift the narrative for Rwanda, Africa and the rest of the world.” said Thakkar.
The Mara Group are set to launch their next Mara Phone factory in South Africa on the 17thof October.
Where is Kenya? Where is our damn government? JKUAT tried launching laptops that flopped before even hitting the market. Kids laptops deals has also flopped on our nose. I mean my fellow Kenyans, is this what you people call a digital government?!
After a series of well-informed and researched articles from the Chief editor of Kenya Insights highlighting back to back in-depth details of how and what 3 Kenyans are going through in Rwanda, the Rwandese Department of Justice has finally done the much-anticipated worry of jailing the Kenyan entrepreneur and investor Charle Kinuthia two years in the prison over an alleged training scam in Rwanda.
However, things would take an unexpected turn quickly, as it has. He and two of his employees, all Kenyans are still currently being held in inhumane conditions in Mageragere Prison, 30 km outside of Kigali, Rwanda. It has been verified that when Coach Ck first arrived at the prison, he was stripped of his clothes, beaten and forced to crawl in trenches full of sewer water and still continues to be mistreated while in custody.
In yet another article by Kenya Insights, It is probably why the Rwandan “controlled media” took to our local media to publish disparaging articles and supposedly hired bloggersto discredit Coach CK with unsubstantiated gossip and baseless “con artist” accusation. All which now appears to have been a smokescreen to conceal or distract, from the real story of what is really taking place. A move that their courts have used to crucify the innocent Kenyan who was judged without a legal team to defend himself or whatever transpired in the foreign land.
“A court in Kigali Rwanda has given two years of prison to a Kenyan citizen, Charles Kinuthia, for conning thousands of youth in a fake training in Kigali,” posted BBC journalist, Roncliffe Odit, on Twitter.
A court in #Kigali#Rwanda has given two years of prison to a Kenyan citizen, Charles Kinuthia, for conning thousands of youth in fake a training in Kigali. The training was to take place on 25th June in Kigali Convention Centre, where thousands had paid at least $5 to register.
According to Rwandese government, Kinuthia was found culpable after thousands of Rwandans lost at least Ksh500 each that they had paid to attend the wealth conference which was purportedly set for June 25. Crowds thronged the advertised venue for the ‘conference’ only to be met with the loudest rejection message that it was a well-orchestrated con game. The botched event, dubbed Money Wealth and Business Conference, was to be held at the Radisson Blu Hotel in the same country.
The advert of the conference
Kinuthia was, billed to be the main speaker, was reported to have arrived at the event shell-shocked like the rest. Attendants who bought tickets for the event claimed that they were promised over Ksh20,000 each after the contest.
“I sold my harvest and borrowed some from my neighbours, promising them I will come back rich. What am I going to tell them?” Mimi Uwahiyamana questioned.” One of the witnesses told the Court.
According to BBC, the venue was full of hopeful participants but the organizers never showed up. It took the intervention of Rwanda’s Youth Minister, Rose Mary Mbabazi, to calm the angry youths.
But Kenya Insights had written about what exactly happened that day and what transpired to what looks like a State orchestrated sabotage that has landed innocent Kenyans in not only brutally mind torturing Rwandese police cells but also as from now, face and serve a two year jail term for a mistake they didn’t rather actually never happened as the Rwandese authorities say.
Dr. Kinuthia is a high-flying businessman handling tax, accounting and wealth generation matters. He goes by the stage name Coach CK. CK also owns several companies across the world and has been featured in local newspapers and on TV as an entrepreneur.
Just as we had said in our recent articles, We now appeal to the Kenyan Governmentto investigate this matter seriously as the government exists to protect the welfare of its citizens like the three Kenyans currently being held without due process and now jailed for two years. Kenya needs to intervene with her counterparts in Kigali and ensure a plan of action warrant that other Kenyan’s believed to be in similar conditions in Rwanda are heard. Why are Kenyans being jailed yet we have Kenyan foreign offices to handle such matters? Where is this system we call Kenyan government?
