Is Tshisekedi doing enough to act against genocide in DR Congo ?

Civil society in South Kivu Province, criticizes President Felix Tshisekedi’s assertion that DR Congo is an independent country that safeguards its Tutsi and Banyamulenge people.

Over 85% of Banyamulenge villages have been destroyed, 500,000 cows have been slaughtered, and hundreds have been imprisoned, harassed, and tortured in the country.

Some Civil Society says that the genocide against Tutsi which happened in Rwanda in 1994, was stopped but it continued into the DRC.

They denounce that the Genocide being perpetrated by the Democratic Republic of Congo(DRC) against the Tutsi of North Kivu, Banyamulenge of South Kivu and Bahema of Ituri.

Government-backed militias, who are composed of a myriad assortment of bloodthirsty groups, including Mai Mai Nyatura, FDLR, and others who get their weapons from the Congolese military FARDC.

They not only kill and rape, they also burn Tutsi houses and loot their property, sending whole communities fleeing to refuge in bushes, or walking backbreaking distances to cross borders into neighboring countries.

Yet these terrible crimes against humanity are treated with barely disguised indifference by the world community.

Tshisekedi Games..

On February 22, Antoine Felix Tshisekedi declared that the Banyamulenges and Tutsis of the Congo are fully Congolese, marking the first president to do so.

Tshisekedi stated that Banyamulenge died fighting for Congo, but Rwanda is attempting to divide them.

He highlighted that among the 450 ethnic groups in RD Congo, the Banyamulenge and Tutsis are not the only ones facing challenges that should be kept quiet.

Following Tshisekedi’s speech, armed groups and politicians in South Kivu, driven by genocide ideology, planned to destroy the Banyamulenge and Tutsi communities in DR Congo.

Armed groups like Wazalendo, Mai Mai Biloze Bishambuke, Yakutumba, Ebuela, René, and Burundi’s Red Tabara have intensified their efforts to hunt down innocent people.

Security forces in Bukavu, South Kivu, attacked Banyamulenge families and apprehended over seven individuals.

A Banyamulenge police officer was arrested, and a pastor from Kamanyola was stripped of his clothes in front of the public.

Mugwema Jacques, leader of the Civil Society in Bibokoboko, Fizi Zone, asserts that President Tshisekedi’s rhetoric against divisions differs from his actual implementation.

He said, “Now if you look at the words of President Tshisekedi, the way he says it, he condemns discrimination and murder, but the words and actions are different because the killings and hunting continue.”

Mugema said that the government promotes individuals like Justin Bitakwira and others who promote hatred and murder.

“Since 2017, the acts of injustice have not stopped until today; people are killed, soldiers are burned, and other barbaric acts.” He said.

In February, Mahoro Peace Association, a US-based Banyamulenge organization, called for the justice of all atrocious killing perpetrators.

MPA urged local and national authorities to be punished for spreading hate speeches against Banyamulenge and Tutsis in the DRC.

The organization urged the Congolese government and humanitarian organizations in the DRC to offer non-discriminatory assistance to all in need.

The MPA has requested the Tshisekedi regime to release all Banyamulenge and Tutsis who are arbitraryly arrested and tortured in various DRC prisons.

Congolese refugees living in Rwanda have protested against the ongoing discrimination of Kinyarwanda speaking communities in their home country.

The peaceful protests which kicked off this March 4 will run through March 11, 2024 and will take place across various refugee camps in Rwanda.

The refugees denounced the current alleged genocide against Tutsi in DRC and called on both the Kinshasha government and international community to act immediately.