While the international community demands the immediate withdrawal of Rwandan troops from the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Kinshasa appears trapped in Paul Kagame's delaying tactics. Behind a façade of diplomacy, a long-term strategy is unfolding: maintaining an illegal military presence and indirectly controlling a region rich in strategic resources.
A Military Occupation Disguised as a Peace
Process
The clear resolutions of the UN Security
Council and the urgent calls from the United States demanding the withdrawal of
the Rwandan Defence Forces (RDF) are systematically ignored. Kigali prefers to
engage in a series of negotiations and regional meetings without concrete
results: joint summits of the EAC and SADC, discussions in Qatar, and now, the
appointment of Faure Gnassingbé as mediator.
But these diplomatic initiatives have only one
objective: to create the illusion of ongoing dialogue, while perpetuating the
military occupation on the ground.
Qatar, Football Diplomacy and Strategic
Camouflage
Qatar's entry into African diplomatic affairs
is not neutral. Directly solicited by Kagame, Doha is intervening to legitimize
a phantom peace process and to mask the
role of Rwanda in the aggression against RDC. The message is clear: as long as
there are discussions, Western partners must remain patient. This staging has
allowed Kagame to save another strategic symbol: the "Visit Rwanda"
advertising contract with the Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) football club. This is
an international image operation aimed at diverting attention from the war that
Rwanda is silently waging in eastern DRC.
A Mediation Under Influence
The appointment of Faure Gnassingbé as
mediator raises serious concerns. Close to Kagame, the Togolese president is
said to have benefited from his advice, just like former Gabonese President Ali
Bongo, to get their countries to join the Commonwealth. This network of allies,
patiently built by Kigali, strengthens its regional influence and weighs
heavily on the diplomatic balance of power, to the detriment of Congolese
sovereignty.
The FDLR, a Pretext That No Longer Convinces
During the last Security Council meeting, Ms.
Kayikwamba Wagner unintentionally reiterated the Rwandan
narrative: the FDLR (Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda) are
allegedly present in the DRC and should return to Rwanda. However, despite
their extensive military control, the RDF have never located these groups.
Where are they then? The question remains unanswered.
Without evidence, Rwanda claims that FDLR have
been integrated into the FARDC. Ms.
Kayikwamba's declarations only reinforced this unfounded suspicion.
A Destabilising and Counterproductive Strategy
Before Ms. Kayikwamba Wagner, former Minister
Christophe Lutundula had already demonstrated that the FDLR no longer posed a
serious threat to Rwanda. Nevertheless, the DRC’s decision to reference the
FDLR in the final negotiation outcome—intended as a diplomatic concession to
encourage Rwanda to acknowledge the presence of RDF troops on Congolese
soil—ultimately backfired. Kigali flatly rejected the compromise.
In reality, President Kagame was never
interested in reciprocal transparency. What he sought was for the negotiations
to reaffirm the FDLR as the primary threat to Rwanda’s security, without any
admission of Rwanda’s own military presence in the DRC.
In essence, the DRC was duped into
legitimising Rwanda’s narrative. Kigali now uses the supposed “FDLR threat” as
a standing justification for maintaining its forces in eastern Congo. This has
resulted in a significant diplomatic defeat for Kinshasa—one that has
effectively trapped the DRC in a framework it did not anticipate and no longer
controls.
Conclusion: The DRC Must Break Away from the
Rwandan Trap – and Focus on Strategic Alliances
It is urgent that the DRC breaks with the
logic of biased mediations and fruitless negotiations. The country must show
firmness, sovereignty, and strategic intelligence. The Congolese people expect
their leaders to resolutely defend their territorial integrity, without being
distracted by diplomatic smokescreens.
Sustainable peace in the DRC will come neither
through complacent mediators nor through pointless forums, but through the
total and unconditional withdrawal of foreign forces, starting with the RDF.
In this perspective, the strategic mining
partnership between the DRC and the United States could play a key role. This
contract, if negotiated fairly and used wisely, can become a powerful lever to
strengthen the country's economic independence, reduce geopolitical
vulnerabilities, and finance a better-equipped and structured national army. By
increasing transparency, traceability, and local added value in the mining
sector, the DRC can not only free itself from regional blackmail but also lay
the foundations for full sovereignty over its territories.
Produced by
African Rights Alliance
