Rwandan President Paul Kagame addressing the diplomatic corps at a luncheon at the Kigali Convention Centre on January 16, 2025.
Rwandan President Paul Kagame on Thursday queried the relevance of the UN peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo, saying it had failed to find a solution the security problem in the country’s eastern region.
Addressing the diplomatic corps at a luncheon at the Kigali Convention Centre, a traditional event where he speaks on Rwanda’s policies on international stage, Kagame dwelt on Rwanda’s relations with the DRC, which have deteriorated over the past year on accusations and counter-accusations of backing rebels targeting each other’s regimes.
In the DRC, a UN peacekeeping mission has been there since 1999, even though it has routinely changed mandate and the name over the years.
Monusco, a French acronym for a UN stabilisation force in the Congo, has failed to deliver, despite costing its sponsors millions of dollars, the Rwandan leader charged.
“We have had peacekeepers from the UN in that country for close to three decades. The continued presence for three decades when they went there to address problems, means that there are still problems to address or actually the first problems were never addressed,” he told the audience.
“What are the returns on that investment, of such a big force under such a big body like the UN and so much money spent on that. What is the return on that investment other than continuing to have problems getting worse?
“That also shows, or maybe proves why Rwanda has to carry the burden of this problem. It is a way of escaping responsibility. That is the shortest and easiest answer when people raise the question.”
United Nations peacekeeping troops patrol the streets in armoured personnel carriers in Democratic Republic of Congo's capital Kinshasa.
For the first time, the Rwandan leader spoke directly about the leadership capabilities and legitimacy of his Congolese counterpart, Felix Tshisekedi, whom he claimed had never been elected.
“The person causing problems has never twice been elected…and you know it. This man Tshisekedi was never elected at first, at all. And you know it only that you don’t talk about it publicly. I am talking about it publicly. The second time, nothing happened…and you know it. So what values are you talking about?”
Kinshasa did not immediately respond to the attack, but government spokesperson Patrick Muyaya had last week accused Kigali of being “an empire of lies.”
The Congolese leader was declared winner of elections in 2019, even though opponents and the Catholic Church vehemently opposed the results. He was quickly endorsed by peers on the continent, including Kagame, who initially sought to repair relations with Kinshasa, including by signing some trade agreements and convincing DRC to join the East African Community.
At the elections in December 2023, Tshisekedi was again declared winner, with opponents claiming the result had been rigged. Kinshasa at the time barred observers from the East African Community, but the African Union endorsed the results.
Kagame had initially signalled readiness for talks brokered by Angolan leader Joao Lourenco in the so-called Luanda Process. But on Thursday, he left no doubt that he had no desire to hold dialogue that does not address the root causes of the conflict.
He spoke of his experience engaging with Kinshasa: “I know leaders when I see them... It is even a bigger disaster if the same leaders decide that they can be manipulated for some interests,” he said.
Kagame has often spoken of the problem in eastern Congo, which Kinshasa has accused him of fuelling by backing the M23 rebels. It is a claim that the UN panel of experts have corroborated, an accusation also trumpeted by the US and France.
But the Rwandan leader used the occasion to cast doubt on the expertise of the panel, arguing that they often overlook facts.
“If you want to really address a problem, there is no better way of doing that than bothering to look at addressing the root cause of the problem. It doesn’t matter how powerful you are. You just stick to the basics. Group of experts, what do they do? What are they experts in actually? You don’t need to be an expert in anything, you just need to toe the line of those using you…including the very people who originate this problem, as of the history that goes way back to colonial times.”
The tension between Rwanda and DRC has been rising and seemed to reach a crescendo mid last month, when Kagame was a no-show in Luanda for scheduled talks under the auspices of the AU-backed Luanda Process.
This came amid resumed clashes between M23 and the Congolese army, FARDC, and allied forces, including militia.
The M23 and the Congolese government have occasionally seemed to draw closer to a peace deal, but relapse. Over the past two years, sporadic fighting has been punctuated with peace talks and ceasefires.
Last week, more than 100,000 people were displaced from their homes in North Kivu, UN agencies reported.
From Kagame’s stance, there seems to be no end in sight for the Kigali-Kinshasa problem. The friction might bury the Luanda Process.
