By Dr.Theogene Rudasingwa
Photos: YouTube Screenshots
The following open letter was sent to African leaders, by Dr.Theogene Rudasingwa, regarding the situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The leaders addressed in the letter are: H.E Cyril Ramaphosa, President of South Africa; H.E Lazarus Chakwera, President of Malawi; H.E Salva Kiir Mayardit, President of South Sudan; H.E Yoweri Museveni, President of Uganda; H.E Evariste Ndayishimiye, President of Burundi; H.E. Samia Suluhu Hassan, President of Tanzania; H.E Felix Tshisekedi, President of the Democratic Republic of Congo; H.E William Ruto, President of Kenya; and H.E. João Lourenço, President of Angola.
Your Excellencies,
Rwanda has a busy calendar of days, weeks, and months ahead. Rwandans will commemorate the 30th anniversary of the genocide. Rwandans will also be coerced to celebrate the coming to power of the Rwandese Patriotic Front in 1994, forced to accept General Kagame’s life presidency in a sham electoral process that will extend his rule to 2034, and bide by his will to celebrate RPF’s successful military invasion from Uganda on October 1, 1990. All the while, millions of Rwanda continue to suffer the costs of endless wars, genocide, human rights abuse, dictatorship, domestic and transnational repression, and pervasive trauma.
The remembrance, celebrations, and fake electioneering will take place against the background of yet another invasion by Rwanda into the Democratic Republic of Congo.
In retrospect, Rwanda has ceaselessly been at war for almost three and a half decades. General Kagame has dominated the Rwandan state and society since 1994. The consequences that stem from his three-decadelong uninterrupted reign of terror in Rwanda and war-making in the Democratic Republic of Congo have been catastrophic.
The facts speak for themselves.
Since 1996, Rwanda has twice invaded the Democratic Republic of Congo in two full-blown wars. In subsequent wars, Rwanda’s military has continued its war-making efforts, hiding behind proxies, the latest of which is M23. In all its military adventures for plundering DRC’s natural resources (and a secret ambition to annex eastern DRC in pursuit of a Greater Rwanda), Rwanda’s false narrative has been consistently the claim that it seeks to protect the rights of Congolese Tutsi and neutralize genocidal Hutu armed groups, notably FDLR.
Publicly, General Kagame has stated that he will raise the costs for all those domestic, regional, and international foes who do not bend to his will. His impunity has no boundaries.
On April 6, 1994, he ordered the shooting down of the plane carrying then-President Juvenal Habyarimana of Rwanda and President Cyprian Ntaryamira of Burundi. Both of them and their entourage were killed in the crash, triggering the genocide in which Tutsi and Hutu perished.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, more than six million people have died, and six million have been displaced due to Rwanda’s war-making that has left one president deposed (Mobutu Sese Sseko) and another assassinated (Laurent Kabila). A United Nations Mapping Report in 2010 stated that Rwanda’s military had committed war crimes, crimes and acts of genocide against Hutu in DRC. Rwanda’s military has resisted, undermined, and/or fought Angolan, Zimbabwean, and Zambian troops, United Nations peacekeepers (MONUSCO), and the intervention brigade (South Africa and Tanzania). As we write, Rwanda is embattled with the Congolese military and forces from Tanzania, South Africa, and Malawi (SAMIDRC). Rwanda undermined and resisted the short-lived East African Community Regional Force (EACRF) deployment.
Rwanda’s military fought Ugandan troops in DRC in 1999, 2000, and 2002. Rwanda closed its borders with Uganda from 2019 to 2022.
Rwanda assassinated President Cyprian Ntaryamira (1994), attempted regime change to remove the late President Pierre Nkurunziza through a military coup (2015), and has since then provided a safe haven for armed groups seeking to overthrow the Government of Burundi. The Burundi-Rwanda border was closed from 2015 to 2022, reopened briefly, and again closed early in 2024.
Therefore, when General Kagame brags about raising costs for his fellow citizens, the region, and internationally, he has a notorious record to prove his point. Whenever he fails to have his way, he raises the stakes, often to the extremes. In a crisis, he will disrupt, double down, escalate, and resort to his favorite tools of conspiracy and assassination of key decision-makers. If he perceives weakness and lack of sustained commitment from those who resist his unjust actions, whether state, non-state, or international- this proves there is no need to count the costs and change course. A robust response to his policies and actions may force him to lie low and deploy his cloak-and-dagger tactics of engaging in peace talks- Arusha in the 1990s, Nairobi, and Luanda currently- while bidding his time to strike again.
In extending his rule to 2034 and beyond, he signals to the citizens of Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, all members of the East African Community, SADC, Africa, and the international community at large that he will pursue this strategy of raising costs for a long time to come. He is counting on enemies of Africa, both local and foreign, to continue aiding in his reign of terror in Rwanda and regional destabilization.
With this knowledge, we urge Your Excellencies to be more keenly aware of General Kagame’s divisive and deceitful tactics. Appeasement and short-term containment will not suffice. You may sign agreements with him just as you have, but place a minimum of trust and seek to verify. Resisting General Kagame’s latest destructive war in DRC requires the total mobilization of African peoples in East Africa and across Africa to support the Congolese people and their government to restore full sovereignty to their country once and for all.
It requires the East African Community, SADC, the African Union, and the international community to act collaboratively in mobilizing full diplomatic, political, and financial support to stop and reverse the humanitarian catastrophe raging in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
General Kagame’s reign of terror in Rwanda is like a cancer at the heart of Africa. Allowing it to flourish till 2034 and beyond condemns Rwandans and East Africans to further unbearable costs. The cancer, like a virus with powers to mutate into even more destructive mutants, will spread more profoundly and broader in East Africa, leaving more death and destruction in its path. In the entire post-colonial history of Africa, General Kagame unequivocally stands out as the man who has inflicted the most cost on Africans and is poised to continue this shameful legacy unless stopped.
In this regard, we urge Your Excellencies to innovatively link your thinking and actions in DRC by focusing the spotlight on Rwanda. Durable peace and security in DRC, particularly in East Africa, are closely linked to supporting the Rwandan people in their quest for a just, peaceful, and democratic struggle to end General Kagame’s thirty years of dictatorial reign of terror.
As the English saying goes, forewarned is forearmed.
Please accept, Your Excellencies, my highest regard and consideration.
Dr.Theogene Rudasingwa[i]
Chairman,
ISHAKWE-Rwanda Freedom Movement.
Washington, D.C,
USA
E-mail: [email protected]
Tel: 001-240-840-7358
[i] I was Rwanda Patriotic Front’s Secretary General (1993-1995), Ambassador of Rwanda to the United States (1996-1999) and President Paul Kagame’s Chief of Staff (2000-2004).
