Explained: Festering Great Lakes Crisis between Rwanda & Congo
People leaving Goma in Congo ahead of M23 rebels storming Image credit MSF International
Berlin Conference in 1885 Sowed Seeds of Violent Conflicts in Africa
By Hopewell Chin’ono
The Congo and Rwanda conflict was seeded in 1885 during the Berlin Conference, where Africa was partitioned among European colonial powers and borders were drawn regardless of ethnic sensitivities.
Belgium, the colonial power in the DRC, and Germany, the colonial power in Rwanda, drew borders that divided the Rwandan Kingdom, incorporating parts of it into what is now the DRC.
As a result of this partitioning, the Banyarwanda (including the Banyamulenge) ended up living on both sides of the border—in Rwanda and the DRC. Just like the Tswanas in South Africa and Botswana.
Despite being Zairean (Congolese) citizens, the Banyarwanda in the DRC were often treated as foreigners by successive Congolese governments, and they faced significant discrimination.
The situation worsened after the Tutsi genocide in Rwanda in 1994 which was carried out by the Hutus, when perpetrators of the genocide fled into the DRC, particularly to areas where Congolese Banyarwanda lived.
These perpetrators formed a militia called the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR). The FDLR, which opposes the current Rwandan government, was later incorporated into the Congolese army, causing Rwanda to view their presence in Eastern Congo as a significant security threat.
Rwanda objected to the persecution of the Congolese Banyarwanda by the Congolese Government and the FDLR in the DRC. Rwanda said its involvement in the DRC is rooted in its efforts to neutralise the FDLR and protect its national security, as well as to address the marginalisation of the Banyarwanda in Eastern Congo.
However, this involvement has also sparked significant controversy and accusations of resource exploitation and destabilisation by the DRC. The M23 (March 23 Movement) originated from the National Congress for the Defence of the People (CNDP), a Tutsi-led rebel group in the DRC that operated in the mid-2000s.
The CNDP was mainly focused on protecting the rights of Congolese Tutsis (Banyarwanda) who faced discrimination and violence, particularly after the 1994 Rwandan Genocide.
Reports by Human Rights Watch in October 2022 revealed that the Congolese military supported the FDLR in their military operations against the M23 rebel group.
At the same time, the Congolese government has accused Rwanda of supporting the M23 militarily. Currently the conflict involves the M23 and the Congolese army, with the DRC accusing Rwanda of deploying its troops on Congolese soil.
As Tanzania’s founding father, Mwalimu Julius Nyerere, pointed out in a video, the Zairean government stripped the Banyarwanda in the Congo of their citizenship, rendering them stateless. However, they are Congolese due to the colonial borders.
What is clear is that this crisis is not an overnight problem, it has been there for decades, long before both Presidents Paul Kagame and Félix Tshisekedi were in power.
What is lacking is leadership from the region and the continent to help both countries resolve this crisis once and for all. It is like a volcano that has been erupting periodically, the crisis is crying out for a modern day Nyerere or Mbeki.
(This was posted by African journalist Hopewell Chin’ono on X)
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