Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame has disclosed unknown details about a heated regional leaders’ meeting held to discuss the M23 rebellion in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

“One time we had a meeting and we were having an argument with leaders,” said Kagame on Tuesday during the National Dialogue Day, also known as Umushykirano, in Kigali, Rwanda.

“Of course, there were contradictions with these people’s (leaders’) arguments. I asked specifically the one responsible for Congo (Felix Tshisekedi). I said we (Rwanda) are not going to address anything unless you come out clearly to tell us facts about this situation,” recalled Kagame.

“I asked him (Tshisekedi), are these people in M23 Congolese or not? And he said to me, ‘Absolutely, these are Congolese.’”

Kagame did not provide specifics about the date and location of the meeting.

Tshisekedi responded that he had openly talked about the fact that M23 rebels were Congolese during his tours in the United States and the UK.

“So, he (Tshisekedi) was confirming these were Congolese,” Kagame told Rwandans and friends of Rwanda gathered in Kigali for Umushyikirano. 

During the regional leaders’ meeting, Kagame then asked Tshisekedi: “How do they (M23) become Rwanda’s problem? I also asked him, ‘Do you know when these people – the  group that started this fighting – do you know where they came from?’”

The M23 rebels had in 2012 found refuge in Uganda and Rwanda. The DRC government had agreed to find a political solution to the rebels’ grievances. 

In Uganda, the rebels led by Brig Sultani Makenga were cantoned at Bihanga Barracks in western Uganda.

Kagame said, “In fact before he (Tshisekedi) answered, the president (Museveni) of a country (Uganda) where they (M23 rebels) came from, said, ‘this man (Tshisekedi) refused to solve their problems, they decided to cross the border and go back to where they belong (to Congo).’”

Kagame then asked Tshisekedi: “How then do you keep associating us with this problem (M23 problem)? Why did you bomb our territory? Because they were shelling Kiningi (Musanze) with heavy artillery? What are you doing? What do you want?” 

Tshisekedi then said, “They (M23) should go back ?”

Kagame responded: “Go back where?”

The interesting details give a rare insight into the behind-the-scenes talks of regional leaders as they grappled with the M23 rebellion that has left hundreds dead and thousands displaced in the region. 

M23 cross to Rwanda 

Kagame further recalled that in 2012/13, about 500-600 M23 rebels crossed into Rwanda with their arms. 

“We put them in a camp in the Ngoma area as refugees. We disarmed them and handed the arms back to the government in Kinshasa. This, they know. They can’t even deny it,” said Kagame. 

The Rwandan leader said the Congolese leaders then said they wanted to solve the problem (M23 rebellion) politically. “They (Congolese) invited some of the M23 leaders – they went to Kinshasa. They were put in a hotel where they spent 5 months without seeing anybody to talk to them until they left. They left heavy bills behind. Nothing else,” Kagame added.

“Then you would see them (Congolese and Human Rights Organisations) in statements blaming Rwanda for the M23 conflict in eastern Congo. I can’t tell you the reasons why that would be happening,” he emphasized. 

DRC has yet to respond to Kagame’s remarks. 

However, Kinshasa has previously accused Kagame of helping M23 rebels to destabilize the mineral-rich region for exploitation. 

Regional experts claim Kagame helps M23 to help him protect minority Tutsi communities in eastern Congo from attacks by the FDLR, a militia group whose ideology and past leadership are blamed for the 1994 genocide. 

Kagame also raised his concerns over FDLR during the Umushyikirano. 

“Now, I would ask people also – you may associate us with M23 – what do you say about FDLR that has been in DRC for the last 30 years? I thought UN forces in Congo were put there to address this (FDLR) and other problems. This was the main one. It has been costly. They have been there for decades and the problem is still there,” said Kagame.

The UN Mission in DRC known by its French acronym, MONUSCO, has been in DRC for 21 years. MONUSCO’s annual budget is $1bn. 

Tshisekedi last year ordered MONUSCO to pack its bags and leave DRC. 

FDLR Presence 

Nevertheless, Kagame said during the regional leaders’ meeting, Tshisekedi denied the presence of FDLR in Eastern Congo.

“And we gave them names and locations. I once told Tshisekedi – ‘you don’t know these people are here and have been manning roadblocks and collecting taxes?’” said Kagame, who previously worked as an intelligence officer. 

“He (Tshisekedi) remembered it had (FDLR’s activities) been happening,” said Kagame, adding, “You have FDLR who have taken over territories and collect taxes and you are telling me they are not there?”

Kagame recalled that DRC would later mobilize forces to try to push M23 into Rwanda.

“It remains the aim,” he added.

Kagame also decried the hate speech against Tutsis in DRC.

“If you see the combination of hate speech and displacement of these people, you come to understand what was actually behind it (failure to resolve M23’s concerns). Maybe somebody thought they were being smart and thought that was the way to end the M23 problem which was there in 2012,” he observed.

“There is even ethnic cleansing –  pushing these Tutsis to Rwanda to belong there because that is where they belong… Kagame is a Tutsi and is a president of Rwanda, let them go and join their president.. This is what is behind it,” the Rwandan leader said. 

In DRC, the M23 rebellion is raging. Regional leaders’ efforts to resolve the crisis have failed to bear fruit. 

Tshisekedi maintains he will not talk to what he describes as ‘terrorists backed by Rwanda’. 

The DRC leader kicked out the East African Regional Force which had been deployed in the eastern part of the country, replacing it with a force from the Southern African Development Cooperation (SADC). 

Tshisekedi dismissed the regional force as impotent and unable to confront M23 rebels.

Since the resurgence of the M23 armed group in DRC in 2021, thousands have perished and more than 500,000 people have fled the violence.