Col. (Rtd) Augustin Nshimiyimana, a former member of the FDLR, has urged fighters still operating in the forests of the Democratic Republic of Congo to abandon the armed group and return home, saying more than two decades spent in the bush cost him valuable years of his life.
Nshimiyimana says he joined the FDLR in 1997 as a young man and spent more than 20 years in the forests of DR Congo before returning to Rwanda in 2021.
Looking back on his experience, he says the years he spent in the armed group did not bring the future he had hoped for and instead deprived him of opportunities to build his life.
“What I was fighting for is what delayed us. I left as a young man and returned as an old man. I regret the time I lost,” he said.
Since returning to Rwanda, Nshimiyimana says his life has changed significantly. He has a home, his children are in school and he has found what he considers the most important thing: security.
“Now I am back home. I have somewhere to live, I have a house, my children are going to school and I have everything a Rwandan should have, including security,” he said.
He says the contrast between his life in the forests and his current life in Rwanda is significant, recalling the insecurity and constant fear that characterised his years with the armed group.
“Over there in the forests, you could sleep and, at least once every three days, you had to hear gunshots. But here there is security. I can leave Kigali at 8 p.m. and travel to my home in Rubavu without any problem along the way,” he said.
Nshimiyimana says returning home also forced him to reflect on the time he had lost and the beliefs that kept him in the forests for so long.
He now regrets that the years could have been spent studying, working, raising a family and preparing for his children’s future.
“I ask those who are still there to forgive me and listen to me while they are still wasting their time,” he said.
Approaching the age of 50, Nshimiyimana says he often thinks about what he could have achieved had he returned home earlier.
“At my age, what do I have left? By now, I should have been starting to enjoy what I worked for over the past 40 years. Instead, I am only now thinking about how to educate my children,” he said.
He says his focus is now on building a stable future for his family and investing his time in activities that can benefit his children in the long term.
Nshimiyimana also urged FDLR fighters still in the forests to reconsider their decision to remain there and not allow promises of support or ideological claims to keep them from returning home.
“I wasted my time, but at least they should come and be helped wherever they are. They should not continue wasting their time,” he said.
He argued that continued time in the forests only deprives fighters of opportunities to rebuild their lives and prepare for the future.
For Nshimiyimana, the message is rooted in personal experience. He entered the forests as a young man and returned more than two decades later, saying he came to realise that the years he had spent in the armed struggle could never be recovered.
He now wants those who remain in the forests to make a different choice before they lose more years of their lives.
