Rwanda Government Spokesperson Yolande Makolo has accused Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) Government Spokesperson Patrick Muyaya of using the commemoration of Banyamulenge victims of the 2004 Gatumba massacre as a platform to target Rwanda.
The accusations followed an exchange between the two government officials over the identity of the Banyamulenge, the Gatumba massacre and the persistent insecurity in eastern DRC.
Muyaya, who is also DRC Minister of Communication and Media, said the Banyamulenge are Congolese and should not be described as “Rwandans in Congo.”
He also criticised remarks attributed to Tito Rutaremara, a member of Rwanda’s Advisory Council of Elders, saying they had overshadowed the commemoration of Banyamulenge victims killed in Gatumba in 2004.
Muyaya further alleged that calls for Banyamulenge youth to take up arms and defend themselves against their own country reflected Rwanda’s alleged involvement in insecurity affecting South Kivu and other parts of eastern DRC.
He also accused Rwanda of links with armed groups including M23, Twirwaneho and Red-Tabara, allegations Kigali has repeatedly rejected.
In response, Makolo said Muyaya was turning a day dedicated to remembering the Gatumba victims into what she described as another platform for anti-Rwanda propaganda.
“Muyaya continues to turn the commemoration of the victims of the Gatumba massacre into another platform for anti-Rwanda propaganda,” Makolo said.
She stressed that the Banyamulenge killed in Gatumba were Congolese and argued that their memory should not be used as a political tool by Kinshasa.
Makolo also accused the DRC government of supporting or working with armed groups, including the FDLR, and argued that continued focus on Rwanda diverts attention from what Kigali considers the underlying causes of insecurity in eastern DRC.
She described such attempts as the “instrumentalisation” of the Banyamulenge issue for political purposes.
The Gatumba massacre took place on August 13, 2004, at a refugee camp in Burundi, where more than 150 Congolese refugees, most of them Banyamulenge, were killed. The attack has remained a contentious issue in relations involving Rwanda, Burundi and the DRC.
The latest exchange comes amid continued tensions between Kigali and Kinshasa over insecurity in eastern DRC. The two governments continue to trade accusations over the role of armed groups in the conflict, while Rwanda denies allegations that it supports M23.
The dispute over the Banyamulenge community has also remained part of the wider political and security tensions affecting the Great Lakes region.
