Nairobi — Rwandan President Paul Kagame has criticized South African President Cyril Ramaphosa over his claims that the M23 rebel group is a militia.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, Kagame dismissed the claims as distortions, accusing South Africa of fueling tensions in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Kagame revealed that he had two conversations with Ramaphosa this week regarding the situation in Eastern DRC, including one earlier in the day.
“I held two conversations this week with President Ramaphosa on the situation in Eastern DRC, including earlier today. What has been said about these conversations in the media by South African officials and President Ramaphosa himself contains a lot of distortion, deliberate attacks, and even lies,” Kagame said.
“If words can change so much from a conversation to a public statement, it says a lot about how these very important issues are being managed.”
He emphasized that the Rwanda Defense Force is an army, not a militia, dismissing the characterization as misleading.
The Head of state also took issue with the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Mission in the DRC (SAMIDRC), asserting that it is not a peacekeeping force.
He argued that it was authorized by SADC as a belligerent force engaged in offensive combat operations to support the DRC government against its own people, working alongside groups like the FDLR, which he accused of having genocidal intentions against Rwanda.
“SAMIDRC is not a peacekeeping force, and it has no place in this situation. It was authorized by SADC as a belligerent force engaging in offensive combat operations to help the DRC Government fight against its own people, working alongside genocidal armed groups like FDLR which target Rwanda, while also threatening to take the war to Rwanda itself,” he stated.
He further claimed that the mission has even threatened to extend the conflict into Rwandan territory.
According to Kagame, SAMIDRC replaced the East African Community Regional Force (EACRF), which he described as the true peacekeeping force in the region.
He argued that its removal contributed to the failure of negotiations aimed at resolving the ongoing conflict.
He also rejected reports that Ramaphosa had issued a warning to Rwanda, clarifying that their discussions only included a request for assistance in ensuring South African troops in the DRC had access to electricity, food, and water.
“President Ramaphosa has never given a warning of any kind, unless it was delivered in his local language which I do not understand,” he claimed.
“He did ask for support to ensure the South African force has adequate electricity, food, and water, which we shall help communicate.”
Kagame noted that Ramaphosa confirmed to him that the M23 rebel group was not responsible for the deaths of South African soldiers in the DRC instead it was the FARDC and further dismissed South Africa’s ability to mediate the ongoing conflict.
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“President Ramaphosa confirmed to me that M23 did not kill the soldiers from South Africa, FARDC did,” he stated.
“If South Africa wants to contribute to peaceful solutions, that is well and good, but South Africa is in no position to take on the role of a peacemaker or mediator. And if South Africa prefers confrontation, Rwanda will deal with the matter in that context any day.”
This comes amid escalating tensions in the region, with continued clashes between the Congolese army and the M23 rebel group.
Rwanda has been accused of backing M23, a claim it denies, while the deployment of South African troops under SADC’s mandate has intensified diplomatic friction.
