Nkurunziza, from Mukura Sector in Rutsiro District, said he was forcibly recruited at the age of 14 after growing up in the DRC forests where his parents were FDLR members.
He said children raised within the group were taught that they had to join the armed group to help it eventually return to Rwanda and seize power.
“They told us that Rwanda was the promised land of the Hutu,” Nkurunziza said.
He also said FDLR members were warned against listening to Rwandan radio, with those caught doing so facing death.
“They used to tell us that Rwanda was the promised land of the Hutu, and that if they caught you listening to Rwandan radio, they would kill you so that you would not know the truth,” he said.
Despite the warnings, Nkurunziza secretly listened to Rwandan radio, which made him question what he had been told and eventually encouraged him to escape.
He said his experience after returning to Rwanda was different from the stories he had heard while in the FDLR.
“When I arrived in Rwanda, I was received well, contrary to the lies we had been told during the 13 years I spent with the FDLR,” he said.
Another former member, Uwimana (not real name), 20, said she was taken into the group at the age of 12 alongside four other girls.
“They would keep us locked inside their houses so that we could not escape,” she said, adding that they were subjected to sexual violence and forced to carry weapons during combat operations.
Uwimana said she remained in the group until she was 20 and eventually escaped with one of her children.
“I became tired of that life and decided to escape. I escaped with one child, but I still have hope that I will find the others,” she said.
RDRC figures show that 12,832 former combatants have passed through the Mutobo Demobilisation and Reintegration Centre since its establishment in 2001.
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