Makolo made the remarks on October 29, 2026, in a post on X, responding to DRC Foreign Affairs Minister Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner, who had challenged a proposal by former United States Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Tibor Nagy to impose sanctions on all parties contributing to the conflict.
“This vile ‘attack in a dark alley’ comment trivializes the FDLR’s murderous actions, as well as the Rwandan and Congolese lives endangered by the genocidal FDLR,” Makolo said.
She was referring to Kayikwamba’s comparison of Rwanda’s security concerns with the suffering of Congolese civilians, including thousands of deaths and millions of people displaced by decades of conflict.
Kayikwamba had made the remarks after Nagy questioned why sanctions should target only one side, arguing that the Congolese government should also face consequences over its alleged support for armed groups threatening Rwanda’s security.
Makolo accused the DRC government of treating its financial and other forms of support to the FDLR lightly instead of fulfilling its commitments under the Washington Accords.
She maintained that the Congolese government should focus on its responsibility to eliminate the armed group rather than defending it and shifting blame onto Rwanda.
“DRC officials touring the world to sanitize the FDLR and blame Rwanda will not deliver peace,” she added.
The FDLR, whose origins are linked to perpetrators of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, remains a major point of contention between Kigali and Kinshasa, with Rwanda repeatedly citing the group’s presence in eastern DRC as a security threat.
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