Ekenge’s return became public on September 25 when he signed an FARDC statement announcing the deaths of two senior military justice officials in a plane crash in Kenge, Kwango Province. The statement identified him as the army’s spokesperson.
In a post on X, Nduhungirehe described the reinstatement as “troubling and indecent,” arguing that it was evidence that hate speech against Congolese Tutsis and “genocidal ideology” in the DRC were not limited to isolated individuals within the military or government.
He said the development instead suggested that such rhetoric was being embraced as state policy.
Nduhungirehe also questioned the manner in which Ekenge’s return was announced, saying it was made public almost quietly through a statement signed by Ekenge concerning the Kenge plane crash.
The minister recalled remarks Ekenge made on state broadcaster RTNC on December 27, 2025, in which the military spokesman warned Congolese men to be careful when marrying Tutsi women. Ekenge had claimed that Tutsi women could bring male relatives into their marital homes to father their children, which he linked to the preservation of the Tutsi “race.”
The remarks prompted criticism and led to Ekenge’s suspension from his position as FARDC spokesperson on December 29, 2025. FARDC leadership subsequently distanced itself from the comments, saying they did not represent the position of the military or government.
During his absence, Lieutenant Colonel Mak Hazukay Mongba served as acting FARDC spokesperson.
Ekenge’s signature on the September 25 statement is the first publicly documented indication of his return to the role. Congolese media reports have noted that no separate official act lifting his suspension had been made public at the time of his return.
In his post, Nduhungirehe also referred to Ekenge’s 2025 remarks as echoing the “Ten Commandments of the Hutu,” published in 1990 by Hassan Ngeze, who was later convicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.
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