{"id":2000104531,"date":"2026-03-07T00:03:59","date_gmt":"2026-03-06T22:03:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/?p=2000104531"},"modified":"2026-03-08T18:08:02","modified_gmt":"2026-03-08T16:08:02","slug":"condemnation-is-a-badge-of-honour-president-kagame-defends-rwandas-military-posture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/condemnation-is-a-badge-of-honour-president-kagame-defends-rwandas-military-posture\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Condemnation is a badge of honour\u2019: President Kagame defends Rwanda\u2019s defensive posture"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Speaking during a diplomatic dinner with ambassadors, high commissioners and representatives of international organisations in Kigali on Friday, Kagame said Rwanda faces what he described as an \u201cimpossible choice\u201d between tolerating threats near its borders or defending itself and facing condemnation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His remarks come days after the United States imposed sanctions on the Rwanda Defence Force (RDF) over the conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Head of State said Rwanda\u2019s defensive measures are driven solely by security concerns, particularly the continued presence of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), a militia group formed by perpetrators of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, in the eastern DRC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRwanda faces an impossible choice: to either tolerate the continued presence of the FDLR and its growing network of militias and allow them to grow closer to our border or to defend ourselves and be condemned for it,\u201d Kagame said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAny condemnation that comes, by the way, is a badge of honour for our security forces,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Security concerns<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The president told diplomats that Rwanda\u2019s security concerns stem from the continued presence and activities of the FDLR in eastern DR Congo, accusing the Congolese government of providing political cover and support to the group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Kagame, the militia continues to spread an ideology rooted in genocide and has formed alliances with other armed groups in the region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOne thing that has not changed is the right and duty of every nation to ensure the safety of its borders and people. Rwanda is no exception,\u201d Paul Kagame said, adding that the country\u2019s defensive measures are intended to address security threats and nothing else.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He argued that Rwanda has repeatedly raised these concerns in regional and international forums, but claims that the root causes of the conflict are often ignored in favour of short-term political interests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kagame also questioned the implementation of the Washington Accords, saying the agreement was intended to address security concerns for all parties involved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He noted that the accords involve three parties, Rwanda, DR Congo and the United States, but said expectations often appear to place the burden of compliance primarily on Rwanda.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA signed peace agreement should bind all parties equally,\u201d Kagame said, adding that selective pressure risks emboldening armed groups and prolonging instability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Call for lasting peace<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Despite the tensions, Kagame emphasised that Rwanda remains committed to peace in the region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said Rwanda would be ready to lift its defensive measures if DR Congo fulfils its obligations under the Washington Accords, including addressing the threat posed by the FDLR and other armed groups operating near Rwanda\u2019s borders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRwanda wants peace,\u201d Kagame said. \u201cBut we want a genuine and lasting peace on which we can build our future prospects.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The president also warned that Rwanda would never compromise on the security gains it has built over the past three decades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have made a promise to ourselves never to go back to the dark days,\u201d he told the diplomats. \u201cThat is not something we will waver from.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
President Kagame said Rwanda\u2019s defensive measures are driven solely by security concerns, particularly the continued presence of the FDLR genocidal force in the DRC.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

President Paul Kagame has strongly defended Rwanda\u2019s military posture and security measures, saying the country will not compromise its safety despite criticism from the international community.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":131,"featured_media":2000104533,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[48],"tags":[151,72],"byline":[192],"hashtag":[],"class_list":["post-2000104531","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics-48","tag-editors-choice","tag-featured-news-home","byline-wycliffe-nyamasege"],"bylines":[{"id":192,"name":"Wycliffe Nyamasege","slug":"wycliffe-nyamasege","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":131}],"contributors":[{"id":192,"name":"Wycliffe Nyamasege","slug":"wycliffe-nyamasege","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":131}],"featured_image":{"id":2000104533,"url":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/HCweEzkWAAM5Soc.jpeg","alt":"","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","width":1280,"height":1024,"sizes":{"thumbnail":{"url":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/HCweEzkWAAM5Soc.jpeg","width":150,"height":120},"medium":{"url":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/HCweEzkWAAM5Soc.jpeg","width":300,"height":240},"medium_large":{"url":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/HCweEzkWAAM5Soc.jpeg","width":768,"height":614},"large":{"url":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/HCweEzkWAAM5Soc.jpeg","width":1024,"height":819},"full":{"url":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/HCweEzkWAAM5Soc.jpeg","width":1280,"height":1024}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000104531","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/131"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2000104531"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000104531\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2000104535,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000104531\/revisions\/2000104535"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2000104533"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2000104531"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2000104531"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2000104531"},{"taxonomy":"byline","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/byline?post=2000104531"},{"taxonomy":"hashtag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hashtag?post=2000104531"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}