Verás, known for her work with Angola’s national broadcaster, TPA (Televisão Pública de Angola), where she was praised for giving a voice to African perspectives, saw her reporting shift in early 2025 when President Tshisekedi began seeking U.S. support to stop the war in his country.
In recent months, Verás has repeatedly framed the DRC conflict in ways that echo accusations from the Tshisekedi government. Claims such as “Rwanda is supporting AFC/M23,” “Rwanda attacked the DRC,” and “Rwanda’s aggression” began appearing in her coverage, with calls for the Trump administration to impose sanctions on Rwanda.
Since April 2025, Verás has largely ignored crises affecting other African nations, including Sudan, South Sudan, Somalia, and the Sahel region, despite claiming to cover continental issues. Her posts on platforms like X and YouTube have focused almost exclusively on DRC.
Neo Africa reported on February 6 2026, that “Verás has turned the DRC issue into her personal and professional battle.” The journalist has not denied these claims, instead continuing to amplify them.
Her approach has drawn sharp criticism from fellow journalists and officials. Ugandan journalist Andrew Mwenda said:
“Please don’t insult journalism by calling this woman one. She is a political hack paid to tarnish the name of Rwanda. What she doesn’t know, if she cares at all, is that her lies cannot hide the truths about DRC’s violations of the accords.”
Rwanda’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Ambassador Olivier Nduhungirehe, also condemned her actions:
“She pretends to speak for ‘the African people’ in Washington. Yet, she travelled to Kinshasa twice in a year, where she met President Tshisekedi; she accepted a gift from him before cameras, and broadcasted her interview with President Ndayishimiye only on DRC public television (RTNC),” Nduhungirehe said on Saturday, responding to a video showing the journalist holding a microphone of the Congolese state media RTNC, where officials have been making ethnically charged statements and anti-Tutsi rhetoric.
He added, “Lately, she was going around at the Capitol with extremely biased questions, displaying her unprofessionalism and obsession against Rwanda. And today, we are now discovering that she was holding a RTNC microphone at the White House; yet, she had never revealed that she was on Kinshasa payroll. Someone should have to explain this fraud.”
Verás’ reporting intensified even after Rwanda and the DRC signed peace and economic cooperation agreements on December 4, 2025, facilitated by the United States. Observers noted that her questions at the White House appeared to be prompted by the DRC government, as she seemed to allege and push President Donald Trump to comment on the alleged presence of Rwandan troops in the DRC.
Following her recent trips and interviews with DRC President Félix Tshisekedi and Burundi’s Evariste Ndayishimiye, analysts warn that Verás appears unaware of key facts, such as the identity and local presence of AFC/M23 fighters.
Verás’ coverage has been criticised for amplifying the DRC government’s claims without independently verifying them on the ground or posing balanced questions to leaders accused of lacking good faith in resolving the eastern DRC challenges.
Observers warn that Verás’ reporting exemplifies the risks when journalists become tools for political agendas rather than independent observers of conflict.
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