In an interview broadcast on January 17, 2026, on the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s state television channel RTNC, President Ndayishimiye alleged that RED Tabara is being used by Rwanda as a proxy force to prepare attacks against Burundi.
He claimed the group’s fighters were behind the failed 2015 coup against former president Pierre Nkurunziza and that Rwanda trained them before deploying them to support AFC/M23 operations in eastern DRC.
Responding on January 29, 2026, RED Tabara spokesperson Patrick Nahimana rejected the accusations, insisting that the group has no ties with Rwanda. He pointed out that Rwanda would not have handed over RED Tabara fighters if any cooperation existed between them.
“Anyone closely following regional developments knows that on July 30, 2021, Rwanda handed over 19 RED Tabara fighters who had crossed into its territory and were arrested in Nyungwe Forest,” Nahimana said.
He also dismissed claims linking RED Tabara to the 2015 coup attempt, noting that those responsible were known members of the Burundian armed forces.
According to Nahimana, RED Tabara had been in existence since early 2011 and was not involved in the events that unfolded four years later.
“The individuals who attempted the 2015 coup are well identified and were serving Burundian soldiers at the time. Associating RED Tabara with that plot is misleading,” he said.
RED Tabara further denied any form of cooperation with AFC/M23, either before or during the ongoing conflict in eastern DRC. The group described President Ndayishimiye’s remarks as an effort to distort facts and divert attention from its political objectives.
The group reiterated that its struggle is directed against what it describes as the CNDD-FDD’s undermining of the Arusha Peace Agreement, and that it seeks the establishment of a democratic system of governance in Burundi.
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