The warning is issued at a time when a large number of Congolese including politicians, ordinary citizens and security officials continue to incite hatred and making sensitizations to take machetes and attack Rwanda.
Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday 31st May 2022; Rwanda’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Dr. Vincent Biruta said that there are speeches aired on radios, social media platforms inciting hatred against Rwandans, that Congolese have to invade Rwanda.
In consideration of such speeches, he asked Rwandans crossing to DRC to be cautious because such declarations might spark violence.
“It is not reasonable to learn about the declarations and travel to Congo because the government did not issue a warning. The situation has changed,” Minister Biruta said.
“It is apparent. However, local leaders have talked to residents in border area, updated them on the situation and how they should behave regarding their security in case they want to cross to other side. They cannot be assured that their security is guaranteed,” he added.
The warning mainly concerns residents in border areas crossing to DRC for different reasons.
Kidnapped soldiers of Rwanda Defence Force (RDF) include Cpl Nkundabagenzi Elysée and Pte Ntwari Gad.
A statement released by RDF on Saturday last week, indicated that the soldiers were kidnapped on patrol following DRC’s provocations where it shelled Rwandan territory.
Sources reveal that President João Lourenço has requested Tshisekedi to release these soldiers as a symbol of willingness to settle dispute between both countries.
It is said that DRC has responded in favour of the request.
Following the kidnapping, FARDC announced that they had crossed into DRC and apprehended in 20 kilometers away from the border but Rwanda rejected the allegations highlighting that they were kidnapped on patrol.
It is said that Rwandan soldiers refrained from fighting lest the tension between both countries result into a war.
Minister Biruta made the revelation on Tuesday 31st May 2022 during a press conference on the current situation of deteriorating relations with DRC.
The press conference has been held amidst ongoing tension between Rwanda and DRC, where the latter accuses Rwanda of supporting M23 rebel outfit in clashes with Congolese Army (FARDC). Rwanda has however been maintaining that the allegations ‘are baseless’ and accused DRC of working with the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR).
Minister Biruta has said that Congolese Army first shelled Rwandan territory on 19th March 2022. At the time, the projectiles did not injure anyone.
“However, the recent incident on 23rd May 2022 saw several projectiles shelled on Rwandan territory in Burera and Musanze, destroying houses and injuring people,” he noted.
Minister Biruta said that he called his counterpart of DRC inquiring into what happened, but did neither apologize to Rwanda nor reassure that it won’t happen again.
Apart from shelling on Rwandan territory, DRC in collaboration with FDLR was recently reported to have kidnaped two Rwandan soldiers on patrol.
FDLR is rebel outfit comprised of remnant masterminds of the 1994 Genocide against Tutsi who at different times plotted hit-and-run attacks to Rwanda and repelled back.
Minister Biruta has talked about Rwanda’s possible reaction in case DRC’s provocations linger. He also disclosed that Rwanda won’t fold arms if DRC doesn’t stop its provocations.
“We have responsibilities to protect our citizens and country’s borderlines. A country defends itself against attacks. This means, if the issue persists, we cannot idly sit by and wait for repetitive shelling on our citizens every day or provocations to kidnap people anytime. It is among issues pointed out at the African Union Summit in Malabo. I clearly indicated that we have legitimacy to respond and defend ourselves, in case we are attacked,” he noted.
“We want such provocations to stop. We want these soldiers released. However, in case these attacks continue to threaten our country’s security, we would be legitimate to defend ourselves and you know that we have capacity,” Minister Biruta added.
The Deputy Spokesperson of the Government of Rwanda, Alain Mukuralinda has said that clashes with M23 rebel group is DRC’s internal matter that might continue to affect the country if no solution is reached.
DRC announced the suspension of RwandAir flights on Saturday 28th May 2022 after accusing Rwanda of supporting M23 rebels in clashes with Congolese Army (FARDC).
Following the decision, RwandAir announced the suspension of flights to DRC and apologized to customers for any inconvenience it might cause.
Speaking to RBA, Dennis Karera, the Vice Chairman East African Business Council (EABC) said that the decision of barring RwandAir flights to DRC disrupts trade and free movement within the region.
“RwandAir mostly carry traders from Congo and other EAC or other countries like China and Dubai. Suspending its flights does not only affect Congolese but also blocks EAC traders seeking to travel to Kinshasa, Goma and Lubumbashi or other towns,” he said.
Karera has observed that the decision was inappropriate and taken in haste.
“It is not reasonable to suspend flights for any problem. We were in Goma and Bukavu last week to discuss with our counterparts and encourage them to join the council. We can only achieve it when traders are moving freely,” he noted.
“As far as we are concerned, the decision was reached hastily. We call upon DRC leadership not to rush for such decisions tampering with trade,” added Karera.
It has been two months since DRC was admitted into EAC.
Last week, FARDC in collaboration with the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) shelled rockets on Rwanda’s territory which injured residents and destroyed houses in Musanze and Burera districts in Northern Province.
The shelling occurred when FARDC was accusing Rwanda of supporting M23 rebel group in eastern DRC.
Following the incident on Monday, Rwanda Defence Force (RDF) requested the regional Extended Joint Verification Mechanism (EJVM) to launch probe into the incident.
In the same week on Saturday 28th May 2022, RDF announced that Congolese Army with FDLR kidnapped two Rwandan soldiers on patrol.
Rwanda maintains that DRC’s allegations are baseless and called the clash with M23, ’an internal issue’.
[{{Related story: RwandAir flights to DRC suspended amidst escalating tension between both countries}}->https://en.igihe.com/news/article/rwandair-flights-to-drc-suspended-amidst-escalating-tension-between-both]
DRC announced the suspension of RwandAir flights on Saturday 28th May 2022. The latter has been conducting flights to Lubumbashi, Goma and Kinshasa.
Apart from the suspension, the country also summoned Rwanda’s ambassador, Vincent Karega to receive detailed explanations on the allegations.
The Minister of Communication and Government Spokesperson of the Democratic Republic of Congo Patrick Muyaya has announced that his country’s measures are meant to defend territorial integrity.
“The problems won’t deviate us from our choice of looking to the future […] the choice of peace for our country,” he said.
“We cannot close all doors for discussions but those seeking negotiations should come to us with sincerity,” added Muyaya.
Since the crisis broke out, Rwanda maintained that it does neither have troops on DRC’s land nor support M23.
Rwanda has also said that the issue of M23 and DRC is an internal matter of the country which has to be solved without dragging Rwanda into the problem.
President Paul Kagame and Felix Tshisekedi of DRC yesterday held talks with their counterpart of Senegal, Macky Sall who also serves as the Chairperson of the African Union.
Maky Sall has revealed via Twitter handle that the discussions revolved around tension between Rwanda, DRC. He thanked Kagame and Tshisekedi after having a phone conversation with them to seek a solution to the problem.
Macky Sall has also requested the Angolan President, João Manuel Gonçalves Lourenço to follow up efforts to mediate the crisis between Rwanda and DRC.
Lourenço also serves as the chairperson of the International Conference for the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR).
[{{Related story: Fighting is not our option : Rwanda reassures citizens on relations with DRC}}->https://en.igihe.com/news/article/fighting-is-not-our-option-rwanda-reassures-citizens-on-relations-with-drc]
The country has a developed tourism sector with national parks covering 38% of its land area.
The latest population census in the country indicate that it has slightly more than 2 million sparsely populated people as 70% of the country is covered by Kalahari desert.
About 11.6 percent of the population lives in the capital and largest city, Gaborone wile the majority of its population is concentrated in in eastern part of the country.
The country was a colony of the British and held the name of Bechuanaland under the colonial rule. The name changed to Botswana in 1966 after obtaining Independence.
Botswana is also renowned for its strong democratic tradition. After gaining independence in 1966, the country has experienced more than four decades of uninterrupted civilian leadership and a consistent record of democratic elections.
Botswana was among African countries hit by poverty following its Independence in 1966 but rapidly transformed into an upper middle-income country, enabled by significant mineral wealth, good governance, prudent economic management, and a relatively small population.
It is among 12 African countries that achieved upper-middle income status including Gabon, Namibia, Ghana, Cape Verde, and South Africa.
The country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) amounts to US$18.3 billion with a per capita income of US$7 831.
Among others, the country’s currency (Botswana Pula- BWP) is among strongest ones in Africa where US$100 is exchanged for approximately 1210BWP.
Figures from the World Bank show that the livelihoods of Botswana’s population continue to improve overtime.
From 2002 to 2006, the number of people living on a daily per capita income below US$1.90 per day dropped from 29.8% to 16.1%.
Economic analysts show that the country owes its fast development to advanced agriculture, tourism and reducing inequalities among the poor and rich.
Other reasons include the presence of minerals including Diamond and Gold.
In 2020, Botswana’s exports hit US$4.58 billion becoming the 114th country with large scale exports.
These include Diamonds worth US$4 billion, Gold worth US$87.2 million among others, majority of which was exported to Belgium, USA, the United Arab Emirates, India, South Africa and Singapore.
{{Opportunities for Rwandan investors}}
During COVID-19 pandemic, Botswana faced economic shortfalls as the mining sector was not fully operational due to related restrictions yet the country’s economy heavily relies on minerals.
This pushed the country to expend much effort in other sectors of the economy to keep national development on track where agriculture and tourism were given priority.
To ensure the efforts yield good results, investors from Botswana toured different countries to explore avenues for collaboration with their counterparts.
In April 2022, the delegation from Botswana led by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Lemogang Kwape and Keletsositse Olebire, the CEO at the Botswana Investment and Trade Center (BITC) visited Rwanda for the same cause.
At the time, Botswana business delegation had an opportunity to engage one on one with their Rwandan counterparts as well as undertake site visits to explore areas of collaboration.
Lemogang Kwape said that Rwandans have investment opportunities in his country.
He explained that Rwanda has developed its agriculture sector where Botswana can learn from Rwanda’s practices to reduce related imports.
“We are exploring how to collaborate with our counterparts so that we can exchange expertize to reduce agricultural imports and increase exports,” he said.
Lemogang added that tourism is among potential areas of collaboration.
He said that Rwanda and Botswana have developed tourism sector and stressed the need to create synergies to lure tourists from outside Africa to attractions fin respective countries.
The visit was concluded with the signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Rwanda and Botswana in the areas of economy and investment.
Both countries also signed framework for cooperation agreements in the areas of mining among others.
The signed agreements open doors for Rwandans to explore investment opportunities available in the country.
Botswana has introduced different incentive programs to lure international investors where manufacturers, financial institutions and tech companies are taxed 15% on profits from approved operations.
Meanwhile, businesses in other sectors are charged 22% while the Value-added tax (VAT) is 12%.
Depending on negotiations, an international investor may be exempted from taxes between five and ten years while those with investments transforming communities’ livelihoods are not taxed on imports of raw materials. The same applies to the import of machinery to be used in these factories.
Investors also benefit from the country’s agreements for elimination of double taxation with South Africa, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Mauritius, India and Russia.
For Rwandans, it is an opportunity to export goods to countries of Southern African Development Community (SADC) with more than 300 million population.
The development has been confirmed by Macky Sall through a message posted on Twitter handle where he revealed that the discussions were held over the phone to seek a solution to the issue.
“I thank President Felix Tshisekedi and Kagame for our phone conversations held yesterday and today with a view to seek a peaceful solution peaceful to the dispute between the DRC and Rwanda,” he tweeted on Monday 30th May 2022.
Macky Sall has also requested the Angolan President, João Manuel Gonçalves Lourenço to follow up efforts to mediate the crisis between Rwanda and DRC.
Lourenço also serves as the chairperson of the International Conference for the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR).
The tension broke out recently when DRC accused Rwanda of supporting M23 rebels in clashes with Congolese Army (FARDC). DRC also recently banned RwandAir flights to the country over the same allegations.
Apart from DRC’s accusations said to be unfounded, Rwanda announced that FARDC in collaboration with the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) shelled rockets on Rwandan territory that left civilians injured and destroyed property.
FDLR is rebel outfit comprised of remnant masterminds of the 1994 Genocide against Tutsi who at different times plotted hit-and-run attacks to Rwanda and repelled back.
Minister Biruta made the revelation as he delivered remarks to participants of an extraordinary summit in the Equatorial Guinea capital, Malabo, discussing challenges ranging from terrorism to democratic governance and climate change.
The summit took place few days after Congolese Army (FARDC) shelled on Rwandan territory on Monday 23rd May 2022.
At the time, FARDC in collaboration with the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) shelled rockets on Rwanda’s territory which injured residents and destroyed houses in Musanze and Burera districts in Northern Province.
The shelling occurred when FARDC was accusing Rwanda of supporting M23 rebel group in eastern DRC. However, Rwanda maintained that the allegations are baseless and called the clash with M23, ‘an internal issue’.
Following the incident on Monday, Rwanda Defence Force (RDF) requested the regional Extended Joint Verification Mechanism (EJVM) to launch probe into the incident.
In the same week on Saturday 28th May 2022, RDF announced that Congolese Army with FDLR kidnapped two Rwandan soldiers on patrol.
Minister Biruta told participants of the summit that ‘it is deeply disturbing that DRC has been quick to blame Rwanda in order to ignore its obligations’.
“In addition, the DRC has tried on several occasions to drag Rwanda into its domestic security issues. Specifically, there has been series of FARDC provocations against Rwanda, including shelling on Rwandan territory, which cannot be tolerated as a normal business,” he said.
He stressed that one of provocations happened last week when shelled rockets injured several civilians and damaged property.
The Minister explained that the provocation followed another incident of cross-border shelling which happened on 19th March 2022 where the Government of DRC was notified both times about ‘these serious incidents’.
{{Right to respond}}
Minister Biruta told participants of the summit that Rwandan soldiers had legitimacy to respond the shelling but the country requested investigation into the matter.
“While it would have been legitimate for Rwanda to respond, we have instead consistently requested for investigations of these provocations, by the Expanded Joint Verification Mechanism of the ICGLR,” he said.
“Let me reiterate this to my Congolese brother: It is true that I indicated to him, that Rwanda has the right to respond. Our President, His Excellency Paul Kagame, pointed this out very clearly to his Congolese counterpart,” added Minister Biruta.
The revelation comes at a time when DRC continues to accuse Rwanda of supporting March 23 rebel group in clashes with Congolese Army (FARDC) which has teamed up with the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR).
FDLR is rebel outfit comprised of remnant masterminds of the 1994 Genocide against Tutsi who at different times plotted hit-and-run attacks to Rwanda and repelled back.
Last week, FARDC in collaboration with FDLR shelled rockets on Rwanda’s territory which injured residents and destroyed houses in Musanze and Burera districts in Northern Province.
Following the incident on Monday, Rwanda Defence Force (RDF) requested the regional Extended Joint Verification Mechanism (EJVM) to launch probe into the incident.
In the same week on Saturday 28th May 2022, RDF announced that Congolese Army with FDLR kidnapped two Rwandan soldiers on patrol.
The Deputy Spokesperson of the Government of Rwanda, Alain Mukuralinda has said that clashes with M23 rebel group is DRC’s internal matter that might continue to affect the country if no solution is reached.
He was appearing in a talk show aired on Rwanda Television to express views about the current tension with DRC.
Mukuralinda said that DRC recently kidnapped two Rwandan soldiers on patrol along Rwanda’s border falsely claiming that they had crossed the borderline.
“They need to analyze the situation. How come that two soldiers can cross and walk 20 kilometers with their identifications, military uniforms and whatever identifying them as Rwandan soldiers. Would they be mentally stable? That is one evidence people should consider,” he stated.
Mukuralinda also commented on rockets from DRC shelled on Rwanda’s land.
“We are not spreading rumours when we say that the projectiles were shelled from DRC. We know places where they were shelled and injured people. Fortunately, no one died but the rockets destroyed houses and injured people. Following the incident, Rwanda did neither exaggerate the situation nor raise alarm through the media,” he said.
“There is a joint mechanism with DRC or broader process involving regional countries. Secondly, Rwanda spoke to the Government of Congo, the Minister of Foreign Affairs spoke to his counterpart, the President of the Republic talked to his counterpart,” Mukuralinda added.
{{Attacks}}
Mukuralinda said that it was possible for Rwanda to respond following the shelling on its land but highlighted that it was not an optimal choice.
“It is a provocation. One might wonder if it is not a way of dragging us in DRC’s problems,” he noted.
Mukuralinda has however reassured Rwandans considering the fact that there is willingness to engage with DRC on the matter.
“Fighting is not our option. If it was the case, we would be patient as they shelled on Rwanda’s land in March and respond when they shelled again in May. Not shelling on their land, doesn’t mean that Rwanda is unable to do so,” he said.
“This means that fighting is not an optimal choice on the side of Rwanda. The possibility is to solve problems through peaceful processes whether involving a large or small number of people to find a durable solution,” Mukuralinda added.
He went on to explain that Rwanda will make possible efforts to avoid being drawn into a war.
“Rwanda is committed to make possible efforts to collaborate with Congo, work with regional countries to get the matter solved through dialogue and peace accords,” Mukuralinda noted.
The objective of the exercise is to promote the EAC integration agenda by enhancing joint state of readiness and interoperability of EAC partner States’ Armed Forces, Police, Civilian Components and other stakeholders in responding to complex security challenges.
The Division Commander, Mechanized Division, Maj Gen Wilson Gumisiriza, briefed the departing contingent on behalf of the RDF leadership reminding them to uphold RDF values of patriotism, honour, valour and integrity and also maintain discipline throughout the exercise.
The two-week long exercise is attended by 6 EAC member states’ armed forces, police personnel and civilians from Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda.
