Rwanda has distanced itself from its own soldier caught in the crossfire of the ongoing conflict in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
The Democratic Republic of Congo’s forces (FARDC) captured a Rwandan soldier identified as Jean de Dieu Hakizimana Iradukunda fighting alongside the M23 rebels in late December 2024. Hakizimana was allegedly the sole survivor of his unit when he was captured, as the rest of the RDF platoon was completely wiped out by Congolese forces.
It all began when FARDC spokesperson Lt. Col. Mak Hazukay announced that their troops had captured a Rwandan soldier, identified as Jean de Dieu Hakizimana Iradukunda, during a battle in the Lubero territory of North Kivu, Eastern DRC on December 21, 2024.
In a video that quickly spread across social media, Iradukunda, speaking in Kiswahili and later in Kinyarwanda, confessed to being a Rwandan commando, trained to use military-grade weaponry like a Dash 2 Rocket Propelled Grenade. He also claimed to have been born in Ngororero district in Rwanda, which seemed to confirm his ties to the Rwandan Defence Forces (RDF).
Yet, instead of defending their own soldier, the RDF responded by immediately disowning Iradukunda. The Rwandan government, without hesitation, rejected the claims that he was part of the RDF, brushing off the allegations as mere propaganda. Both the RDF and the M23, which has long been accused of being supported by Rwanda, quickly dismissed the capture as an elaborate hoax orchestrated by the DRC government.
Willy Ngoma, the spokesperson for M23, vehemently denied any Rwandan involvement in the rebellion. He condemned the FARDC’s narrative as a “blatant lie” and referred to the entire situation as a “play scripted by Kinshasa.”
This is not the first time that Rwanda has been accused of supporting the M23 rebels in their ongoing fight in the DRC’s Kivu region. Despite repeated denials from Kigali, international reports and evidence have suggested that Rwanda has provided logistical and military support to the rebel group, fueling instability and violence in the region.
Rather than confronting these accusations head-on, Rwanda continues to deny any involvement, using fabricated narratives like the one surrounding Iradukunda’s capture as a diversion.
The war in Eastern Congo has displaced millions and resulted in countless deaths. In December, a truce meeting that was supposed to take place in Luanda, Angola, between Rwanda and DRC was snubbed by President Paul Kagame of Rwanda, indicating that the tears and misery are far from ending in the war-torn region.
While speaking to his nationals a few weeks after Kagame snubbed the Luanda meeting, Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi stated that Kagame fears him, adding that he doesn’t meet him face-to-face whenever they are supposed to, which, according to Tshisekedi, shows that Kagame’s actions condemn him mentally.
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