• While Congo accuses Rwanda of victimising its citizens, the latter claims over 100 Rwandans, mainly business people, are languishing in Congolese jails on accusations that they are members of the M23 rebel movement.
  • Rwanda’s alleged connections with M23 rebels has not only soured diplomatic ties between Kigali and Kinshasa but it has also had a heavy toll on the co-existence of the residents of the border towns of the two countries.
  • Kinshasha prison

Tension is brewing between Rwanda and Congo over alleged separate mistreatment of their citizens across the border.

While Congo accuses Rwanda of victimising its citizens, the latter claims over 100 Rwandans, mainly business people, are languishing in Congolese jails on accusations that they are members of the M23 rebel movement.

According to intelligence reports, security organs in eastern DRC have detained scores of Rwandans since the fighting broke out in April last year on suspicion that they are abetting the rebels fighting President Joseph Kabila’s government.

The Rwandan embassy in Kinshasa earlier this month said at least 60 Rwandans are detained in different military facilities in Kinshasa.

Authorities at Rubavu, a western Rwandan district bordering DRC, recorded over 80 missing residents suspected to be in detention camps in DRC.

Rwanda has been accused of backing the M23 rebels who briefly captured Goma last November. Kigali denied the allegations levelled against it by human right groups.

Rwanda’s alleged connections with M23 rebels has not only soured diplomatic ties between Kigali and Kinshasa but it has also had a heavy toll on the co-existence of the residents of the border towns of the two countries.

According to the Mayor of Rubavu, Sheikh Hassan Barame, the district of Rubavu is working with local authorities in around Goma and its environs to ensure that scores of Rwandans in Congolese detention camps are released.

“We don’t know the exact number, but we are aware of scores of Rwandan citizens who were arrested in Congo. Some of them are innocent businessmen, others are people who were just visiting relatives across the border,” he said.