Rwandan teenager hiding in Mozambique speaks out about forced recruitment

A Rwandan school-leaver now hiding in Mozambique has told Inyenyeri News she was deceived into military training and then taken to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to support operations linked to the M23 armed group.

For her protection, we are withholding her full name and referring to her only as Kita.

Kita says she was approached after finishing school with promises of a short-term security job and a scholarship. Instead, she was taken to Gako camp, trained under secrecy, and later transported across Uganda into eastern Congo. There, she says she was forced to prepare rations for fighters, handle casualty lists, and live under constant threat. “Escape was impossible. Even boys I trained with ended up dead,” she told Inyenyeri News.

After several months, Kita was briefly allowed to return to Rwanda. She refused to go back, and fled to Mozambique, where she remains in hiding. We understand that Rwandan security agents later came looking for her at home.

Kita says that she had decided to speak to journalists and human rights groups so that many families that do not know where their children are, learnt where they may have ben taken by force. “I was manipulated into illegal activities and then criminalised for escaping them,” she said.

Her account echoes other testimonies previously reported by Inyenyeri News, where young Rwandans described being lured by job offers before ending up in rebel-controlled zones of Congo under similar conditions.

Rwandan officials have consistently denied any direct involvement with M23. The government did not respond to our latest request for comment.

Inyenyeri News will continue to follow Kita’s case and reminds readers that her story is part of a wider pattern we have already documented: young Rwandans coerced into roles across the border, forced into secrecy, and placed at risk of their lives.

https://i0.wp.com/inyenyerinews.info/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/thumbs_b_c_8ea6053a1febfa205c992de6490830ac.jpg?fit=864%2C486&ssl=1https://i0.wp.com/inyenyerinews.info/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/thumbs_b_c_8ea6053a1febfa205c992de6490830ac.jpg?resize=140%2C140&ssl=1NobleAFRICAHUMAN RIGHTSRWANDARwandan teenager hiding in Mozambique speaks out about forced recruitment A Rwandan school-leaver now hiding in Mozambique has told Inyenyeri News she was deceived into military training and then taken to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to support operations linked to the M23 armed group. For her protection, we are...PUBLISHING YOUR NEWS WITH CUTTING EDGE STYLE