Rwanda Rejects DRC’s Genocide Narrative

Nduhungirehe also criticized Kinshasa’s decision to use the term “genocide,” arguing that the DRC is attempting to portray itself exclusively as a victim and shift responsibility for decades of conflict onto Rwanda. His remarks come amid heightened legal and diplomatic tensions between the two countries, including a DRC case filed at the International Court of Justice in June 2026 concerning alleged genocide crimes dating back to 1996.

The Rwandan minister further accused Kinshasa of contradicting its own genocide narrative by maintaining relations with the FDLR, an armed group founded by elements linked to the perpetrators of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda. Nduhungirehe argued that the DRC cannot simultaneously commemorate genocide victims while cooperating with an organization Rwanda accuses of having roots in the 1994 genocide.

He described the Genocost campaign as an attempt by the Congolese government to present itself as innocent while overlooking what Rwanda considers its own responsibility for anti-Tutsi violence. Nduhungirehe also maintained that the DRC’s commemoration has not received the international backing Kinshasa has sought.