Rwanda’s Foreign Minister Criticizes DRC for Rehiring Mercenaries
Rwanda’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Amb. Olivier Nduhungirehe, has expressed concern over the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) continued use of foreign mercenaries, warning that Rwanda should not again be asked to provide safe passage for them as it did earlier this year.
In a statement posted on X, Nduhungirehe responded to DRC Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister, Jacquemain Shabani Lukoo Bihango, who recently admitted that Kinshasa has kept employing mercenaries to fight alongside government forces.
“It is only in Congo where a Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior can openly admit to bringing mercenaries into his country, despite this being prohibited under international law, particularly the 1977 OAU/AU Convention and the 1989 UN Convention,” Nduhungirehe wrote.
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He recalled that in January, mercenaries hired by Kinshasa to support the Congolese army (FARDC) were defeated and humiliated by M23 rebels in Goma. After their defeat, Rwanda facilitated their safe passage back to their home countries.
“After the humiliating defeat of Romanian mercenaries in Goma at the end of January 2025, who were later repatriated via Kigali, the DRC government has now hired Colombian mercenaries through ‘Blackwater,’ a U.S.-based company,” he said.
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The minister stressed that such actions undermine peace efforts, noting they go against the Washington D.C. Peace Agreement signed as well as the Doha Principles Framework.
In January, nearly 300 European mercenaries captured in Goma were disarmed and sent home via Rwanda. Some of them admitted during their repatriation that they were unaware of the true nature of the conflict involving M23 and confessed they would never have joined had they known.
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