After setting foot on Rwandan soil and experiencing the kind of hospitality he received, ‘Major’ Gilbert Ndayambaje said that the genocidal militia FDLR fed its combatants lies with the intention of holding them hostage.
Ndayambaje is among the 14 militia fighters handed over to Rwandan authorities by AFC/M23 rebels, alongside ‘Gen’ Ezechiel Gakwerere, a senior member of the DR Congo-based FDLR genocidal militia, on March 1.
Gakwerere is also a key mastermind of the Genocide against the Tutsi.
Operating in DR Congo for the past 30 years, the FDLR is a UN-sanctioned militia group founded mostly by architects of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.
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"The despair I had vanished as soon as we reached the border (La Corniche One Stop Border Post), largely because of how the government received us. I felt welcomed and at peace. When I saw how advanced the country was, I realized they told us lies to keep us in bondage,” he said.
The longing to return
In an exclusive interview with The New Times, Ndayambaje said he was forced to join the genocidal militia in 1998, at a time when Rwanda’s post-genocide government was fighting infiltrators known as Abacengezi—the same group he said conscripted him as they fled.
As someone who spent years in the jungles of DR Congo living a miserable life, where death was certain for anyone who tried to escape, he said that since around 2010 he had longed to return home. He eventually sent his wife and five children back to Rwanda in 2012.
ALSO READ: Former FDLR deputy president on how genocidal militia was formed
After the M23 captured Goma and news broke that Gakwerere was apprehended, Ndayambaje said he devised a way to reach the Rwandan border from the Sake region, where he had been based while fighting alongside FARDC, the Congolese military.
Without knowing much about Goma city, Ndayambaje wandered into the home of a Congolese family to ask for directions.
"The family was kind and invited me to sit inside. A few minutes later, they returned with three M23 soldiers. I was still wearing a FARDC uniform and had no other clothes with me,” he said.
He described how FDLR fighters are mistreated by their commanders, including elements of the genocidal armed forces and Interahamwe who fled into DR Congo. He recalled how they looted supplies and collected illegal taxes from Congolese citizens, only to send all proceeds to commanders who gave them nothing in return.
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This, he added, is in stark contrast to how he is now treated at the Rwanda Demobilisation and Reintegration Commission (RDRC) center in Mutobo, Musanze District—a facility where ex-combatants are re-educated and prepared for reintegration into society.
"We are well taken care of. We are given soap, clothes, and food, and we undergo training that prepares us to rejoin our communities,” he said.
A new chapter in Mutobo
Ndayambaje shared that his wife visited him at the camp, and he was also granted a three-day leave to visit his 82-year-old mother.
"When my mother saw me, she was overjoyed and said that even if she died, she would die happy,” he recounted.
He expressed admiration for the progress made by ex-combatants who returned before him and said he hopes to reach their level of development one day.
Maj (Rtd) Cyprien Mudeyi, RDRC-Mutobo Manager, said the center has received 12,489 ex-combatants since the program began, many of whom have been reintegrated into their communities.
"We de-radicalize them and introduce them to the path the government has taken through civic education,” he said.
He added that the program includes lessons on Rwanda’s history, the evolution of government institutions since 1994, entrepreneurship, and literacy.
However, he clarified that legal matters concerning those suspected of crimes related to the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi are handled by the Ministry of Justice.
Since its establishment in 2001, the program has completed 72 demobilization cohorts and is currently preparing two more for discharge.
Upon completion of the program, Ndayambaje said he is ready to follow guidance and contribute to Rwanda’s development journey.