The governor of North Kivu province Erasto Bahati Musanga says ethnic and racial discrimination in DR Congo has been deliberately cultivated and commercialised by political elites in Kinshasa, turning identity into a tool for power, profit and control.

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Bahati made the remarks during an interview with American scholar and Great Lakes conflict researcher Bojana Coulibaly, aired on Thursday, February 5,

Drawing from his own background, the governor rejected narratives that question the Congolese identity of certain communities in eastern DR Congo, such as the Tutsi. Bahati, who was born in Masisi territory, in Bashari Mukoto chiefdom, and stressed that birthplace, language or cultural background should never be used to deny citizenship.

"And you will find somebody who was born in France, I mean those people who are with (President Felix) Tshisekedi, and the person tells you that you are not Congolese,” Bahati said, describing it as the hypocrisy of political actors aligned with the Congolese leader..

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He argued that nationality cannot be defined by language, noting that many Congolese citizens born in Masisi, Rutshuru or Kalehe have lived their entire lives in Congo yet continue to face exclusion.

He accused politicians of deliberately promoting ethnic fear to advance their interests. "They have made discrimination a business opportunity. Ethnic and tribal divisionism has become a business in our country,” he said.

The governor said hate ideology has been spread through narratives that classify people into opposing racial or ethnic categories, particularly the framing of "Bantu” versus "Nilotic” identities, which he described as dangerous and destabilising.

"This ideology is extremely dangerous,” Bahati warned. "It is no different from what was taught in Rwanda before the 1994 Genocide [against the Tutsi].”

"In each ethnic group we find good people and in each ethnic group we find bad people, the one who is punished is punished for his/her own actions, if somebody commits a misdeed or a crime we cannot attribute it to the entire group, their crime cannot be attributed to the entire community. That person has to face justice and be held accountable for the crime they have committed. Their community must not suffer for that person's actions.”

"We are going to teach anti-divisionism so that people can come back to a place where there is no ethnic or tribal divisionism,” he said, adding that the goal is to build a country "where everybody is equal.”

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He noted that armed groups operating in eastern Congo had been trained and indoctrinated along ethnic lines, often with external involvement.

"As early as 2014, Burundian instructors were sent to places like Bukombo and Tongo,” he said. "They joined FDLR and began training militias such as Nyatura. This was not accidental; it was a long-term project.”

Bahati claimed that the project was designed to entrench ethnic hatred and normalise violence, arguing that such ideologies do not emerge spontaneously.

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Banyamulenge refugees are not asking for nationalities

Addressing the persistent humanitarian crisis affecting the Banyamulenge people scattered across different countries and denied returning to their home, Governor Bahati said it’s an empty talk.

"Nationality is not something the government hands out, these people are Congolese,” he said, stressing that decades spent in refugee camps cannot erase their identity.

"We have the nationality, we were born in Congo our parents were born in Congo, our great-parents were born in Congo, we are not asking for any nationality.”

Bahati appealed for unity across borders and communities. "We are all the same. We will build our country together,” he said.

"We must fight all forms of discrimination and hate speech,” he said, urging citizens to reject deliberate manipulation by the Kinshasa regime.

Turning to the plight of refugees in Rwanda, he reaffirmed ongoing efforts to restore peace and security in eastern Congo so that refugees communities can return.

"For our people who are in camps in Rwanda, we are putting all the efforts for peace to come back here, we are doing everything we can to bring the security where they come from so they can return home,”

FDLR elements as ideological threats

The governor also linked ethnic divisionism to the continued presence and activities of the Rwandan genocidal militia FDLR, describing the Kinshasa-backed group as both a security and ideological threat.

"We were able to push them (FDLR) away from the zones we have secured and from the Park of Virunga,” Bahati said, noting that these forces have since moved to Walikale.

"In the territory of Walikale, there are many of them, it is a large group that has full support from the government of Tshisekedi,” the governor said.

"They have money, military support... all the support they want they are treated like the government troops.

"If you look around here near Kibumba, they have decimated the entire Park of Virunga... they were burning charcoal and selling it illegally and were sharing all the money with the FARDC.”