Kagame: Habyarimana's son is part of Kinshasa-FDLR network
Friday, April 03, 2026
President Paul Kagame speaks in an interview with Jeune Afrique. Screengrab from the video by Jeune Afrique.

President Paul Kagame has said that DR Congo's links with the son of former Rwandan leader Juvénal Habyarimana poses a security threat to Rwanda.

In an interview with Jeune Afrique, Kagame said that Jean-Luc Habyarimana's recent trips to Kinshasa are not an isolated case, but part of the network of Kinshasa-backed FDLR, a militia founded by perpetrators of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.

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"The point here is not just about one person," Kagame told Jeune Afrique's François Soudan in the interview published on Friday, April 3.

"Habyarimana's son is not just an individual. Tshisekedi or Congo has been trying to use him to mobilise the suppport for FDLR."

Kagame added that there are more people in France who are involved, beyond just Habyarimana's son, noting that the his visits to Kinshasa were not out of the context of Kinshasa's support to FDLR and the militia's collaboration with the Congolese army (FARDC).

"All of those constitute a network that is in the leadership or is in association with FDLR," he said.

"And now, when it comes to being associated to the President of DRC, how do you minimise and say it doesn't make any sense and when we are telling you that what is on the ground is actually a collusion and association between FDLR and FARDC?"

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This was the second time the President spoke about Jean-Luc Habyarimana's links with FDLR and Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi. In early March, Kagame expressed his concerns about Kinshasa's links with the family of the former Rwandan president whose leadership led the country to the Genocide against the Tutsi.

Kagame also spoke about the persistent FDLR threat, noting that Rwanda would not lift defensive measures put in place to protect its security until the militia has been defeated.