The lives of Tutsi in DR Congo are in great danger as they continually become targets by machete-wielding mobs threatening to kill them. Cell phone footage from the streets of cities in eastern DRC circulating on social media show attacks on individuals perceived to be Rwandans. The individuals are targeted based on appearances, sparking memories of the buildup to the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. A man who was targeted based on his ‘resemblance to Rwandans’ only survived after showing his identification. “I just avoided death this morning in Kinshasa. Some Congolese confused me with Rwandese and want [ed] to kill me. Fortunately, I showed them my Senegalese passport and they stopped screaming at me ‘ Rwandaise, Rwandaise. For those who look like Rwandese, stay home please,” he warned his colleagues. This is one of the many experiences of violence against Rwandans and Congolese Tutsi in eastern DR Congo. The incident happened as regional leaders met in Nairobi, Kenya for the third EAC Heads of State Conclave, trying to find a way towards lasting peace. The victimised Congolese and Rwandan communities worry that the stigmatisation and torment of Kinyarwanda-speaking Congolese and calls for them to “return” to Rwanda is only increasing. Jean-Baptiste Gasominari, 48, a Tutsi from North Kivu Province who lives in Rwanda, told The New Times that his community deserves to be treated and protected just like any other Congolese. Gasominari said: “My message to President Tshisekedi is clear: Tutsi community members need to be treated like any other Congolese citizens and have the right to life and well-being like any other citizen.” “And, to the other regional leaders, kindly help restore peace and security in the eastern DR Congo and bring to book the people responsible for the hate speech and killings of innocent civilians because of their ethnic origin.” What is happening in DR Congo today, Gasominari said, is a continuation of what has happened to the Tutsi community ever since the country got independence. Genocide scholar Tom Ndahiro said that DR Congo president Félix Tshisekedi, the UN Mission in DR Congo (MONUSCO), and other top Congolese government officials, “can’t say they don’t see the involvement of security organs in public incitement and persecution of Rwandans/Tutsi.” Ndahiro said that all the leaders who are turning a blind eye to the ongoing persecution of Rwandans and Kinyarwanda-speaking Congolese are responsible.
