This week, Rwanda severed diplomatic ties with the Kingdom of Belgium, accusing it of orchestrating what some analysts describe as an international conspiracy against Rwanda. This bold move echoes a similar scenario nearly two decades ago when Rwanda cut ties with France in 2006. The eventual reconciliation between Rwanda and France, grounded in mutual respect, offers a roadmap that Belgium would do well to study. On November 24, 2006, Rwanda stunned the world by breaking diplomatic relations with France. The decision came after French anti-terrorism judge Jean-Louis Bruguière issued arrest warrants for nine senior Rwandan army officers, alleging their involvement—alongside President Paul Kagame—for the 1994 downing of the plane that was carrying former President Juvenal Habyarimana. French law granted Kagame immunity as a sitting head of state, but Bruguière audaciously called for him to face a U.N. tribunal. France’s Foreign Ministry spokesman at the time, Jean-Baptiste Mattei, insisted Bruguière acted independently. Rwanda, however, saw a deeper agenda. A Rwandan foreign ministry statement accused France of waging a 12-year campaign—both overt and covert—to destabilize its government and reinstall allies tied to the genocide. In Europe, particularly in France and Belgium, opponents of Kagame’s government took to the streets of Paris and Brussels, proclaiming Rwanda’s demise. Yet, three years later, ties were restored. In 2009, French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s chief of staff, Claude Guéant, met Kagame in Kigali. Later, President Sarkozy acknowledged France’s failures, stating, “France has a role, a history, and a political responsibility in Rwanda. It has a duty to face history and recognise the suffering it inflicted on the Rwandan people by favouring silence over truth for too long.” The relationship solidified in 2018 when Rwanda’s Louise Mushikiwabo was elected Secretary General of the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie (OIF) in Armenia. This partnership, built on mutual respect, proved beneficial for both nations. Why Belgium should take note Rwanda’s grievances with Belgium run deeper and stretch further back than those with France. Some observers note that colonial Belgians resented Rwanda’s impeccable organisation, strong sense of dignity, altruism, and formidable military prowess—qualities underpinned by Rwandan unity. Today, that resentment persists. Analysts point to Belgium’s intensified campaigns against Rwanda in Europe and at the United Nations as evidence of a coordinated effort to undermine it—a conspiracy that culminated in the March 17, 2025, diplomatic break. On the same day, the European Union, influenced by Belgium, imposed sanctions on Rwandan military officers and an entity, accusing them of human rights abuses, fuelling conflict, and exploiting resources in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). France entered Rwandan politics in the 1970s under President François Mitterrand and its involvement culminated in the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. Belgium’s involvement, however, began in 1916 when it wrested Rwanda from Germany with British support. For nearly eight decades, until the 1994 genocide Against the Tutsi, Belgium shaped Rwanda’s political landscape. President Kagame, on March 16, 2025, warned Belgium against meddling in Rwanda’s progress, citing its colonial legacy as the root of the region’s enduring challenges. Historically, Belgium’s impact was more profound—and destructive—than France’s. While France has owned up to its mistakes, Belgium bears responsibility for a century of interference, culminating in the genocide. Belgium introduced ethnic identity cards, sowed division between Hutus and Tutsis, and undermined unifying figures like King Yuhi V Musinga, whom it deposed and exiled to Moba. It expelled cultural leaders like Gashamura ka Rukangirashyamba, guardian of the unifying Umuganura festival, to Burundi. Rwanda also accuses Belgium of allowing its territory to harbour groups that deny the genocide and perpetuate its ideology. Belgium’s colonial past mirrors its own internal divisions. Independent since 1830, Belgium prospered by exploiting the DR Congo under King Leopold II and later as a state, yet it remains fractured between Dutch-speaking Flemish and French-speaking Walloons. Rwanda argues that Belgium exported this discord, fueling ethnic tensions that erupted in 1994. A path forward In 2000, Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt apologized for his country’s failures during the genocide, but Rwanda demands more: full recognition of responsibility, forgiveness, and reparations for a century of destruction. France’s reconciliation with Rwanda took three years and yielded mutual benefits. How long will it take Belgium and Rwanda to mend their rift? That, I believe, depends more on Brussels than Kigali. A saying goes, “If no one challenges anything, nothing ever changes.” Rwanda has challenged Belgium, seeking only mutual respect—a request that should not be too costly for a kingdom to grant. By learning from the Kigali-Paris model, Belgium could turn a broken relationship into a partnership that benefits both nations.
