Discriminatory remarks made by the spokesperson of the DR Congo's armed forces during a televised interview have sparked condemnation from political leaders, civil society organisations, and international observers, who warn that the anti-Tutsi rhetoric could fuel ethnic violence. The comments by Maj Gen Sylvain Ekenge were made on December 27 during a programme aired on DR Congo’s national broadcaster, RTNC, where he appeared as a guest. ALSO READ: Nduhungirehe presses UN to respond to genocide warnings in DR Congo During the broadcast, he made statements targeting Tutsi women and families, repeating long-discredited narratives historically associated with ethnic hatred. The Congolese Tutsi has been the target of ethnic violence for decades, with multiple organisations, including the United Nations, warning that atrocities in recent years could lead to a genocide. When you marry a Tutsi woman, you have to be careful, Ekenge said on RTNC. When you are a leader, like a great traditional chief, you are given a woman, but you will receive at your home a member of her family who will be presented as a cousin or a nephew, when in fact it is the person who will come to have children with your wife in the house, and you will be told that the children are born Tutsi because the Tutsi race is superior to their ethnicities. ALSO READ: The devil you feed: How the West fuels genocide ideology in DR Congo The remarks also follow statements attributed to Jean Claude Mubenga, a close ally of Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi and a presidential communicator, who reportedly referred to the Tutsi as “cockroaches,” “infiltrators,” and “viruses.” These labels are reminiscent of the names that were used in Rwanda in the lead-up to the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. Tshisekedi has previously received politicians and figures, such as Justin Bitakwira, who have openly called for violence against Tutsi communities. Reacting to Ekenge's comments, Rwanda's Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Olivier Nduhungirehe, said that instead of promoting calm during the festive season, the Congolese authorities took “the opposite path, plunging headlong into genocidal horror.” The minister accused the Congolese authorities of tolerating, and in some cases encouraging, hate speech against Congolese Tutsi communities including Banyamulenge. ALSO READ: DR Congo forces, allies accused of fresh atrocities against Banyamulenge They “openly call for exterminating the Tutsi cockroaches and killing this virus before it spreads in Congolese society;” Nduhungirehe said FARDC spokesperson’s remarks echoed the infamous “Ten Hutu Commandments” published in 1990 by the extremist newspaper Kangura, which played a key role in inciting the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. “This Congolese general doesn't even stop there and goes so far as to reprise colonial theses that laid the foundations for 'ethnic' division and Genocide against the Tutsi, namely the idea that the Tutsi are Nilotics who conquered Rwanda and subjugated the Hutu, even appropriating 'their Bantu language,' Kinyarwanda,” he added. While noting speculation that President Tshisekedi might distance himself from the remarks out of embarrassment, Nduhungirehe cautioned that symbolic actions would not be sufficient. Ekenge was suspended after the remarks. “This descent into genocidal hell, under the guilty silence of the international community (the same as in 1994), from posing a serious threat to the region and to Rwanda in particular, which will never, ever accept a repetition of its tragic history,” Nduhungirehe noted. ALSO READ: DR Congo: The UN has an opportunity to establish facts on alleged massacres Mahoro Peace Association, an organisation that supports peacebuilding, victims of armed conflict, and displaced people in eastern DR Congo, also warned that the remarks amounted to a serious and immediate danger. “Dehumanizing an ethnic group, warning against intermarriage, and promoting conspiracy theories rooted in so-called ‘racial superiority’ are classic markers of genocidal rhetoric,” the organisation said in a statement. The organisation which was founded by Banyamulenge said history shows that such language often precedes mass violence, drawing parallels with the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, Nazi Germany, the Balkans, and Myanmar. “Genocide does not begin with machetes or guns; it begins with words,” the statement said, calling on Congolese authorities and international bodies to act urgently. “Silence in the face of incitement is complicity. This rhetoric must be stopped now before it leads to irreversible harm,” it added. Anti-Tutsi violence and hate speech have seen a rise in recent years after the resurgence of the M23 rebel movement, which fights for justice and rights for persecuted Congolese community, including the Tutsi. Congolese officials often been accused of encouraging the ethnic violence. The Congolese army also collaborates with the FDLR, a militia founded by remnants of perpetrators of the Genocide against the Tutsi. The UN- and Rwanda-sanctioned terrorist group is part of the Congolese government coalition that is fighting the AFC/M23 rebels. Parallel with RTLM AFC/M23 spokesperson, Lawrence Kanyuka, said Ekenge's remarks were reminiscent of the RTLM radio in Rwanda, which is known as the hate radio for opening calling for violence against the Tutsi in 1994. The remarks form part of a persistent pattern consistent with the final stage of preparations for genocide, targeting Congolese Tutsi in general, and women and children in particular, Kanyuka said in a statement on Monday morning. This incendiary rhetoric places Congolese Tutsi at imminent risk. He said the remarks are in violation of multiple international treaties, including the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. Kanyuka warned of an imminent genocide against Congolese Tutsi, orchestrated by the Kinshasa regime. He also noted that there was deliberate dissemination of hate speech and systematic stigmatisation, exclusion, and discrimination. Alain Destexhe, a former Belgian senator and an political observer of the Great Lakes region, described the comments as “xenophobic and racist rhetoric” aimed at entrenching prejudice against Tutsi, including Congolese Tutsi and Rwandans. “This regime must fall. The fight against Tshisekedi and his henchmen is legitimate,” he added. He called on the international community to take notice and respond to the situation.
