Analysts: Burundi's role in DR Congo conflict taints Ndayishimiye's tenure at AU

When Burundian President Evariste Ndayishimiye assumed the chairpersonship of the African Union (AU) on February 14 during the 39th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government in Addis Ababa, he stepped into a role meant to reflect Africa’s commitment to unity, dialogue and the protection of fundamental rights. As AU chairperson, he is expected to advance peace and uphold the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, which guarantees the right to life and the right of communities to exist in dignity and security. Yet at a time when he takes on the continental responsibility, conflict continues in eastern DR Congo with his army's role well documented. The AU itself is expected to help resolve the situation through mediation. ALSO READ: EAC-SADC leaders urge for political solution to silence the guns in eastern DR Congo For over two years, Burundian troops have been deployed in eastern DR Congo and fighting alongside the Congolese army coalition in the war with AFC/M23 rebels. They have been accused of rights abuses, including imposing a blockade on the Banyamulenge community in Minembwe, South Kivu, restricting their access to food, medicine and other essential supplies and starving the civilians. Members of this community have file as lawsuit against the Burundian government with the East African Court of Justice. ALSO READ: AFC/M23’s Bertrand Bisimwa explains why rebels were forced to capture Uvira in lightning advance The Burundian army was accused of leading operations of the Congolese government coalition in early December, before the AFC/M23 took control of Uvira city. The rebels alleged that airstrikes on Kamanyola border town were launched from Bujumbura Province. Burundian troops are reported to have redeployed to Uvira since mid-Janurary when the AFC/M23 withdrew from the strategic city, which has seen a relapse in violence against civilians and Banyamulenge. It is against this backdrop that analysts say Ndayishimiye’s new role as AU chair presents a troubling paradox. 'Burundi doing the opposite of what AU stands for' Alex Mvuka, a Congolese independent researcher, argues that Burundi’s continued military involvement in South Kivu exposes structural weaknesses within the African Union itself. “On the ground, Burundian forces have continued deployment,” Mvuka said. “We are talking about numbers quite close to 20,000 troops again, similar to what we had before Uvira was captured by AFC/M23.” “Just to give you a number, every day there are about 140 bombs shelled on the local people,” he said. ALSO READ: Kagame: Over 20,000 Burundi troops fuelling eastern DR Congo crisis For Mvuka, the methods employed, such as blockades, bombardments and drone strikes, amount to more than military engagement. “All those techniques are techniques used in some other mass atrocities to make people leave [an area],” he argued. “It is a technique... to terrorise people so they can be able, if they are not killed, to leave the area.” He further noted that the pattern reflects the targeting of Tutsi communities. “There is an intention to kill and destroy one group of people because of who they are,” he said. “The Banyamulenge are considered a problem simply because of their identity.” ALSO READ: 80-year-old Congolese reflects on lifetime of injustice, attacks in DR Congo Mvuka links Burundi’s involvement to three motivations, ethnic ideology, perceived security concerns linked to Rwanda, and financial pressures in the Burundian economy. “[Ndayishimiye] sees South Kivu as a security and economic zone,” Mvuka said. “For him, Minembwe represents the home of the Tutsi, and wherever the Tutsi are, he believes they must attack Burundian bases.” He disputes those security claims. “There is no ground to support such claims,” he said, arguing that Rwanda’s post-genocide trajectory has focused on internal reconstruction. ALSO READ: Burundi president claim that Rwanda plans attack unfortunate, says Nduhungirehe He also cites Burundi’s economic strain, including fuel shortages and foreign currency constraints. “The only way to survive is being commissioned to fight the war in DR Congo so it can be paid and bring some revenue,” he said. ALSO READ: Rwanda condemns ‘inflammatory’ comments by Burundi president For Mvuka, the issue is not merely political optics. “We know that Burundi is leading by example of doing exactly the opposite of what AU stands for,” he argued. “You cannot have someone who’s working against the values and principles of the institution and to have that kind of person to head such an institution. It is extremely wrong and unethical.” He draws parallels with Ndayishimiye’s previous tenure as chair of the East African Community, during which Burundian troops operated in eastern DR Congo on a bilateral basis while a regional force was deployed to stabilise the situation. “It became a conflict of interest,” Mvuka said, describing that episode as a “scandal” that went unchecked. From his perspective, the same paradox now risks playing out at continental level. “Imagine a president who’s going to be working against the work of the mediators of an institution he is leading,” he said. ALSO READ: Banyamulenge take Burundi govt to court over abuses in Minembwe Mvuka argues that this is precisely why AU reforms are overdue. “Ndayishimiye is a great case study of why the African Union should be reformed,” he argued. “You cannot just go on the basis of a rotative arrangement. The reform of the African Union has to be about recordable governance and whether the new head of state will promote the values of the Union.” ALSO READ: What are the motivations of Burundi’s military intervention in South Kivu? For him, credibility abroad is inseparable from governance at home. “If you have an incompetent leader who is behaving like a warlord, who is involved in abusing human rights, why would international partners take you seriously?” he asked. Ultimately, Mvuka fears that Ndayishimiye’s current role in eastern DR Congo will shape his conduct as AU chair. “He will not, of course, cease his campaign,” he said. “He will make decisions that are influenced by his current position on DR Congo.” ALSO READ: South Kivu: M23 warns of military build-up by FARDC, Burundian forces Among those voicing concern over Ndayishimiye's position at the AU is genocide survivor and author Gustave Mukurarinda, who argues that the issue goes beyond politics or military alliances. For him, it is about ideology, how it is spreading, how it normalises violence, and how silence at the top can legitimise it. “As a genocide survivor, it’s a disaster,” Mukurarinda said of Ndayishimiye’s elevation to the AU chairmanship. He acknowledges that the position rotates among heads of state. Yet, he argues, timing and context matter. For Mukurarinda, Burundi’s reported cooperation with the FDLR, a Kinshasa-backed militia group linked to perpetrators of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, is particularly alarming. He sees this not simply as a tactical alliance, but as a convergence rooted in a shared hostility toward Congolese Tutsi communities and Kinyarwanda speakers. “Being in DR Congo is not just about supporting the Congolese regime,” he says. “It’s the ideology they are sharing.” ALSO READ: President Ndayishimiye’s appointee who made FDLR’s dreams come true Mukurarinda points to repeated hate speech broadcast in DR Congo, including rhetoric that mirrors extremist narratives used in Rwanda before 1994, as proof that genocide ideology is resurfacing in public discourse. In his view, such language is not incidental. “Genocide does not start overnight,” he noted. “It begins with words. It begins with an ideology that is repeated again and again, until violence feels justified.” ALSO READ: Rwanda proposes regional front against hate speech, impunity Mukurarinda argues that Ndayishimiye’s leadership of the AU presents a contradiction. He urged that while the continental body is championing initiatives such as 'Silencing the Guns,' aimed at ending armed conflict, its current chair leads a country whose troops are engaged in an active theatre of war. “Ndayishimiye has to either resign from that position if he wants to continue to be part of the conflict, or he should step away from anything related to that conflict,” Mukurarinda said. “He should not have the privilege of being the judge and the player.” ALSO READ: ‘Genocide can happen anywhere,’ Nduhungirehe on dangers of hate speech “The biggest wish of any genocide survivor is that our children should never see what we saw,” he says. Watching similar narratives circulate and potentially gain continental cover through high-level leadership, according to him, is unsettling. He insists that the AU must reflect on the message it sends. “There’s no place in any leadership, especially at the AU, for someone linked to genocide ideology,” he argues. ALSO READ: Kinshasa made ethnic division 'a business opportunity', says governor Mediation credibility at stake Vianney Rurangirwa Shumbusho, a crisis observer, frames his concerns around mediation credibility and continental representation. “A person becomes the chair of the AU for a year, and during that time they represent the image of the African continent in the international arena,” Shumbusho said. “Therefore, giving that position to someone who is actively involved in the conflict in eastern DR Congo raises serious concerns.” He stresses that neutrality is essential for credible mediation. “It cannot work for him to be part of the mediation,” he said. “Being in a position like his requires neutrality so that he wins the trust of the two conflicting parties. Right now, that does not apply to Ndayishimiye because he is on the battlefield against one of them.” ALSO READ: Bisimwa condemns ‘indifference’ of mediators amid Kinshasa’s attacks “The least he can do is distance himself from mediation and never be part of it. He can receive reports, but he should not engage directly,” Shumbusho said. He adds that if Ndayishimiye intends to champion peace in line with AU principles, Burundi’s military role must be reconsidered. “As long as he still has troops there and openly supports one side, presenting himself as a peace champion would be a contradiction,” he said. ALSO READ: AFC/M23 leader Corneille Nangaa states four reasons why his movement is fighting Tshisekedi govt Shumbusho points out that “AU mediators stand at the crossroads to ensure he does not interfere and only present with reports.” “There is a lot of evidence that he is a compromised party, he chose a path that does not guarantee peace. His methods cannot dig deep into the root causes to bring about lasting resolution in the region.”

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Analysts: Burundi's role in DR Congo conflict taints Ndayishimiye's tenure at AU