The Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Olivier Nduhungirehe, has dismissed DR Congo's 'Genocost' narrative as a political construct with no basis in international law, arguing that it is designed to minimise the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. ALSO READ: AFC/M23 slams Kinshasa’s ‘Genocost’ concept as political instrument Nduhungirehe said this in an interview on The New Times’ The Context podcast. He said the concept seeks to deflect attention from the persecution of Congolese Tutsi communities while advancing accusations against Rwanda. ALSO READ: Veteran US diplomat urges action on Tutsi persecution in DR Congo The remarks come days after DR Congo held its annual “Genocost commemoration” in Kinshasa on August 2 under the patronage of President Félix Tshisekedi. The term, introduced by the Congolese government in 2022, combines the words “genocide” and “cost” to describe what Kinshasa says is the human and economic toll of nearly three decades of conflict and the exploitation of the country’s natural resources. Congolese authorities and officials have increasingly tied the narrative to allegations against Rwanda. ALSO READ: Nearly three decades later, Congolese Tutsi appeal for persecution to end ‘Genocost has no legal basis’ Nduhungirehe argued that the concept has no legal foundation under the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. ALSO READ: South Kivu: AFC/M23 warns of “imminent genocide” against Banyamulenge civilians What they explain is that it’s a genocide for economic gains, he said. When you say economic gains, already you are destroying your argument because the definition of genocide is a crime that is committed against a specific group, a national, racial, ethnic or religious group, to be destroyed as such, not for economic gains. So, they came up with this political construct, which is aimed at denying or minimising the Genocide against the Tutsi, but also to accuse Rwanda and have a political or confrontational argument with Rwanda. ALSO READ: Persecution and cannibalism of Tutsi are 'commonplace' in Congo, says Rwandan minister ‘The choice of August 2 is telling’ Nduhungirehe also questioned the choice of August 2 for the annual commemoration, saying the date itself points to events that tell a very different story. “It refers to August 2, 1998. It was the start of the Second War in Congo. And what happened on August 2 in Kinshasa, Kisangani and many other parts of western DRC? Tutsi were lynched. Tutsi were thrown off bridges. Tutsi were killed under the call of authorities,” he said. ALSO READ: DR Congo: Western group condemns violence against Rwandophones The minister was referring to attacks that followed the outbreak of the Second Congo War, when Congolese Tutsi civilians and soldiers were targeted in Kinshasa and other parts of the country. At the time, Congo's Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Yerodia Ndombasi publicly described Tutsi as “waste” and “microbes” that should be “eradicated methodically and resolutely”, remarks that later became one of the most cited examples of anti-Tutsi hate speech in the country. ALSO READ: 80-year-old Congolese reflects on lifetime of injustice, attacks in DR Congo In the days and weeks that followed, Congolese Tutsi were lynched, thrown off bridges, arbitrarily arrested and persecuted in several parts of the country. Although Belgium later issued an international arrest warrant against Yerodia over those statements, he was never prosecuted in DR Congo. “When he passed away in February 2019, he benefited of funerals with all the state honours by President Felix Tshisekedi,” the Minister said. Nduhungirehe said the events of August 1998 marked the beginning of a sustained campaign of persecution against Congolese Tutsi communities. ALSO READ: Hundreds of experts, academics, lawyers, religious leaders, writers, artists write to UN chief over persecution of Congolese Tutsi Nduhungirehe argued that anti-Tutsi rhetoric has continued over the years, citing statements by senior officials and public figures. He referred to former FARDC spokesperson Maj Gen Sylvain Ekenge, who went publicly on the Congolese national television on December 27, 2025, urging Congolese men not to marry Tutsi women. “It is as if he was reading the ‘Hutu Ten Commandments’,” Nduhungirehe said, drawing a comparison with anti-Tutsi propaganda that was circulated in Rwanda before the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. ALSO READ: The unfinished colonial agenda: Rwandan researcher on Belgium’s influence in Rwanda and DR Congo He also accused some influential figures aligned with the Congolese government of continuing to refer to Tutsi as “microbes”, saying such rhetoric has contributed to the persecution of Congolese Tutsi. “We have increasing hate speech in DR Congo. We have all that in the media. So having the same government that is working with those individuals, a government that has promoted hate speech, coming back and playing the victim, inventing something that is unknown in international law, is really pure cynicism,” he said. ALSO READ: What hope remains for Banyamulenge pursuing justice for Gatumba victims? Nduhungirehe further noted that the “Genocost” narrative seeks to divert attention from violence targeting Congolese Tutsi communities, particularly in eastern DR Congo. “It has always been the case for all genocides. Those who commit genocide always find a way to play the victim and accuse others of genocide,” he said. “We know that in eastern DR Congo, the ethnic group that is the victim of hate speech and persecutions is the Tutsi group, the Banyamulenge in South Kivu and other Congolese Tutsi communities.” ALSO READ: Investigation: How the Habyarimana network reached the heart of power in Kinshasa He noted that reports over the years have documented killings, lynchings, persecution and other abuses committed against Congolese Tutsi because of their ethnic identity. “So coming out of nowhere with something called Genocost is another way of genocide denial. It is a well-known tactic used to move away from responsibility.” Nduhungirehe said the Congolese government is effectively projecting onto others what itself is accused of doing.
