🇨🇩🇷🇼 Banyamulenge Anger Grows Over Tito Rutaremara’s Remarks: “We Are Banyamulenge, We Are Congolese”

Remarks by veteran Rwandan politician and senior RPF figure TitoRutaremara have sparked backlash among some Banyamulenge voices after he described members of the community as “Abanyarwanda bo muri Congo” — “Rwandans in Congo.”

Rutaremara made the remarks during commemorations marking 22 years since the Gatumba massacre.

Videos circulating online and attributed to the speech also appear to show him questioning the Banyamulenge identity and calling on young people to take up arms and support the M23 in what he described as an effort to “liberate Congo.”

For many Banyamulenge voices responding publicly and on social media, the controversy touches on one of the community’s most sensitive issues: their identity and belonging in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

“We Are Banyamulenge, We Are Congolese”

Groups including Banyamulenge Global Advocacy and GAKONDO have pushed back against efforts to portray the #Banyamulenge community as Rwandan, insisting that Banyamulenge are Congolese citizens and that their future lies within the DRC.

Critics warn that describing #Banyamulenge as “Rwandans” risks reinforcing narratives portraying the community as foreigners in Congo.

Such narratives have long been associated with discrimination, exclusion and violence targeting members of the community.

Critics Reject Calls to Join Armed Conflict

Some critics have also accused Rwanda of using the challenges facing the Banyamulenge community to advance broader political and security objectives in eastern DRC.

They have strongly rejected any call encouraging Congolese youth to take up arms or participate in armed conflict against their own country.

For those challenging Rutaremara’s remarks, the message is clear:

🇨🇩 “We are Banyamulenge. We are Congolese.”

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✍️ Author: Shuri M.