Accusations of funding militias in South Kivu are false, a product of anti-Banyamulenge bias — Banyamulenge diaspora

The Banyamulenge people in the diaspora have denied any involvement in the funding of militias in South Kivu, DR. Congo .

This is the response to a publication by Afrique Intelligence Media which accused the Banyamulenge diaspora community of backing "militias" instead of providing humanitarian assistance.

According to Felix Nyirazo Rubogora, Chairperson of Gakondo, Banyamulenge mutualities umbrella, the accusation is malicious and borne out of anti-Banyamulenge bias with incalculably dangerous consequences for a targeted community.

"In this response, we will demonstrate that the central claims in the article are false and tendentious, that the unsubstantiated accusations therein are malicious, and that the overall orientation of the article is unquestionably a product of anti-Banyamulenge bias with incalculably dangerous consequences for a targeted community sacrificed at the altar of your news organization's self-promotion," Felix Nyirazo Rubogora said in a letter to Afrique Intelligence Media after the publication.

Felix Nyirazo Rubogora in the letter explained that for many years and especially since 2017, the Banyamulenge community has been under siege from a coalition of local armed groups including Mai-Mai Biloze Bishambuke, Yakutumba, Ebuela, René, etc.

He indicated that the militias have formed alliances with foreign armed groups such as Red-Tabara from Burundi. Numerous reports have also documented how members of the Congolese armed forces (FARDC) supply arms and ammunition but also operate jointly with these groups.

He revealed that attacks targeting the Banyamulenge have followed a systematic pattern: the militia groups have destroyed and burned to the ground over 85% of Banyamulenge settlements, looted about 500,000 heads of cattle, tortured and killed around two thousand people, and pushed several thousands of surviving victims into either settlement for the internally displaced (around Minembwe and very few other areas) or exile to neighboring countries such as Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda, and Kenya as well as around the world.

Next to physical attacks, Felix Nyirazo Rubogora raises concerns over how members of the Banyamulenge community have consistently been targeted by hate speech and online campaigns intending to dehumanize them. This, according to Felix Nyirazo Rubogora, is widely documented in numerous reports from many prominent international organizations, including the United Nations.

He said for a community that has historically been largely self-sustaining through cattle breeding, farming, and a system of community solidarity, the destruction of their traditional livelihood and the consequent mass displacement have consigned members of the community to a desperate and precarious existence.

He added that the people are now isolated within a remote environment where they have not benefited from any meaningful humanitarian assistance, adding that they have been forced to rely almost exclusively on assistance from members of the Banyamulenge diaspora across the world organized within Gakondo, including Mahoro Peace Association and other Banyamulenge mutualities.

In the letter, Felix said Banyamulenge Diaspora is, therefore, scandalized that Olivier Liffran and Antoine Rolland could author an article titled “From Texas to South Kivu's highlands, Mahoro Peace Association's complex channels finance militia” accusing its people of pumping thousands of dollars into financing the war effort in South Kivu.

“The Africa Intelligence article makes several false and misleading statements about MPA, Gakondo and Shikama Mutualities. Additionally, it formulates false and even slanderous statements about individual members of the Banyamulenge community in the United States, the DRC, and elsewhere. While a few of the named individuals were contacted by the authors, most were not,” Felix Nyirazo Rubogora said in a letter sent to Afrique Intelligence Media.

He continued, “Moreover, allegations are made against some individuals while others are simply mentioned without any specific claims in ways that suggest that they are guilty of either being allegedly related to, or associated with, other named individuals. Finally, it makes several factually inaccurate statements on the overall situation of conflicts in the high plateaus of South Kivu/DRC.”

Felix Nyirazo Rubogora added that given the article's false statements and allegations carrying damaging consequences for the security and reputation of the Banyamulenge community around the world, it strongly demands the retraction of the article from Afrique Intelligence Media.

Gakondo also wants its letter sent to Afrique Intelligence Media telling its side of the story to be published by the latter Media.

Below is a copy of the letter:

Mr. Paul Deutchman
Editor-in-Chief,
Africa Intelligence
142 rue Montmartre
7600 Paris, France

16 February 2023
RE : Response to the article entitled “Du Texas aux hauts plateaux, le FBI sur la trace du financement des milices du Sud-Kivu"

Dear Mr. Deutchman,

We are writing to express our deepest concern over the above-mentioned article by Olivier Liffran and Antoine Rolland published in Africa Intelligence on January 16, 2023, in which MPA, Gakondo, and Shikama associations and named individual members of the Banyamulenge community are accused of funding militias in South-Kivu.

In this response, we will demonstrate that the central claims in the article are false and tendentious, that the unsubstantiated accusations therein are malicious, and that the overall orientation of the article is unquestionably a product of anti-Banyamulenge bias with incalculably dangerous consequences for a targeted community sacrificed at the altar of your news organization's self-promotion.

In the current context of fashionable hate speech and demonization of the Banyamulenge and other Congolese Tutsi within the DRC, proliferation of this disinformation lends ammunition to the ongoing genocidal killings and ethnic cleansing targeting the Banyamulenge and the Tutsi in the DRC.

We will demonstrate how, by echoing anti-Banyamulenge narratives through false and tendentious allegations against named individuals who live in, or who have family members living in, a conflict environment, the article achieves nothing more than putting them in further jeopardy.

The authors contacted Mahoro Peace Association (MPA), Honorable Moise Nyarugabo and Professor Freddy Kaniki, and all responded in a transparent manner to their questions. However, we were surprised to see that the two journalists have completely ignored the information provided to them by the three contacted individuals, relying instead on disinformation clearly provided by the Congolese intelligence services, namely “l'agence nationale de renseignement (ANR)” and “le renseignement militaire,” which are regularly listed by the United Nations and other organizations as violators of human rights. May we remind you that these same Congolese intelligence services have arrested and incarcerated dozens of Banyamulenge throughout the country without any formal charges or fair hearings.

Before addressing the false claims in the article specifically, it is important to establish the historical context. For many years and especially since 2017, the Banyamulenge community has been under siege from a coalition of local armed groups including Mai-Mai Biloze Bishambuke, Yakutumba, Ebuela, and René. These militias have formed alliances with foreign armed groups such as Red-Tabara from Burundi. Numerous reports have also documented how members of the Congolese armed forces (FARDC) supply arms and ammunition but also operate jointly with these groups. Attacks targeting the Banyamulenge have followed a systematic pattern: the militia groups have destroyed and burned to the ground over 85% of Banyamulenge settlements, looted about 500,000 heads of cattle, tortured and killed around two thousand people, and pushed several thousands of surviving victims into either settlements for the internally displaced (around Minembwe and very few other areas) or exile to neighboring countries such as Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda, and Kenya as well as around the world. This reality is widely documented in numerous reports from many prominent international organizations, including the United Nations.

For a community that has historically been largely self-sustaining through cattle breeding, farming, and a system of community solidarity, the destruction of their traditional livelihood and the consequent mass displacement have consigned members of this community to a desperate and precarious existence. Isolated within a remote environment where they have not benefited from any meaningful humanitarian assistance, they have been forced to rely almost exclusively on assistance from members of the Banyamulenge diaspora across the world, including Gakondo and MPA. This assistance has been provided with full transparency.

During the last six years, the Congolese government, the UN humanitarian actors as well as the international NGOs have completely abandoned the Banyamulenge population to its miserable fate. One can recall that in July 2019, when the Congolese government allocated $555,580 for internally displaced people in Minembwe, this money was immediately embezzled by the accountant of the “ministère de la solidarité nationale et actions humanitaires” (https://www.mediacongo.net/article-actualite55436_detournement_de_fonds_d_assistance_des_sinistres_de_minembwe_l_arbre_qui_cache_la_foret.html). And since then, nothing has been done.

Faced with this dire emergency, the Banyamulenge diaspora, including Gakondo and MPA, took responsibility for providing the urgent humanitarian assistance to the victims of these atrocities so desperately needed. Using member contributions and volunteer labor and operating with complete transparency, we undertook several project including providing food and healthcare supplies to the displaced people of Bibokoboko and Rurambo subsequent to the destruction of their villages and in support of their efforts to return home and rebuild their villages.

All of this is well documented and visible on the ground to any observers. Unfortunately, however, the authors of this article, repeating the disinformation disseminated by the Congolese intelligence services, made unfounded accusation that we are” funding militias of South-Kivu.”

The Africa Intelligence article makes several false and misleading statements about MPA, Gakondo and Shikama Mutualities. Additionally, it formulates false and even slanderous statements about individual members of the Banyamulenge community in the United States, the DRC, and elsewhere. While a few of the named individuals were contacted by the authors, most were not. Moreover, allegations are made against some individuals while others are simply mentioned without any specific claims in ways that suggest that they are guilty of either being allegedly related to, or associated with, other named individuals. Finally, it makes several factually inaccurate statements on the overall situation of conflicts in the high plateaus of South Kivu/DRC. Below are some examples:

o In the title as well as in the content, the article makes the claim that MPA is coordinated from Dallas, Texas. A minimum of journalistic investigation and due diligence would have revealed that this claim is false. MPA is neither primarily registered in Texas nor coordinated from the city of Dallas. Neither member of the organization's executive committee, including Adele Kibasumba and Jean de Dieu Ndaruhuye Irankunda mentioned in the article, live in Dallas. The article also alleges that the current Gakondo leader, falsely accused of coordinating the financing of armed groups, is Belgian. He neither is nor has ever been Belgian, nor has he ever lived in Belgium. Alexis Nkurunziza is falsely accused of being an ex-Rwandan Patriotic Front intelligence officer; David Munyamahoro Banoge is presented as a former treasurer of MPA's Executive Committee, when in fact he has never been a member of the executive committee nor the treasurer of MPA. He is also falsely accused of committing atrocities without any specific allegation of what he may have personally done.

o There are misleading discrepancies between the title and the content of the article. In the title, the authors refer to funding of “militias of South-Kivu,” while in the content they refer to “the Banyamulenge community militias” and “Banyamulenge militias Twirwaneho,” which makes no logical sense. According to several publicly available sources, Twirwaneho is a single local self-defense group made up by Banyamulenge civilians in South-Kivu to resist the ongoing ethnic cleansing targeting them since 2017. This is well detailed in the statement made by the Twirwaneho representative during the first round of the Nairobi process in April 2022 (https://fr.educationforpeaceincongo.org/2022/05/06/discours-twirwaneho-aux-assises-de-nairobi-2022/) and then reiterated in subsequent forums.

o The authors falsely state that they have checked the MPA financial books (records). This is not true since MPA has never shared these documents with them.

o Doctor (Professor) Lazare Sebitereko, who is indeed the Rector of the Eben-Ezer University in besieged Minembwe, is presented without any substantiating evidence as a founding member of a Banyamulenge armed group FRF and as involved in a network of money transfers. This false allegation is also made against John Mukiza. Neither was contacted by the authors prior to the article's publication.

o The article mentions the Former Vice-President Azarias Ruberwa, Member of Parliament Moise Nyarugabo, Freddy Kaniki, and General Charles Bisengimana without any specific allegation in what can only be interpreted as a slanderous inclusion in the article intended to put them in harm's way. Mr. Ruberwa is mentioned here as the direct uncle of Prof. Freddy Kaniki, which is false. Mr. Nyarugabo is falsely presented as a godfather of MPA and sympathetic to the aims of the Twirwaneho, while Bisengimana is simply named as a relative of John Mukiza. Freddy Kaniki is falsely referred to as a MPA strategist with strong connections to the Great Lakes region of Africa.

o The article also claims that since the beginning of this year, Burundian forces have been operating in South Kivu under the East Africa Community mandate, while it is widely documented that they have been covertly deployed since December 2021, hence long before the EAC decision to intervene, following a secret agreement between the Congolese and Burundian presidents.

o The article further includes a vague paragraph alleging the existence of a shadow network called Abarwandashyaka uniting former combatants whose members are “suspected” of collecting contributions to fund Twirwaneho. Since no evidence is presented to back the claim, it is not clear who does the “suspecting” since the authors acknowledge that they did not speak with the FBI.

From the examples presented above, one can clearly note the following:

o For an investigation purporting to have consulted MPA financial records, it is very surprising that the authors did not present any physical evidence beyond hiding behind completely anonymous informants. Moreover, the article states in the final paragraph that the FBI was contacted but refused to comment. This suggests that the only side of the story the authors tell is that propagated by the Congolese intelligence services. How the authors managed to discover what the FBI has found, as stated in the opening paragraph of the article, without communicating with the FBI is left unexplained?

o The authors display a very limited knowledge of the Banyamulenge organizations and individuals they are falsely accusing in this article, as well as a lack of understanding of the dynamics of armed conflicts in the Highlands of South-Kivu. Any expert on this region knows very well that the community solidarity and local self-defense mechanism are not new concepts or new practices for Banyamulenge society. Indeed, thanks to the two actions, our community was able to survive the deadly attacks by mulele rebellion in the Highlands of South-Kivu in the 1960s.

o This slanderous and libelous article does not remotely contribute to peace. The biased and manufactured allegations presented appear to come entirely from Congolese intelligence agents.

o Factually inaccurate statements undermine the seriousness of the investigation conducted by the authors of the article.

o The caricature-like description in the article of the composition, structure, and activities of, and alleged disagreements between, MPA, Gakondo, and other Banyamulenge-related organizations and their characterization as a shadow network give a grossly misleading impression, manipulated to fit the author's narrative.

o The article tries unsuccessfully to cook up some conspiracy theories to establish political and military connections between Banyamulenge individuals and organizations and the three neighboring countries, namely Burundi, Rwanda and Uganda. Firstly, these are presented as a precious rear guard for Twirwaneho, and secondly, establishment of a link with M23.

o It is not clear in the article whether being somehow related to someone constitutes a crime warranting a mention in the article. This guilty-by-family-relations logic is beyond comprehension and would be a cheap allegation if it did not carry dangerous consequences for the security of the named individuals.

o Failure to contact the individuals falsely accused in this article raises serious questions about the professional journalistic standards of the authors, as well as their shadow agenda. In addition, these deeply irresponsible accusations endanger innocent people in the DRC and the region as whole.

o To mask a clear lack of evidence, the authors use hyperbolic language with words such as “serious suspicions” vis-à-vis the work of MPA, characterized as an organization structured in a “sophisticated manner.”

o Overall, the intended objective of the article, whose content is provided by Congolese intelligence services (ANR and renseignement militaire), is to silence the very strong and credible voice of the Banyamulenge diaspora, by attempting to criminalize its highly humanitarian actions in the Highlands of South-Kivu.

MPA, Gakondo, and other Banyamulenge organizations referenced in the article as well as individually named leaders of these organizations categorically deny any involvement in funding armed groups and also confirm that they have never been contacted by FBI on this issue. In addition to filling a void in providing humanitarian assistance to besieged Banyamulenge and members of other communities living with them, these organizations have constantly tried to raise awareness of this situation and frequently plead for peaceful cohabitation with all communities of the Kivu and the DRC. And it's in this specific context that MPA and other Banyamulenge representatives met on several occasions with Congolese authorities, including President Tshisekedi, and other relevant regional and global leaders, to communicate to them the urgency of solving the crisis in the high plateaus area and promoting peaceful cohabitation among the affected communities.

Given the article's false statements and allegations carrying damaging consequences for the security and reputation of the Banyamulenge community around the world, we strongly demand the retraction of this article from your website, and publication of this letter. Finally, we hope this statement will inspire your media organization to act with more diligence to avoid any future exercise in self-promotion that knowingly inflicts great damage on thousands of innocent people.