The case between the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Rwanda continued on Thursday, February 13, at the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights (ACHPR). This session focused on whether the court should accept the case filed by the DRC against Rwanda.

Similar to the previous session, where the court's authority was discussed, Rwanda's lawyers argued that the case should not be accepted. They claimed that regional and international legal procedures had not been fully used before bringing the case to the ACHPR. According to them, this made the DRC's request premature. They also argued that most of the information in the DRC’s complaint came from media reports, which weakened its reliability.

Rwanda’s defense also requested to pause the case until the East African Court of Justice (EACJ) made its decision on a related matter. However, the DRC’s legal team strongly opposed this request, insisting that the case should proceed at the ACHPR.

Leading the DRC’s delegation in Tanzania, lawyer Samuel Mbemba stated that Rwanda was trying to avoid a detailed review of the case. He explained that the serious crimes Rwanda was accused of could work against it if the court examined them closely. This, he said, was why Rwanda wanted the case dismissed.

“The trial went as expected. Like in any case, we first discussed Rwanda's objections. They claimed the court had no authority to hear the case and that the DRC’s complaint should be rejected. One of Rwanda’s arguments was that victims in the DRC should seek justice in Rwandan courts. They also argued that human rights violations could only be considered if they happened within Rwanda.

Based on this, they wanted the court to declare itself unable to handle the case. However, our lawyers disproved these claims and showed that dismissing the case would be a serious mistake. This court is meant to judge large-scale human rights violations, and the crimes committed by Rwanda in the DRC are known not just in Africa but worldwide,” he said.

The DRC’s Deputy Minister of Justice and International Affairs, Samuel Mbemba Kabuya, expressed confidence that the ACHPR had the authority to hear the case. He also emphasized that the DRC had strong evidence against Rwanda, which would strengthen the case.

At the end of the session, the court gave both parties eight days, starting from Thursday, to submit their final legal arguments and any additional evidence before it makes a decision.