DRC embassy: Washington Incident Cannot Be Reduced to Misunderstanding

The DRC embassy in Washington says a March 24 security incident at the hotel where First Lady Denise Nyakeru Tshisekedi was staying in Washington, D.C., should be treated as a serious matter and fully investigated, not dismissed as a misunderstanding. The embassy said security measures blocked an attempted intrusion and that U.S. authorities were informed.

In a statement cited by Congolese media, the embassy argued that the episode came amid a sensitive diplomatic context and required “the greatest vigilance” and a rigorous review of the facts.

Congolese government spokesperson Patrick Muyaya had also raised the matter publicly while the first lady was in the United States for the Fostering the Future Together summit, an event hosted in Washington by US First Lady Melania Trump.

The incident has quickly fed into already fraught ties between Kinshasa and Kigali. A separate report carrying Rwanda’s position said the confrontation stemmed from confusion in a shared hotel area rather than a targeted attack, highlighting the sharply different narratives now surrounding the episode.

That dispute unfolded only days after officials from the DRC, Rwanda and the United States met in Washington and announced fresh steps to reduce tensions under the Washington Accords. The timing gives the hotel incident added diplomatic weight, even as independent confirmation of the precise sequence of events remains limited.