Once they begged for refuge. Today, they hold guns and power and they use it to silence those who suffered just like them.
The Past They Don’t Want You to Remember
In 1959, thousands of Tutsis fled Rwanda after the social revolution ousted the monarchy. Many settled in eastern Congo (then Zaire), in places like North Kivu, South Kivu, and Ituri. They were stateless, landless, and hunted. Some of them stayed humble. But others, including future RPF and M23 leaders, grew up with revenge in their hearts.
Fast forward to 1994: Paul Kagame's Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) takes power in Kigali. He begins recruiting those same refugees for regional domination under the false flag of “Tutsi liberation.” Armed with ideology and bullets, they didn’t just return to Rwanda; they invaded Congo.
The M23 Lie: Speaking Kinyarwanda ≠ Being a Victim
For years, Kagame and his generals claimed that “Kinyarwanda-speaking Congolese” were marginalized, using this excuse to justify the rise of M23 rebels, an armed group mostly led by Tutsi officers like Sultani Makenga, and backed by Kigali.
Their message was simple:
“We fight because the Congo government hates people who speak Kinyarwanda.”
But now that M23 controls towns like Rutshuru, Bunagana, and parts of Goma, a shocking truth is being revealed:
🟥 They are doing worse than what they accused Kinshasa of.
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May 17, 2025
May 15, 2026
5 min read
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Updated:
Once they begged for refuge. Today, they hold guns and power and they use it to silence those who suffered just like them.
The Past They Don’t Want You to Remember
In 1959, thousands of Tutsis fled Rwanda after the social revolution ousted the monarchy. Many settled in eastern Congo (then Zaire), in places like North Kivu, South Kivu, and Ituri. They were stateless, landless, and hunted. Some of them stayed humble. But others, including future RPF and M23 leaders, grew up with revenge in their hearts.
Fast forward to 1994: Paul Kagame's Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) takes power in Kigali. He begins recruiting those same refugees for regional domination under the false flag of “Tutsi liberation.” Armed with ideology and bullets, they didn’t just return to Rwanda; they invaded Congo.
The M23 Lie: Speaking Kinyarwanda ≠ Being a Victim
For years, Kagame and his generals claimed that “Kinyarwanda-speaking Congolese” were marginalized, using this excuse to justify the rise of M23 rebels, an armed group mostly led by Tutsi officers like Sultani Makenga, and backed by Kigali.
Their message was simple:
“We fight because the Congo government hates people who speak Kinyarwanda.”
But now that M23 controls towns like Rutshuru, Bunagana, and parts of Goma, a shocking truth is being revealed:
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🟥 They are doing worse than what they accused Kinshasa of.
The New Apartheid: Hutu Civilians Labeled “Enemies”
Today, in M23-occupied zones:
Hutu women, children, the elderly, and youth are being arrested
They are accused of being part of the FDLR (the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, a rebel group mostly made of Rwandan Hutu exiles)
No trial, no investigation, just blanket accusations
Mothers, girls, boys, farmers, anyone who is Hutu becomes a suspect
Their Congolese ID cards and voter cards are confiscated and publicly burned on live TV
The goal? To erase their Congolese identity, to deport them, and to claim they are Rwandan infiltrators
These are not foreigners. These are Congolese citizens, many born and raised in North Kivu. They carry legal Congolese documents, yet are now being treated like invaders in their own land.
“M23 says Congo didn’t respect the constitution, but now they burn citizens’ IDs and strip their nationality on television.”
Some were born in Congo and never stepped foot in Rwanda, but they’re still called “Rwandans.” Others are arrested just for speaking Kinyarwanda but not siding with Kagame.
They’re not hunting FDLR. They’re hunting Hutus,” said one displaced father whose 14-year-old son was taken.
The same people who once cried for identity are now denying others their dignity.
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Worse? These are not government orders, it’s happening through local M23-backed administration, security patrols, and community policing run by ex-Rwandan Tutsi refugees of 1959.
Even though the UN and human rights groups confirm FDLR is no longer a serious threat, Kagame keeps using the name like a magic word to kill without consequences. And now M23 uses that same excuse to round up innocent Congolese Hutus and erase their existence.
Kagame’s Hidden Hand
This isn’t random. Kagame’s regime thrives on division, fear, and control. By turning ex-refugees into armed agents of power, he created a militia elite that now enforces Kigali’s interests in Congo, through mineral theft, ethnic suppression, and military occupation.
And the victims? Always the same:
Congolese Hutu civilians
Rwandan Hutu refugees
Kinyarwanda-speaking moderates who reject Kagame’s lies
A Two-Faced Empire
We want rights for Kinyarwanda speakers,” they said.
But they only mean Tutsis loyal to Kagame.
Hutus who speak the same language?
Labeled FDLR rebels. Tortured. Burned. Forgotten.
The Final Hypocrisy
“We (Tutsis) speak Kinyarwanda, so we’re Congolese.” , “They (Hutus) speak Kinyarwanda, so they’re Rwandans.”
This is the double standard being weaponized in Goma and beyond. Kagame and M23 want all the sympathy of victims, while ruling like colonizers.
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The Congolese people, Tutsi, Hutu, Nande, Tembo, Shi, and more, know the truth: This is not about language. It’s about power.
It’s time the world sees it too.
🔚 This is not liberation. This is apartheid with AK-47s.
by XTRAfrica
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