Why did Kagame and Tshisekedi relationship die fast?

 

Between January 2019 and July/August 2021, it was the honeymoon between the two leaders. A privileged relationship, marked by unprecedented political and economic rapprochements. Then, suddenly, this cordial understanding gave way to declared hostility. However, the causes of the current crisis largely originate in this brutal rupture. This conflict is also the consequence of a profound disagreement between two heads of state.

What had they promised each other during the 2-year honeymoon? What clauses of their agreements were not respected to get to this point? These are the real questions to explore.

When he came to power in January 2019, Félix Tshisekedi and Kagame were:

(1) March 2019, RwandAir, a Rwandan airline, finally obtained authorization to operate flights between Kigali and Kinshasa/Lubumbashi, something that Joseph Kabila never authorized during his entire reign.

(2) May 2019, Paul Kagame, who had not set foot in Kinshasa for more than ten years, was welcomed as a distinguished guest by Félix Tshisekedi at the funeral of Étienne Tshisekedi. "Yo nani, oboya Kagame?" ("Who are you to oppose Kagame?"), the people of the UDPS told us.

(3) November 2019, Claude Ibalanky, coordinator of the Addis Ababa Framework Agreement Monitoring Mechanism and close collaborator of Félix Tshisekedi, sent a letter requesting the lifting of arrest warrants against M23 members and their integration into the FARDC. He will then mention nearly 10,000 former M23 combatants based in Rwanda and Uganda who should return to the country.

(4) December 2019, Félix Tshisekedi and Paul Kagame, all smiling, appeared on hand in hand in Kigali during the Kusi Ideas Festival. Félix  also visited the Tutsi genocide memorial and wrote in the guestbook that the Congolese victims were collateral victims of regional wars, a statement that had provoked contrasting reactions. At that time, we spoke of "active diplomacy".

(5) His greatest partner, Vital Kamerhe, went to Rwanda and gave cows in a wedding at Kabarebe's, in the name of the friendship that now bound their two Presidents.

(6) May 2021, Denise Nyakeru, First Lady of the DRC, spent several days in Kigali as part of an "official visit", participating in activities organized in her honor.

(7) June 2021, Félix Tshisekedi signed an agreement with Kagame on the exploitation of Congolese gold by the Rwandan company DITHER LTD, a highly controversial decision at that time.

(8) After the eruption of Nyiragongo, Claude Ibalanky announced that Rwanda would build a modern city for the victims on Congolese soil, financed to the tune of 30 million USD, a donation presented as a generous gesture from President Kagame.

Then, around July/August, it was the divorce. And we cannot continue to hide the fact that what is happening to DRC is the consequence of broken un calculated commitments.