Her statement shared on X follows a controversial discussion initiated by President Félix Tshisekedi of the DRC on March 31, 2025, regarding what he referred to as "Genocide for Economic Gains."
Tshisekedi claimed that over 10 million Congolese have suffered over the past three decades, blaming neighboring countries like Rwanda and armed groups such as M23 for the devastation. Tshisekedi stressed that the international community should recognize this alleged genocide.
'A week before the commemoration of the Genocide against the Tutsi, so-called leaders from the DRC have openly shown what we have long known: genocide denial has deep roots in DRC's politics,' Nyombayire remarked.
Nyombayire pointed out the DRC government's failures, where armed groups have been entrusted with leadership roles while the country's political elite focused on personal enrichment by plundering national resources.
She also criticized the government's tendency to externalize blame, rather than address internal problems.
'After decades as a failed state, delegating governance to armed groups because leaders are too busy stealing the nation's resources to buy castles in Belgium, DRC has traded in threats of 'à la moindre escarmouche' for a new low: Inventing a genocide to cover up the truth of their own failures," Nyombayire explained.
'The deaths that occurred and are still occurring today are the result of the inability to govern, to look beyond personal interest, and to protect citizens,' she added.
Nyombayire reminded the public that the same government now invoking the Genocide Convention was the one that integrated the genocidal group FDLR into its military forces, all while continuing to deny basic rights to its citizens, subjecting them to violence and even death based on their identity.
Since February 2025, leaders from the East African Community (EAC) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) have been working on solutions to bring peace to eastern DRC and the surrounding region.
However, Nyombayire emphasized that the DRC government continues to evade responsibility, turning victims into perpetrators and distracting from the essential work of finding a lasting solution.
IGIHE
