During an exclusive interview with the Rwanda Broadcasting Agency (RBA) on Friday, Amb. Nduhungirehe detailed the recent visit to Rwanda by AU lead mediator on eastern DRC peace process Faure Gnassingbé, President of the Council of the Republic of Togo, accompanied by a panel of experts.
The latter comprises former African leaders: former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, former Ethiopian President Sahle-Work Zewde, former Botswana President Mokgweetsi Masisi, and former Central African Republic President Catherine Samba-Panza.
They were hosted by President Paul Kagame on Friday at Urugwiro Village for high-level discussions on regional stability.
Amb. Nduhungirehe explained that the visit directly followed a high-level meeting convened in Lomé, Togo, on January 17, 2026, convened by President Gnassingbé.
At the meeting, the foreign minister said, participants, including regional facilitators and partners, agreed to "reinforce [and] strengthen the African mediation for the conflict in Eastern DRC" and to ensure "coherence between the African Union mediation and the existing mediations, which are the Qatari and the US mediations."
The minister noted that one key outcome was the decision for the mediator and facilitators to visit four countries in the region: the DRC, Rwanda, Uganda, and Burundi.
The delegation had arrived in Kigali from Kinshasa and was scheduled to continue to Bujumbura and Kampala.
Amb. Nduhungirehe highlighted Rwanda's consistent preference for African processes in resolving the eastern DRC conflict. He recalled earlier initiatives such as the Nairobi process under the East African Community (EAC), which involved political dialogue between the DRC government and Congolese armed groups.
He also noted that the Nairobi process included the deployment of the East African Regional Force, which successfully achieved a ceasefire and led to significant territorial withdrawals by M23.
Additionally, he mentioned the bilateral Rwanda-DRC negotiations held in 2024, which were aimed at addressing mutual security concerns, particularly the ongoing threat posed by the FDLR.
He attributed the collapse of both processes to decisions by DRC President Félix Tshisekedi, including the sudden expulsion of the AFC/M23 from talks and the East African force, as well as refusal to commit to dialogue with the group despite prior agreements.
Following the fall of Goma and Bukavu, regional actors (EAC and SADC) attempted to re-engage, but external mediations from the United States and Qatar were requested. Rwanda accepted these, the minister said, because "what we want is peace, whatever process, whatever forum, we want peace in our region."
He expressed particular optimism about the current AU-led track: "We really have faith in this African process. And we believe that to capitalize on the diplomatic gains of 2025, we need to have the African Union involved in implementing the agreement that was signed.
'Because the agreement, Washington and Doha, we cannot touch them because they were already signed, agreed on. What we need now is the implementation phase in which the AU will have a prominent role."
Addressing renewed calls by DRC authorities for international sanctions against Rwanda, Nduhungirehe described them as evidence of a "lack of political will" and pointed to ongoing ceasefire violations, including daily airstrikes and drone attacks on civilian areas and AFC/M23 positions, in breach of the Washington agreement (June 2025) and the April 2025 ceasefire between the DRC government and AFC/M23.
He argued that genuine progress depends on regional parties returning to Africa and implementing signed commitments.
Amb, Nduhungirehe also touched on Rwanda's security coordination with the AFC/M23, confirming a January 22, 2026, statement by Rwanda's ambassador to the United States.
"Yes, it's true," Amb. Nduhungirehe said, explaining that the coordination is defensive and focused on shared interests against the FDLR, a group he described as genocidal and a threat to both Rwandan security and Congolese Tutsi communities, particularly given AFC/M23 control of much of the DRC-Rwanda border.
He stressed that AFC/M23's legitimate political grievances remain Congolese internal matters currently under discussion in Doha with the DRC government, while Rwanda's engagement addresses longstanding defensive necessities dating back to post-genocide attacks from DRC territory.
Théophile Niyitegeka
