Last week, Tshisekedi held an interview with France 24 and RFI journalists, where the DRC ruler hailed the Wazalendo as “heroes” who aren’t committing any crime in their fight against the M23. What belligerent Tshisekedi said, had intentions to throw off the entire world about his newly formed Wazalendo. A gang of thugs that are so reminiscent of the 1994 Interahamwe and a regime’s pawn that continues to create more chaos in eastern DRC.
When Tshisekedi wanted to violate the ceasefire at the beginning of October, he used Wazalendos as a smokescreen. After arming the thugs and giving them a command to attack the M23 position, Tshisekedi and his regime fabricated a lie that “anger has driven the young people of North Kivu to take up arms and fight the M23.” The regime also blew smoke with statements that the Wazalendos stole new uniforms meant for the FARDC. But this was another ploy to conceal the fact that the wazalendos were granted a place in the regime’s coalition of evil (FARDC-FDLR, Mai-Mai, Nyatura, PARECO, Mercenaries, Wazalendos).
It didn’t take long to discern that Tshisekedi created a monster that he failed to control, as the young thugs immersed themselves in slaughtering innocent Congolese Tutsis. A close example is how the Wazalendos targeted Tutsi communities in Nturo village in Masisi. These young thugs killed Tutsi herdsmen and burned their houses labelling them the “enemy of the state”. Another example is the recent incidents of two Congolese Tutsis (Renzaho Habimana Jeremie and FARDC Captain Rukatura Gisore Patrick) who were burned for merely being Tutsis.
In addition, since Tshisekedi regime resumed his war against the M23, Wazalendos has turned into marauding gangs of youth that loot, rape and hassle the Congolese people. In the area of Mushaki, at the very beginning of their attack on the M23 position, these youth looted cattle from Congolese Tutsis and their other belongings. They did this, also raping girls and women from the Tutsi communities.
Tshisekedi’s support for the Wazalendo appears to be a cover-up, disguising a group with disturbing parallels to the 1994 Interahamwe. The evidence suggests that these “heroes” are, in fact, a tool of chaos once manipulated by the Tshisekedi regime for political agendas. The disturbing shenanigans of Tshisekedi that created, trained and armed such a force must be stopped. If not, these Interahamwe in a new form will recreate the 1994 atrocity.