DR Congo’s tribalist in chief Felix Tshisekedi thought he could mask his regime’s crimes with a carefully staged performance.
By deploying Briig. Gen. Gasita Olivier in Uvira, a Munyamulenge officer with decades of service in the Congolese army, he hoped to convince the world that Banyamulenge are integrated and safe. Yet, the move exposed both his deceit and the chaos his own militias now embody.
Gasita’s deployment was meant to send a message. A Munyamulenge general cannot possibly participate in massacres of his own people. Yet Congo’s brutal realities are never that simple.
The plan collapsed almost immediately. The Wazalendo militias created, armed, and empowered under Tshisekedi refused to accept him. These same groups have carried out massacres of Banyamulenge in Uvira, Minembwe, and beyond under the pretext of calling them Rwandese. To them, Gasita was not a Congolese officer but another “Rwandan,” and they demanded his expulsion from the country.
First, the tragedy exposes Tshisekedi’s rule as one built on façades and symbolic appointments designed to distract the world while atrocities continue. Second, it reveals the monster he has nurtured. The militias he once relied on to terrorize Banyamulenge communities now reject even the man he chose as his cover story.
This is more than a failed political stunt. It is a warning. The Wazalendo are heavily armed, operating beyond control, and committing genocidal violence against Banyamulenge families who remain abandoned and unprotected. While blood flows in South Kivu, Tshisekedi hides behind empty gestures, fooling the international community with talk of unity.
The Gasita affair tears away the mask. It shows with painful clarity that Tshisekedi’s DRC is ruled not by law or legitimacy, but by hatred, militias, and deception. The world should no longer be fooled.