President Félix Antoine Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has boldly declared that his Rwandan counterpart, Paul Kagame, is afraid of him.
Tshisekedi made these remarks in Mbuji-Mayi, a city in the Kasaï-Oriental province, during a visit on Thursday, December 26.
As with his recent domestic tours, this visit served as an opportunity for Tshisekedi to target Rwanda and President Kagame.
This comes after the two leaders were supposed to meet at a scheduled summit in Luanda, Angola, on Sunday, December 15. However, Rwanda decided not to attend, citing Kinshasa’s last-minute backtracking on a prior agreement to enter negotiations with the M23 rebel group.
Although President Paul Kagame did not attend the Luanda meeting, Tshisekedi did and held talks with Angolan President João Lourenço, the mediator in the conflict between Rwanda and the DRC, as well as with former Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, who serves as a facilitator for peace efforts in eastern Congo.
Rwanda’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Amb. Olivier Nduhungirehe, recently explained that Tshisekedi had been informed in advance that his meeting with Kagame was canceled. Nevertheless, Tshisekedi decided to proceed to Luanda, seemingly to create a pretext for his actions.
On Thursday, Tshisekedi alleged that even before the meeting’s cancellation, he knew Kagame would not attend, claiming that Kagame is too afraid to face him directly.
“When I went to Luanda, I already knew that guy (President Kagame) would not show up. He always avoids me. He fears me; he cannot look me in the eyes. When we meet, I look him in the eyes, but he looks elsewhere,” Tshisekedi declared.
These statements have sparked widespread criticism among Congolese citizens, with some echoing President Kagame’s previous remark that Tshisekedi “excels at everything except managing the consequences of his words.”
In Mbuji-Mayi, Tshisekedi also praised the efforts of the Congolese Armed Forces (FARDC), claiming that they are inflicting significant damage on their enemies in the ongoing conflict.
However, as of Thursday, when he made these claims, the FARDC and their allies, including the FDLR militia, had not captured any territory from the M23 rebels, despite launching major offensives, including aerial bombardments.
