Kagame threatens South Africa’s Ramaphosa over DRC intervention

Despite being on opposite sides of the Congolese conflict by proxy, Pretoria and Kigali are now exchanging sharp words. The war in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is reigniting old tensions between the two nations.

For South Africa, the mission in eastern DRC is becoming a serious quagmire. The country is dealing with heavy casualties—13 soldiers were killed during the battle for Goma on January 23, when M23 rebels, backed by Rwanda, launched an offensive. South Africa contributes the largest contingent to the SAMIDRC, a regional military force deployed by the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

The government faces increasing criticism domestically, with the public questioning the decision to send troops to a distant war zone. Additionally, South Africa must navigate threats from Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame, who denies any involvement in the conflict and views the South African intervention as an act of aggression.

Kagame’s response was swift and angry. He accused South African leaders of misrepresenting facts, calling their statements “deliberate attacks” and “lies” that contradicted his discussions with President Cyril Ramaphosa earlier that week.

Ramaphosa had suggested that the soldiers killed were victims of Congolese fire, and not Rwandan-backed M23 rebels. However, the South African presidency had yet to respond to these claims at the time of the article’s publication.

In another statement, South Africa’s army blamed the deaths of three soldiers on mortar fire from M23 that struck their base.

Rwanda’s government does not see the SAMIDRC as a peacekeeping force. Kagame has criticized it, arguing that it is an aggressive force engaged in offensive combat operations, helping the DRC government fight its own people. He also raised concerns about the group working with armed factions such as the FDLR, who are hostile toward Rwanda, and the potential for the conflict to spill over into Rwanda itself.

While Kagame dismissed Ramaphosa’s role as a peacemaker, other military experts point out that SAMIDRC is not strictly a peacekeeping mission. Its mandate allows it to help the Congolese government fight armed groups and restore peace and security. Yet, its activities to date have largely been defensive, focusing on protecting bases and securing key routes like the one between Sake and Goma.

This debate over semantics underscores the confusion surrounding SAMIDRC’s role in the conflict and highlights the complexities of a war that has regional consequences.

The ongoing conflict also stirs up old grievances between South Africa and Rwanda. Pretoria accuses Kigali of targeting Rwandan dissidents on South African soil, a suspicion stemming from the 2014 killing of Patrick Karegeya, a former Rwandan intelligence chief, who was found strangled in his hotel room in South Africa.

Despite the tensions, diplomatic channels remain open, with South Africa’s foreign minister noting that the spat has not yet escalated. However, Rwanda’s foreign minister expressed dissatisfaction with the “hostile” statements from South African officials, especially regarding the call for the UN Security Council to condemn Rwanda.