The Rwandan government has summoned the British High Commissioner to Rwanda, Alison Thorpe, following remarks made by a UK minister that Kigali deemed misleading and offensive.
Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Olivier Nduhungirehe confirmed on Thursday, February 27, that the summons was issued in response to statements by UK Minister of State for Africa, Lord Ray Collins, regarding the ongoing violence in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
The dispute arose after Lord Collins publicly linked Rwanda to an attack on a church in Lubero, North Kivu province, where 70 people were brutally killed by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a terrorist organization affiliated with the Islamic State. Nduhungirehe strongly rejected the insinuation, calling it “an outrageous misrepresentation of facts.”
“He was specifically asked about the massacre of Christians by the ADF, yet he responded by referencing a meeting with me, claiming I had denied these crimes were happening. This is both insulting and unacceptable,” Nduhungirehe stated.
The Rwandan government has demanded an official response from the UK regarding the minister’s comments, insisting that the allegations distort the reality of the conflict in eastern DRC. Rwanda has consistently denied involvement in supporting armed groups in the region and has instead called for international intervention to address human rights violations.
Speaking at the 58th session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva on Wednesday, Nduhungirehe highlighted the ongoing persecution of the Banyamulenge, a Congolese Tutsi community in South Kivu province. He condemned the use of government-led drone attacks targeting civilians and called attention to rising ethnic violence in the region.
“The hate speech, killings, and even reports of acts of cannibalism against Congolese Tutsi communities have become alarmingly frequent,” he said, urging the UN to take action.
Rwanda has continued to advocate for accountability in eastern DRC, emphasizing that ethnic-based violence against the Tutsi, Banyamulenge, and Hema communities must be addressed by the international community.