As the DRC prepares for the upcoming December presidential elections, Felix Tshisekedi has employed a cunning maneuver by invoking Rwanda to manipulate the Congolese population. Unbelievable as it may seem, a mere mention of Rwanda is all it takes to send the Congolese population into a frenzy of irrationality and blind loyalty toward their incompetent ruler.
As Hervé Diakiese rightly said “Talking about Rwanda to the Congolese people is like waving a red rag in the face of a bull. People lose all rationality, all objectivity. It makes it possible to justify all the drifts, all the excesses”.
In truth, Tshisekedi’s calculated invocation of Rwanda as a political bogeyman serves a singular purpose; to create a smokescreen that obfuscates his administration’s shortcomings and missteps. By skillfully employing this diversionary tactic, he sidesteps the need to present a comprehensive and visionary agenda for progress. Instead, he capitalizes on the public’s emotional response to Rwanda, using it as a convenient tool to shift blame and evade accountability for the pressing issues faced by the DRC.
However, beneath the surface lies a disconcerting reality. The Congolese people continue to grapple with a stagnant economy, rampant corruption, and a pervasive lack of security, particularly in the volatile eastern region. Despite promising to tackle these urgent challenges in his first mandate, Tshisekedi’s fixation on Rwanda reveals a dearth of visionary leadership and a failure to deliver tangible improvements to the daily lives of the Congolese people.
Adding to the complexity are the disturbing figures from the UN Joint Human Rights Office which serve as a chilling reminder of the perilous security situation in the DRC. It is truly astounding that a staggering 86% of human rights violations are attributed to the very entities tasked with upholding law and order; the police, army, and intelligence services. This remarkable feat of incompetence by Tshisekedi’s regime demonstrates their unparalleled ability to outperform armed groups when it comes to violating the rights of the Congolese people.
In a nutshell, it is clear that Tshisekedi’s calculated Rwanda gambit is a desperate attempt to salvage his political standing and divert public scrutiny from his lack of tangible achievements. By utilizing Rwanda as a convenient scapegoat, he hopes to evade accountability for the stagnant economy, rampant corruption, and pervasive insecurity that continue to plague the DRC.
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