As the SADC force wraps up its withdrawal from the Democratic Republic of Congo this May, in what was hoped to be a gesture toward peace. But one country, like a small, hungry dog, refuses to leave the site of slaughter.
We are talking about Burundi and its ruler Evariste Ndayishimiye, who continues to send his poor troops into areas surrounding Uvira, a desperation that one can only impute to hunger.
While others have been defeated and decided to retreat, Ndayishimiye, whose troops and Imbonerakure suffered equally bad defeats at the hands of M23, looks determined to send his cannon fodder to face more slaughter.
On April 30, 2025, four trucks full of Burundian soldiers rolled from Luvungi to Rurambo, en route to Ndolera, where they joined remnants of FARDC, Wazalendo, and the FDLR. This was yet another chapter in a playbook of greed and shortsighted loyalty.
Why? Because Ndayishimiye has been bought. Tshisekedi has handed him concessions, slices of Congo’s mineral wealth in exchange for boots on the ground. Every soldier he deploys earns him a little more gold dust, and more Burundians lose their lives in someone else’s war. These are mercenaries with flags.
The irony is rich. Ndayishimiye’s troops now resemble the same foreign mercenaries who recently fled the region. They’re no different from the SADC soldiers now packing their bags. And yet, he remains like a stray dog circling the butcher shop long after the meat’s been cleared.
If there’s a shred of wisdom left in Ndayishimiye’s head, it’s time he pulls out. This is not his fight anymore. It never truly was. And every day he lingers, more blood is spilled for a cause that won’t reward him in the end.
There’s nothing left in that butcher’s shop but bones.
And even the hungriest dog should know when to stop sniffing.
ellenkampire