On the evening of Friday, July 4, President Paul Kagame revealed that the troops sent by the SADC (Southern African Development Community) mission to the Democratic Republic of Congo were allegedly equipped with instructions to shoot at Rwanda—but he stressed that, had they tried, they would have faced serious consequences.
He made the remarks during a speech at the 31st Liberation Day celebration concert.
The President criticized South Africa, Tanzania, and Malawi for arming the DRC government — which he accused of killing its own civilians in coordination with the FDLR, the group responsible for the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda.
He stated:
“The whole world watched as mercenaries from Europe went to Congo, and our own brothers and sisters from our continent sent weapons, they sent troops to support a government that was killing its people, in support of genocide perpetrators who massacred our people here. Millions of lives lost in 100 days to these atrocities.”
President Kagame said that, looking at the arms found in cities like Goma and Bukavu, it was clear these foreign troops were not there to fight M23 but rather to attack Rwanda.
He added:
“They came gathered at our border—look at what happened in Goma, Bukavu and elsewhere; you could sense it. The purpose was not to combat what is called AFC/M23—the objective was Rwanda.”
Suggesting SADC forces had been repelled, Kagame added:
“You would marvel at what transpired. What happened was just a demonstration of what we could actually do.”
He noted that after the SADC troops realized they would not succeed, Rwanda granted them safe passage to return home—and warned that any attempt to again shoot at Rwanda would meet their deaths.
He said:
“We gave them a pathway, secure passage to go home. But had they fired again on us, there would have been no problem. I speak now, and if tomorrow anyone tries it again, you’ll see. I’m not joking, not performing, I’m speaking the truth to be understood; if you have any other ideas, we will resolve them.”
The President emphasized that Rwanda has learned from past incursions and won’t allow them to recur.
