On Thursday, May 29, a young woman was arrested in Mikenke Center after being allegedly sent to assassinate Brigadier General Sematama Charles, the commander of the Twirwaneho armed group.
According to reports, when the woman arrived in Mikenke, she attempted to approach soldiers to help her obtain the phone number of General Sematama.
It is said that she used the help of a woman who delivers supplies to the Twirwaneho military camp, promising her $500 if she could secure the General’s phone number.
This woman, however, informed some Twirwaneho soldiers that an unknown girl had asked her for the commander’s contact. This led to the immediate arrest of the suspect.
During interrogation, she allegedly confessed that she had spent the night at a Burundian and FARDC joint military base, reportedly under the command of a Colonel named Nyamusaraba, as confirmed by sources who spoke to BWIZA.
It is believed that FARDC and Burundian forces were behind the mission to eliminate General Sematama.
This comes as the DRC national army coalition continues to target General Sematama, months after eliminating General Michel Rukunda alias Makanika, the previous leader of Twirwaneho, a group that defends Congolese Tutsi (Banyamulenge) communities.
General Makanika was killed in February this year during a drone strike launched by FARDC, after which Sematama succeeded him as commander.
Following Makanika’s death, Twirwaneho officially announced its decision to join the AFC coalition, which includes the M23 rebel movement.
