Rwanda’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Ambassador Olivier Nduhungirehe, has responded to President Félix Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), who accused Rwanda of seeking to annex part of his country, saying instead that Tshisekedi’s own family has been implicated in attempts to exploit the mineral wealth of Katanga.
Speaking to Congolese nationals living in Egypt on November 2, 2025, President Tshisekedi claimed that Rwanda wanted to take over the mineral-rich eastern region of his country, describing it as an area endowed with valuable natural resources and fertile land.
In a statement posted on November 3, Minister Nduhungirehe dismissed the allegations, saying: “If I followed the reports correctly, it is actually the Tshisekedi family that wants to ‘annex’ Katanga’s natural wealth into their private coffers.”
President Paul Kagame has repeatedly stated that Rwanda has no territorial or resource ambitions in the DRC, emphasizing that the country’s concern is its own national security particularly protecting its borders from instability emanating from Congo.
In March 2025, President Kagame noted that numerous international companies across different continents were pursuing DRC’s minerals. “If you were to list the hundreds of companies from China, Europe, America, Canada, and even some from our region, Rwanda would rank around the 100th position at the bottom,” Kagame said at the time.
Since early 2025, reports have implicated members of the Tshisekedi family, including his brother Christian Tshisekedi, in the illegal extraction and trade of copper and cobalt in Katanga, particularly in the Lualaba Province.
A Katanga resident told local media: “Since 2019, things have deteriorated. Katanga has become a cash box for the Tshisekedi family. They extract wealth from here, especially in Lualaba, but invest nothing in return.”
Mining industry sources allege that the Tshisekedi family deployed soldiers including members of the Republican Guard (GR) to replace local security forces at several mining sites to facilitate illicit operations.
Belgian lawyer Me Bernard Maingain has been representing Katanga residents seeking justice both in the DRC and Belgium, arguing that the family’s dual nationality should not shield them from prosecution. “We plan to file a case in the DRC and Belgium because members of that family hold Belgian nationality. The evidence we have includes detailed figures showing acts of corruption, embezzlement, and unlawful use of funds,” Maingain said.
On October 28, 2025, DRC’s Minister of Justice Guillaume Ngefa announced that the country’s National Commission for the Fight Against Illegal Mining Activities (CNLFM) had completed an investigation revealing that civilians, including foreigners, soldiers, and police officers, were involved in the looting of minerals.
He urged the Prosecutor General to launch formal prosecutions against those cited in the report regardless of nationality or military rank. However, it remains unclear whether members of the Tshisekedi family are included in the list.
Author: Justinmind Harerimana
