Latest news with #Makenga
BBC News
10-02-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Di rebel leader wey im career surround di kasala for Rwanda and DR Congo
Di Democratic Republic of Congo dey inside serious trouble as fighters from di M23 rebel group don dey enta through di kontri east and dey battle di national army and dem dey capture key places as dem dey go. In just two weeks, tori be say thousands of pipo don dey killed and di fighting don turn war of words between DR Congo and dia neighbour, Rwanda. So how DR Congo, wey be di biggest kontri for sub-Saharan Africa, carry demselves reach dis level? You fit understand di start of dis kasala if you torchlight di tori of one man, M23 leader Sultani Makenga wey don dey accused of plenti war crimes allegations. To look into Makenga life na to look into decades of war, some foreign intervention and di lure of DR Congo rich mineral resources. Im life start on Christmas day of 1973 wen dem born for di lush Congolese town for Masisi. E bin dey raised by Tutsi parents, and at di age of 17 e comot school to join one Tutsi rebel group for Rwanda. Di group wey dem call di Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) bin dey ask for more Tutsi representation for Rwanda goment wey dat time bin dey full of politicians from di Hutu majority. Dem bin also want di hundreds and thousands of Tutsi refugees wey ethnic kasala bin pursue comot di kontri make dem come back house. For four years, Makenga and di RPF bin fight di Hutu filled army for Rwanda. Di fight-fight join wit di 1994 genocide wen Hutu extremists bin kill 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus. Wen e bin look dis time for one rare interview for 2013, Makenga say: "My life na war, my education na war and my language na war... but I respect peace." Di RPF seize more and more lands small-small bifor dem match enta di Rwanda capital of Kigali so dem go overthrow di extremist Hutu goment, and many of dem run enta wetin today be DR Congo. Wit RPF for power, Makenga come join di official Rwandan army and rise to di rank of sergeant and deputy platoon commander. One of Makenga fellow RPF fighters tell di RIft Valley Institute wey be non-profit research organisation say, "e bin dey very good wit setting up ambushes". Im progress for di Rwandan army sha take style hang. Di fact say e bin get only basic education and fit speak broken French and English bin dey stand as "challenge to im military career", according to di Rift Valley Institute. Dem also tok say, till today, Makenga dey very reserved and dey find am hard to tok for public. For 1997, e bin dey part of di Rwandan-backed forces wey las-las take ova power for DR Congo and comot long-serving ruler Mobutu Sese Seko. To replace am, dem put veteran Congolese rebel leader Laurent Kabila. But Makenga bin start to dey clash wit im ogas dem. Rwandan authorities bin arrest am afta im refuse orders to go back to Rwanda, according to one UN Security Council report. So, dem imprison am for many years for di island of Iwawa. Meanwhile, di relationship between Kabila and Rwanda new leaders start to scata. Rwanda bin wan crush di Hutu militiamen wey bin dey responsible for di genocide but dem run across di border for 1994. Rwanda bin fear say dem go come back and scata di kontri stability wey dem don struggle to win. But Kabila bin fail to stop di militants from organising and e also comot di Rwandan troops by force. Bicos of dat, Rwanda invade DR Congo for 1998. Wen Makenga bin dey released from prison, dem appoint am as commander for di front line wit one Rwanda backed rebel group. Ova di years, e gain di reputation from being very strategic and skilled wit commanding large group of sojas to battle. Afta Rwanda troops cross enta DR Congo, discrimination against di Tutsi community start to increase again. Kabila bin allege say di Tutsis support di invasion while oda officials bin ginger di public to attack members of di ethnic group. Makenga wey still dey DR Congo bin accuse di Congolese leader say im betray Tutsi fighters say: "Kabila na politician, and I no be politician. I be soja and di language wey I sabi na gun." Plenti neighbour kontris bin dey dragged to di kasala as one ogbonge UN military force bin dey deployed to try keep order. More dan five million pipo, na im dey believed say bin die for di war and afta. Most of dem bin die from starvation or disease. Di fight-fight bin officially end for 2003 but Makenga continue to dey work for armed groups to di Congolese goment. In di spirit of reconciliation, Tutsi rebels like Makenga bin las-las join di Congolese goment armed forces for wetin dem call "mixage". But di political stands for DR Congo dey always shift, and na so Makenga defect from di army to join di M23 rebellion wey bin dey on di rise. Di M23 bin don dey very active for DR Congo east say dem dey fight for Tutsi rights and goment no gree honour peace deal wey dem sign for 2009. Makenga bin dey elevated to di rank of M23 general and den soon reach di top position. For November 2012, e lead di rebels for ogbonge fight-fight, from wia dem capture di city of Goma, wey be major eastern city wey get ova one million pipo. DR Congo and di UN bin accuse di Rwanda Tutsi full goment say dem back di M23. Kigali don deny dis allegation many times. But recently di official statement don shift, as goment tok-tok pipo say to fight near di border na security threat. By 2012, Makenga and odas for M23 dey face serious war crimes accuse. Di US don impose sanctions on am say e dey responsible for "di recruitment of child sojas and campaigns of violence against civilians". Makenga say di accuse say M23 dey use pikin as sojas dey "baseless". Di US also say e don commit and dey responsible for tins like killing and maiming, sexual kasala and kidnapping. Apart from asset freezes, Makenga bin also dey face bitter division for inside di M23. One side back am as dia leader while di oda bin support im rival, Gen Bosco Ntaganda. Di Enough Project wey be non-profit group wey dey work for DR Congo say di two sides bin enta full war for 2013 wey kill three sojas and eight civilians. Makenga side bin wine and Ntaganda run enta Rwanda wia e surrender to di US embassy. Gen Ntaganda wey dem bin nickname "Terminator" bicos of im brutality, bin dey sentenced to 30 years in prison for war crimes by di International Criminal Court (ICC). But months afta di Makenga win, anoda bigger threat bin come. Di UNbin deploy one 3,000 force wit di mission to support di Congolese military to fit take back Goma and ginger di M23 to withdraw. Di rebel group bin dey expelled from di kontri and Makenga bin run enta Uganda, anoda kontr wey dem accuse say dey support M23, wey dem too don deny. Uganda don receive extradition request from DR Congo for Makenga but dem no act on am. Eight years later, plenti armed groups still dey scata di mineral-rich east of DR Congo but at least authorities dey free from dia most notorious militants. Until 2021. Makenga and im rebels carry weapons again anf take ova territory for di North Kivu province. Several ceasefires between di M23 and di Congolese authorities don fail. Even sef last year one udge sentence Makenga to death in im absence. For M23 latest advance, wey tori be say na thousands of Rwandan troops dey support di rebels, pipo neva too see Makenga in public. Instead na im tok-tok pesin and Corneille Nangaa wey be oga of alliance of rebel groups wey include M23 na im dey run public speeches and statements. But Makenga still be key player, and e be like say na behind di scene strategy e dey focus on. E don tok say im fighting na for im three pikin, "so dat one day dem go get bata future for dis kontri". E tok say, "make una no look me as pesin wey no want peace o. I get heart and family and pipo wey I care about". But millions of ordinary pipo dey pay di price for dis kasala and if Congolese forces catch am, Makenga dey look death sentence. Yet e no dey shake am. E say, "I dey willing to sacrifice evritin".
Yahoo
10-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
The DR Congo rebel leader whose fighters have created turmoil
The Democratic Republic of Congo is in turmoil - fighters from the notorious M23 rebel group have been surging through the country's east, battling the national army and capturing key places as they go. In just a fortnight, thousands of people are said to have been killed and the fighting has sparked an ominous war of words between DR Congo and its neighbour, Rwanda. So how did DR Congo - the largest country in sub-Saharan Africa - get here? The origins of this complex conflict can be understood through the story of one man - M23 leader Sultani Makenga, who is the subject of various war crime allegations. To go back through Makenga's life so far is to look into decades of warfare, intermittent foreign intervention and the persistent lure of DR Congo's rich mineral resources. His life began on Christmas Day in 1973, when he was born in the lush Congolese town of Masisi. Raised by parents of the Tutsi ethnic group, Makenga quit school at the age of 17 to join a Tutsi rebel outfit across the border in Rwanda. This group, named the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), were demanding greater Tutsi representation in Rwanda's government, which at the time was dominated by politicians from the Hutu majority. They also wanted the hundreds and thousands of Tutsi refugees who had been forced from the country by ethnic violence to be able to return home. For four years, Makenga and the RPF fought the Hutu-dominated army in Rwanda. Their battle was enmeshed with the 1994 genocide, when Hutu extremists killed 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus. When looking back at this time in a rare 2013 interview, Makenga stated: "My life is war, my education is war, and my language is war... but I do respect peace." The RPF gradually seized more and more land before marching into Rwanda's capital, Kigali, and overthrowing the extremist Hutu government - many of whom fled into what is now DR Congo. With the RPF in power, Makenga was absorbed into the official Rwandan army and rose to the rank of sergeant and deputy platoon commander. "He was very good at setting up ambushes," one of Makenga's fellow RPF fighters told the Rift Valley Institute non-profit research organisation. His progress in the Rwandan army hit a ceiling however. The fact that he only had a basic education and spoke broken French and English was "an obstacle to his military career", the Rift Valley Institute said. Makenga is also said - to this day - to be very reserved and to struggle with public speaking. In 1997, he was part of the Rwanda-backed forces who ended up seizing power in DR Congo, ousting long-serving ruler Mobutu Sese Seko. In his place they installed veteran Congolese rebel leader Laurent Kabila. However, Makenga began to clash with his superiors - he was arrested by the Rwandan authorities after refusing orders to return to Rwanda, a UN Security Council report said. He was therefore imprisoned for several years on the island of Iwawa. Meanwhile, relations between Kabila and Rwanda's new leaders deteriorated. Rwanda had sought to crush the Hutu militiamen who were responsible for the genocide but had fled across the border in 1994. Rwanda's fear was that they could return and upset the country's hard-won stability. But Kabila had failed to stop the militants from organising and he also started to force out Rwandan troops. As a result, Rwanda invaded DR Congo in 1998. When Makenga was released from prison, he was appointed to serve as a commander on the front line with a Rwanda-backed rebel group. Over the years, he gained a reputation for being highly strategic and skilled at commanding large groups of soldiers into battle. After Rwandan troops crossed into DR Congo, there was a surge in discrimination against the Tutsi community. Kabila alleged that Tutsis supported the invasion, while other officials incited the public to attack members of the ethnic group. Makenga - still in DR Congo - accused the Congolese leader of betraying Tutsi fighters, saying: "Kabila was a politician, while I am not. I am a soldier, and the language that I know is that of the gun." Several neighbouring countries had been drawn into the conflict and a large UN military force was deployed to try to maintain order. More than five million people are believed to have died in the war and its aftermath - mostly from starvation or disease. What's the fighting in DR Congo all about? The evidence that shows Rwanda is backing rebels in DR Congo The fighting officially ended in 2003 but Makenga continued to serve in armed groups opposed to the Congolese government. In the spirit of reconciliation, Tutsi rebels like Makenga were eventually amalgamated into the Congolese government's armed forces, in a process called "mixage". But the political sands in DR Congo are ever shifting - Makenga eventually defected from the army to join the rising M23 rebellion. The M23 had become increasingly active in DR Congo's east, stating that they were fighting to protect Tutsi rights, and that the government had failed to honour a peace deal signed in 2009. Makenga was elevated to the rank of an M23 general, then soon after, the top position. In November 2012 he led the rebels in a brutal uprising, in which they captured the city of Goma, a major eastern city with a population of more than a million. DR Congo and the UN accused Rwanda's Tutsi-dominated government of backing the M23 - an allegation which Kigali has persistently denied. But recently, the official response has shifted, with government spokespeople stating that fighting near its border is a security threat. By 2012, Makenga and others in the M23 were facing serious war crimes allegations. The US imposed sanctions on him, saying he was responsible for "the recruitment of child soldiers, and campaigns of violence against civilians". Makenga said allegations that the M23 used child soldiers were "baseless". Elsewhere, the UN said he had committed, and was responsible for, acts such as killing and maiming, sexual violence and abduction. Along with asset freezes, Makenga was facing a bitter split within the M23. One side backed him as leader while the other backed his rival, Gen Bosco Ntaganda. The Enough Project, a non-profit group working in DR Congo, said the two factions descended into a "full-fledged war" in 2013 and as a result, three soldiers and eight civilians died. Makenga's side triumphed and Gen Ntaganda fled to Rwanda, where he surrendered to the US embassy. Nicknamed the "Terminator" for his ruthlessness, Gen Ntaganda was eventually sentenced by the International Criminal Court (ICC) to 30 years for war crimes. However, months after Makenga's triumph, another, larger threat appeared. The UN had deployed a 3,000-strong force with a mandate to support the Congolese military in reclaiming Goma, prompting the M23 to withdraw. The rebel group was expelled from the country and Makenga fled to Uganda, a country which has also been accused of supporting the M23 - an allegation it denies. Uganda received an extradition request for Makenga from DR Congo, but did not act on it. Eight years passed. Dozens of other armed groups roamed the mineral-rich east, wreaking havoc, but the Congolese authorities were free of the most notorious militants. Who's pulling the strings in the DR Congo crisis? That is, until 2021. Makenga and his rebels took up arms again, capturing territory in North Kivu province. Several ceasefires between the M23 and the Congolese authorities have failed, and last year a judge sentencing Makenga to death in absentia. During the M23's latest advance, in which the rebels are said to be supported by thousands of Rwandan troops, Makenga has barely been seen in public. He instead leaves the public speeches and statements to his spokesperson, and Corneille Nangaa, who heads an alliance of rebel groups including the M23. But Makenga remains a key player, appearing to focus on strategy behind the scenes. He has said his relentless fighting has been for his three children, "so that one day they will have a better future in this country". "I shouldn't be seen as a man who doesn't want peace. I have a heart, a family, and people I care about," he said. But millions of ordinary people are paying the price of this conflict and if he is captured by the Congolese forces, Makenga faces the death penalty. Yes he is undeterred. "I am willing to sacrifice everything, " he said. South Africa and Rwanda go head-to-head over DR Congo war DR Congo's failed gamble on Romanian mercenaries Your phone, a rare metal and the war in DR Congo WATCH: 'The situation is chaotic' after rebels seize DR Congo city Go to for more news from the African continent. Follow us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica Africa Daily Focus on Africa
BBC News
10-02-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Sultani Makenga: The M23 leader whose career charts the turmoil in Rwanda and DR Congo
The Democratic Republic of Congo is in turmoil - fighters from the notorious M23 rebel group have been surging through the country's east, battling the national army and capturing key places as they just a fortnight, thousands of people are said to have been killed and the fighting has sparked an ominous war of words between DR Congo and its neighbour, how did DR Congo - the largest country in sub-Saharan Africa - get here?The origins of this complex conflict can be understood through the story of one man - M23 leader Sultani Makenga, who is the subject of various war crime go back through Makenga's life so far is to look into decades of warfare, intermittent foreign intervention and the persistent lure of DR Congo's rich mineral life began on Christmas Day in 1973, when he was born in the lush Congolese town of by parents of the Tutsi ethnic group, Makenga quit school at the age of 17 to join a Tutsi rebel outfit across the border in group, named the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), were demanding greater Tutsi representation in Rwanda's government, which at the time was dominated by politicians from the Hutu majority. They also wanted the hundreds and thousands of Tutsi refugees who had been forced from the country by ethnic violence to be able to return four years, Makenga and the RPF fought the Hutu-dominated army in Rwanda. Their battle was enmeshed with the 1994 genocide, when Hutu extremists killed 800,000 Tutsis and moderate looking back at this time in a rare 2013 interview, Makenga stated: "My life is war, my education is war, and my language is war... but I do respect peace."The RPF gradually seized more and more land before marching into Rwanda's capital, Kigali, and overthrowing the extremist Hutu government - many of whom fled into what is now DR Congo. With the RPF in power, Makenga was absorbed into the official Rwandan army and rose to the rank of sergeant and deputy platoon commander."He was very good at setting up ambushes," one of Makenga's fellow RPF fighters told the Rift Valley Institute non-profit research progress in the Rwandan army hit a ceiling however. The fact that he only had a basic education and spoke broken French and English was "an obstacle to his military career", the Rift Valley Institute said. Makenga is also said - to this day - to be very reserved and to struggle with public 1997, he was part of the Rwanda-backed forces who ended up seizing power in DR Congo, ousting long-serving ruler Mobutu Sese Seko. In his place they installed veteran Congolese rebel leader Laurent Makenga began to clash with his superiors - he was arrested by the Rwandan authorities after refusing orders to return to Rwanda, a UN Security Council report was therefore imprisoned for several years on the island of relations between Kabila and Rwanda's new leaders deteriorated. Rwanda had sought to crush the Hutu militiamen who were responsible for the genocide but had fled across the border in 1994. Rwanda's fear was that they could return and upset the country's hard-won Kabila had failed to stop the militants from organising and he also started to force out Rwandan a result, Rwanda invaded DR Congo in 1998. When Makenga was released from prison, he was appointed to serve as a commander on the front line with a Rwanda-backed rebel group. Over the years, he gained a reputation for being highly strategic and skilled at commanding large groups of soldiers into battle. After Rwandan troops crossed into DR Congo, there was a surge in discrimination against the Tutsi community. Kabila alleged that Tutsis supported the invasion, while other officials incited the public to attack members of the ethnic - still in DR Congo - accused the Congolese leader of betraying Tutsi fighters, saying: "Kabila was a politician, while I am not. I am a soldier, and the language that I know is that of the gun."Several neighbouring countries had been drawn into the conflict and a large UN military force was deployed to try to maintain than five million people are believed to have died in the war and its aftermath - mostly from starvation or the fighting in DR Congo all about?The evidence that shows Rwanda is backing rebels in DR CongoThe fighting officially ended in 2003 but Makenga continued to serve in armed groups opposed to the Congolese the spirit of reconciliation, Tutsi rebels like Makenga were eventually amalgamated into the Congolese government's armed forces, in a process called "mixage".But the political sands in DR Congo are ever shifting - Makenga eventually defected from the army to join the rising M23 M23 had become increasingly active in DR Congo's east, stating that they were fighting to protect Tutsi rights, and that the government had failed to honour a peace deal signed in was elevated to the rank of an M23 general, then soon after, the top November 2012 he led the rebels in a brutal uprising, in which they captured the city of Goma, a major eastern city with a population of more than a million. DR Congo and the UN accused Rwanda's Tutsi-dominated government of backing the M23 - an allegation which Kigali has persistently denied. But recently, the official response has shifted, with government spokespeople stating that fighting near its border is a security 2012, Makenga and others in the M23 were facing serious war crimes allegations. The US imposed sanctions on him, saying he was responsible for "the recruitment of child soldiers, and campaigns of violence against civilians". Makenga said allegations that the M23 used child soldiers were "baseless".Elsewhere, the UN said he had committed, and was responsible for, acts such as killing and maiming, sexual violence and abduction. Along with asset freezes, Makenga was facing a bitter split within the M23. One side backed him as leader while the other backed his rival, Gen Bosco Enough Project, a non-profit group working in DR Congo, said the two factions descended into a "full-fledged war" in 2013 and as a result, three soldiers and eight civilians side triumphed and Gen Ntaganda fled to Rwanda, where he surrendered to the US the "Terminator" for his ruthlessness, Gen Ntaganda was eventually sentenced by the International Criminal Court (ICC) to 30 years for war months after Makenga's triumph, another, larger threat appeared. The UN had deployed a 3,000-strong force with a mandate to support the Congolese military in reclaiming Goma, prompting the M23 to rebel group was expelled from the country and Makenga fled to Uganda, a country which has also been accused of supporting the M23 - an allegation it received an extradition request for Makenga from DR Congo, but did not act on years passed. Dozens of other armed groups roamed the mineral-rich east, wreaking havoc, but the Congolese authorities were free of the most notorious pulling the strings in the DR Congo crisis?That is, until 2021. Makenga and his rebels took up arms again, capturing territory in North Kivu ceasefires between the M23 and the Congolese authorities have failed, and last year a judge sentencing Makenga to death in the M23's latest advance, in which the rebels are said to be supported by thousands of Rwandan troops, Makenga has barely been seen in instead leaves the public speeches and statements to his spokesperson, and Corneille Nangaa, who heads an alliance of rebel groups including the Makenga remains a key player, appearing to focus on strategy behind the has said his relentless fighting has been for his three children, "so that one day they will have a better future in this country"."I shouldn't be seen as a man who doesn't want peace. I have a heart, a family, and people I care about," he millions of ordinary people are paying the price of this conflict and if he is captured by the Congolese forces, Makenga faces the death he is undeterred."I am willing to sacrifice everything, " he said. More about the conflict in DR Congo: South Africa and Rwanda go head-to-head over DR Congo warDR Congo's failed gamble on Romanian mercenariesYour phone, a rare metal and the war in DR CongoWATCH: 'The situation is chaotic' after rebels seize DR Congo city Go to for more news from the African us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica
