Nduhungirehe calls Congo sanctions request surprising
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Imvaho Nshya
Rwandan Foreign Minister Olivier Jean Patrick Nduhungirehe considers the DRC’s request for sanctions against Rwanda surprising, as close associates of President Félix Tshisekedi have been charged in Belgium with embezzlement and corruption. Congolese minister Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner called for the sanctions during an intervention in Brussels before the OEACP and European Union, according to the Rwandan daily Imvaho Nshya.
Rwandan Foreign Minister Olivier Jean Patrick Nduhungirehe called the request for sanctions against Rwanda by his Congolese counterpart Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner surprising. He notably pointed out that the request was made in Brussels, near the homes of members of Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi’s family who were recently searched by Belgian justice authorities in an investigation into suspected corruption, money laundering and the embezzlement of mining resources, according to Imvaho Nshya.
On 10 November in Brussels, Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner called on European countries to support the implementation of UN Security Council resolutions 2773 and 2808, notably the withdrawal of Rwandan forces from Congolese territory. The Congolese minister also accuses Rwanda of contributing to insecurity in eastern DRC and cites illegal mineral trading, notably coltan from the Rubaya mine in North Kivu, as a factor prolonging the conflict, according to Imvaho Nshya.
Nduhungirehe’s statement came on the same day as Kayikwamba’s accusations against Kagame over his alleged role with Kabila’s rebels.
