Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa has come under fire from President Kagame for accusing the Rwandan Armed Forces (RDF) of being complicit in the deaths of his soldiers who were on a mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and calling them rebels.
The Head of State informed Ramaphosa that the RDF is an army, not a rebel group as the Head of State said, and that South Africa is prepared to handle those issues appropriately if it wishes to incite Rwanda.
This is the message that the Head of State gave on January 29, 2025, when he responded to the message of President Ramaphosa, who gave comfort to the families of those who lost his country’s soldiers, and tried to explain in his own way the situation in Eastern Congo.
Through X, Ramaphosa said that after the fighting in Eastern DRC, the country he leads lost 13 soldiers who were on a “peace mission”.
He said, “This fight was initiated by the armed group of M23 and the rebels of the Rwandan Army, RDF, in opposition to the Congolese Army, FARDC.
They attacked the troops of the SADC peacekeeping mission in the DRC known as SAMIDRC.”
He also said that the attacks on SAMIDRC led to the death of other soldiers from the countries that are part of the mission, such as those from Malawi, Tanzania and MONUSCO.
President Ramaphosa pointed out that where his army bases are located, that is, in Sake and Goma areas, the situation is very difficult and is changing from minute to minute, so that it is difficult to know what the future will be like.
However, he assured that the security agencies in South Africa and those in SAMIRDC are doing their best to ensure that the troops in the “peace mission” are provided with all the equipment required in these difficult times.
He said, “The South African Army is not in Eastern DRC to wage war on a certain country. They are in the DRC in line with the SADC and UN efforts to restore lasting peace and protect the people at risk of conflict in the DRC.”
Ramaphosa said that his country agrees with the line taken by the UN Security Council, which called for a cessation of hostilities, M23 to return the parts it occupied, groups from foreign countries to leave the DRC, but also to resume talks based on the Nairobi Agreement.
Ramaphosa said that his country agrees with the line taken by the UN Security Council, which called for a cessation of hostilities, M23 to return the parts it occupied, groups from foreign countries to leave the DRC, but also to resume talks based on the Nairobi Agreement.
President Ramaphosa also expressed that the sovereignty of the DRC should be respected as per the UN, asking the conflicting parties to find solutions to the problems through the diplomatic process based on the Luanda conflict.
In response to the South African president’s message, President Kagame reminded him that this week the two had two talks, including the one held on January 29, 2025, all of which revolved around the security of Eastern DRC. However, the Head of State said that what was said in the media by South African leaders including President Ramaphoza himself included distortions of the facts, deliberate attacks and lies.
He said that if what was said in private discussions is far from what was shown in public, it clearly shows how the issues are being dealt with, sheds light on what was discussed, but also gives a lesson to this leader. He said “RDF is a military not a rebel.
SAMIDRC is not a peacekeeping force and has no place in these things.”
President Kagame said that SAMIDRC is an army authorized by SADC, to help the RDC against its people, in collaboration with genocidal groups such as the FDLR, which always wants to disrupt the security of Rwanda, and which itself always threatens to attack Rwanda.
He said, “SAMIDRC replaced the African Union Force, which was on a real mission to restore peace, which also caused the dialogue process to stall.
President Ramaphosa did not even issue a “warning” of any kind, unless he delivered it in his native language which I do not understand.
He asked for help to provide the South African army with electricity, food and water, which we agreed to serve.”
Regarding President Ramaphosa’s announcement that his country’s soldiers were killed “due to the attacks by M23 and RDF on them”, President Kagame expressed that it seems to be true, because in the conversation between the two, this South African leader he himself admitted that he was killed by the FARDC instead of the M23.
“President Ramaphosa assured me that the M23 did not kill the South African army, they were killed by the FARDC,” he said. President Kagame said that if South Africa wants to take part in the efforts to restore peace, that is good, but he reminded them that it is not in a position to give itself the responsibility of restoring peace or to be a mediator.
“And if South Africa wants provocation, Rwanda will one day take care of it in the same way,” he said.
The South African Army (SANDF) declared on January 25, 2025, that its soldiers had been slain in combat between the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (RDC) and the M23.Since January 23, 2025, there has been a war in Sake City, which is in Masisi Territory, and in the vicinity of Goma City, which is in Nyiragongo Territory.
Since M23 captured the city of Goma and took control of some activities there, the conflict in the Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo appears to have subsided thus far.
