Goma DRC –A comprehensive new assessment from peacebuilding organizations working in the Great Lakes Region warns that the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is experiencing a dramatic and dangerous rise in hate speech, threatening national stability, fueling targeted violence, and putting minority communities—especially Congolese Tutsis—at grave risk.
According to the report, hate speech has now permeated nearly every layer of Congolese public life: social media, political rhetoric, traditional media, community mobilization, and even state institutions. The findings reveal an alarming pattern in which inflammatory language is not merely tolerated but in many cases encouraged or amplified by influential political figures and security actors.
Researchers describe the spread of hate speech as “a systemic threat to social cohesion” that has already contributed to widespread discrimination, mob violence, forced displacement, and a resurgence of brutal killings reminiscent of past atrocities in the region.
A Climate of Normalized Hate
The report, produced within the framework of regional genocide-prevention programs, shows that hostile rhetoric in the DRC has moved beyond isolated incidents and evolved into a powerful political and social force. Hate messages increasingly dominate online platforms, public speeches, radio broadcasts, and local gatherings—transforming prejudice into a “routine and normalized” part of public discourse.
One of the clearest victims of this trend is the Congolese Tutsi population. The report documents extensive campaigns depicting Tutsis as “foreigners,” “infiltrators,” or “Rwandan agents,” despite their centuries-long presence in eastern Congo. These slurs, the authors warn, echo language used before the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda.
The consequences are stark:
- Businesses owned by Congolese Tutsis have been vandalized or destroyed.
- Families have been forced to flee across the border.
- Hundreds of men, women, and children have suffered attacks ranging from beatings to lynching.
- Entire communities have been targeted during elections, armed conflict, and protests.
The report emphasizes that unchecked hate speech is now directly contributing to physical violence, including a series of documented cases of mob killings, burning of victims, and even cannibalism—incidents chillingly recorded on video and widely circulated.
Historical Fault Lines Fueling Today’s Crisis
Researchers trace modern hate speech in the DRC to deep structural roots dating back to the Belgian colonial period. Colonial administrators institutionalized rigid ethnic classifications, encouraged rivalries, and manipulated identity categories for political control. These systems outlived colonialism, leaving the Congolese state with fragile institutions and long-standing ethnic fractures.
Post-independence politics compounded these divisions. Successive governments used identity as a tool for power, excluding entire communities—most notably the Banyarwanda (including Congolese Tutsis)—from citizenship, political rights, and land ownership.
The situation worsened after:
- the 1959 Rwandan violence that spilled into the Kivu provinces,
- the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, when Interahamwe and ex-FAR fled into eastern DRC,
- and the Congo wars of 1996 and 1998, which hardened anti-Tutsi narratives and empowered extremist groups.
Today’s hate speech crisis is presented not as an isolated development but as the continuation of these unresolved historical patterns.
Political Leaders Accused of Escalating Hostility
The investigation identifies multiple occasions where high-level Congolese officials contributed to, legitimized, or failed to condemn inflammatory rhetoric.
President Félix Tshisekedi himself is cited for remarks referring to “traitors,” “infiltrators,” and “Rwandan soldiers inside the army,” statements that have led to violence against Congolese Tutsi soldiers and police officers who serve within the country’s security institutions.
The consequences have been deadly.
Between 2021 and 2024, more than two dozen Congolese Tutsi military and police personnel were:
- lynched by mobs,
- burned alive by vigilantes,
- cannibalized by radicalized groups,
- or tortured and killed after being accused of “infiltration.”
In many cases, no investigations were opened—despite the presence of video evidence and the identity of perpetrators being publicly known.
Civil society movements, political youth wings, and ruling-party supporters have also been implicated. Groups such as LUCHA RDC, Filimbi, Veranda Mutsanga, and UDPS youth structures were documented chanting hate slogans, brandishing machetes, and directing mobs toward Tutsi neighborhoods.
Social Media: A New Battlefield of Hate
Digital platforms emerged as central drivers in the spread of hate speech. Monitors recorded tens of thousands of posts, comments, and videos spreading anti-Tutsi narratives, conspiracy theories, misinformation, and doctored images.
False claims—including fabricated stories of “Tutsi spies” and misidentified photographs—spread widely before being picked up by traditional media outlets, further amplifying them.
The report notes that online hate often translates directly into street violence, as youth groups use social media to coordinate protests, target individuals, or justify attacks.
Election Periods Marked by Systematic Exclusion
Hate speech peaks sharply during election cycles. Instead of promoting national unity, campaigns repeatedly weaponize ethnicity.
During the 2023 elections:
- Congolese Tutsis were blocked from registering to vote in several cities.
- Vigilante groups carried out identity checks at registration centers.
- Opposition and ruling-party figures labeled Tutsis as “foreigners” or “agents of Rwanda.”
- Women and men with Tutsi facial features were denied voter cards or arrested.
President Tshisekedi’s campaign speeches, in which he promised to cleanse the army of “traitors,” fed directly into these patterns of exclusion.
State-Enabled Armed Groups and Brutal Attacks
The rise of government-aligned “Wazalendo” militias has intensified violence against Tutsi civilians and security personnel. Members of these groups have been filmed:
- attacking villages,
- killing civilians,
- burning victims,
- and cannibalizing corpses.
The government’s public praise of these militias as “patriots and heroes” has raised international concerns about state complicity.
One of the most disturbing trends is the growing number of cannibalism incidents committed against Congolese Tutsis. At least seven documented cases between 2021 and 2024 involved mobs killing, burning, and consuming victims’ remains. None of the perpetrators have been prosecuted.
A Coordinated and Systemic Pattern
Researchers emphasize that violence is not random. It is coordinated across multiple layers:
- Youth groups target individuals based on physical appearance.
- Security forces fail to intervene, or participate directly in attacks.
- Media outlets broadcast disinformation and inflammatory rhetoric.
- State institutions deny citizenship rights or facilitate arrests.
- Politicians leverage hate speech for electoral gain.
In this environment, hate speech becomes a tool of governance—used to divert public anger, mobilize political support, and justify military actions.
Regional and International Implications
The persecution of Congolese Tutsis risks destabilizing the entire Great Lakes Region. The flight of more than 7,000 refugees into Rwanda, along with allegations of government-endorsed targeting, complicates regional diplomacy and undermines ongoing peace efforts.
Analysts warn that the hate narratives circulating today bear unmistakable resemblance to early warning signs of past genocides in Central Africa.
Urgent Call for Reform and International Action
The report concludes with a comprehensive list of recommendations aimed at dismantling the structures that allow hate speech to flourish. These include:
- Legal reform to align national laws with international obligations on hate speech.
- Independent monitoring mechanisms to track incidents and publish regular alerts.
- Media regulation and journalist training to curb disinformation.
- Security sector reforms to protect minority officers and sanction abusive actors.
- Technology partnerships to detect incitement online.
- Educational programs promoting tolerance and historical awareness.
- Protection and support for civil society organizations documenting abuses.
The authors stress that these reforms must be implemented as a unified strategy, not in isolated pieces, and require genuine political will both domestically and from international partners.
A Warning That Cannot Be Ignored
The findings paint a stark picture of a nation where hate speech has moved from the margins to the mainstream—where words inciting violence are routinely followed by real-world atrocities.
The report’s message is clear: without immediate, coordinated intervention, the Democratic Republic of Congo risks descending further into cycles of ethnically targeted violence that could reverberate far beyond its borders.
As the region commemorates thirty years since the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, the authors warn that the world is once again witnessing familiar signs of escalation.
“Never Again,” they emphasize, “requires action before violence reaches its peak—not after.”
