Woluwe-Saint-Lambert, 27 June 2025 – On the eve of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s 65th Independence Day, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Dr Denis Mukwege delivered a scathing criticism of the peace agreement signed a day earlier between Kinshasa and Kigali under U.S. mediation. Speaking at a solidarity concert for the Panzi Hospital held at Wolubilis, Mukwege denounced what he sees as a deeply flawed deal that sacrifices justice, sovereignty, and the future of the Congolese people.
“Our country is still not truly independent,” he declared, quoting Pope Francis’s 2023 visit to Kinshasa, where the pontiff condemned the continuing exploitation of Congo through political, economic, and military neocolonialism. Mukwege argued that past peace agreements have failed precisely because they ignored justice, integrating warlords into state institutions and trading truth for an illusion of stability.
He accused the recently signed deal in Washington of being “transactional” in nature, avoiding any clear recognition of the aggression that the DRC has suffered for over three decades. Pointing directly at Rwanda, which he repeatedly labelled an “aggressor state,” Mukwege condemned its alleged support and control over the M23 rebel group, which has committed atrocities, displaced populations, and engaged in widespread sexual violence in eastern Congo.
The agreement, he said, effectively legitimises Rwanda’s influence over Congo’s natural resources, particularly through the proposed “joint management” of minerals. According to Mukwege, this amounts to a sell-out by Kinshasa. “The Kinshasa regime has handed over its sovereignty to the forces of aggression,” he warned, calling it a betrayal of the Congolese people.
He argued that the deal risks repeating the mistakes of the past by failing to address the root causes of the conflict: truth, justice, and the restoration of national sovereignty. He criticised the bilateral nature of the agreement, led by Washington, for excluding other regional and international stakeholders. Mukwege called for an inclusive international conference, a revival of the 2013 Addis Ababa Framework Agreement, and the involvement of the UN, EU, Belgium, France, the UK, and the U.S.
Mukwege directly appealed to the Congolese people, warning that if national authorities continue to violate the Constitution and international law, then the population must consider a “genuine democratic revolution” to reclaim Congo’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
“This agreement is not peace,” he declared, “it is the seed of more conflict and mass atrocities.” In his powerful closing, Mukwege urged Congolese citizens not to accept submission. “I count on you to change the course of this tragic history. Stand up, Congolese people, and march for your freedom.”
