{"id":119251,"date":"2026-02-06T13:55:28","date_gmt":"2026-02-06T13:55:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/governor-claims-ethnic-division-became-business-opportunity"},"modified":"2026-02-06T17:48:58","modified_gmt":"2026-02-06T17:48:58","slug":"governor-claims-ethnic-division-became-business-opportunity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/governor-claims-ethnic-division-became-business-opportunity","title":{"rendered":"Governor Claims Ethnic Division Became Business Opportunity"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Rwanda. <\/strong><\/span>The governor of North Kivu province Erasto Bahati Musanga says ethnic and racial discrimination in DR Congo has been deliberately cultivated and commercialised by political elites in Kinshasa, turning identity into a tool for power, profit and control.<\/p>\n

Bahati made the remarks during an interview with American scholar and Great Lakes conflict researcher Bojana Coulibaly, aired on Thursday, February 5,<\/p>\n

Drawing from his own background, the governor rejected narratives that question the Congolese identity of certain communities in eastern DR Congo, such as the Tutsi. Bahati, who was born in Masisi territory, in Bashari Mukoto chiefdom, and stressed that birthplace, language or cultural background should never be used to deny citizenship.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd you will find somebody who was born in France, I mean those people who are with (President Felix) Tshisekedi, and the person tells you that you are not Congolese,\u201d Bahati said, describing it as the hypocrisy of political actors aligned with the Congolese leader..<\/p>\n

He argued that nationality cannot be defined by language, noting that many Congolese citizens born in Masisi, Rutshuru or Kalehe have lived their entire lives in Congo yet continue to face exclusion.<\/p>\n

He accused politicians of deliberately promoting ethnic fear to advance their interests. \u201cThey have made discrimination a business opportunity. Ethnic and tribal divisionism has become a business in our country,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The governor said hate ideology has been spread through narratives that classify people into opposing racial or ethnic categories, particularly the framing of \u201cBantu\u201d versus \u201cNilotic\u201d identities, which he described as dangerous and destabilising.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis ideology is extremely dangerous,\u201d Bahati warned. \u201cIt is no different from what was taught in Rwanda before the 1994 genocide.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIn each ethnic group we find good people and in each ethnic group we find bad people, the one who is punished is punished for his\/her own actions, if somebody commits a misdeed or a crime we cannot attribute it to the entire group, their crime cannot be attributed to the entire community. That person has to face justice and be held accountable for the crime they have committed. Their community must not suffer for that person’s actions.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are going to teach anti-divisionism so that people can come back to a place where there is no ethnic or tribal divisionism,\u201d he said, adding that the goal is to build a country \u201cwhere everybody is equal.\u201d<\/p>\n

He noted that armed groups operating in eastern Congo had been trained and indoctrinated along ethnic lines, often with external involvement.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs early as 2014, Burundian instructors were sent to places like Bukombo and Tongo,\u201d he said. \u201cThey joined FDLR and began training militias such as Nyatura. This was not accidental; it was a long-term project.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bahati claimed that the project was designed to entrench ethnic hatred and normalise violence, arguing that such ideologies do not emerge spontaneously.<\/p>\n

Banyamulenge refugees are not asking for nationalities<\/p>\n

Addressing the persistent humanitarian crisis affecting the Banyamulenge people scattered across different countries and denied returning to their home, Governor Bahati said it\u2019s an empty talk.<\/p>\n

\u201cNationality is not something the government hands out, these people are Congolese,\u201d he said, stressing that decades spent in refugee camps cannot erase their identity.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have the nationality, we were born in Congo our parents were born in Congo, our great-parents were born in Congo, we are not asking for any nationality.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bahati appealed for unity across borders and communities. \u201cWe are all the same. We will build our country together,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe must fight all forms of discrimination and hate speech,\u201d he said, urging citizens to reject deliberate manipulation by the Kinshasa regime.<\/p>\n

Turning to the plight of refugees in Rwanda, he reaffirmed ongoing efforts to restore peace and security in eastern Congo so that refugees communities can return.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor our people who are in camps in Rwanda, we are putting all the efforts for peace to come back here, we are doing everything we can to bring the security where they come from so they can return home,\u201d<\/p>\n

FDLR elements as ideological threats<\/p>\n

The governor also linked ethnic divisionism to the continued presence and activities of the Rwandan genocidal militia FDLR, describing the Kinshasa-backed group as both a security and ideological threat.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were able to push them (FDLR) away from the zones we have secured and from the Park of Virunga,\u201d Bahati said, noting that these forces have since moved to Walikale.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the territory of Walikale, there are many of them, it is a large group that has full support from the government of Tshisekedi,\u201d the governor said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey have money, military support… all the support they want they are treated like the government troops.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you look around here near Kibumba, they have decimated the entire Park of Virunga… they were burning charcoal and selling it illegally and were sharing all the money with the FARDC.\u201d<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Rwanda<\/span> Follow Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Rwanda. The governor of North Kivu province Erasto Bahati Musanga says ethnic and racial discrimination in DR Congo has been deliberately cultivated and commercialised by political elites in Kinshasa, turning identity into a tool for power, profit and control. Bahati made the remarks during an interview with American scholar and Great Lakes conflict […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":119250,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,14],"tags":[6999,2542,2541,3645,758],"class_list":["post-119251","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-policy","tag-afc-m23","tag-dr-congo","tag-goma","tag-north-kivu","tag-rwanda"],"yoast_head":"\nGovernor Claims Ethnic Division Became Business Opportunity - Rwanda<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The governor of North Kivu province Erasto Bahati Musanga says ethnic and racial discrimination in DR Congo has been del ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/governor-claims-ethnic-division-became-business-opportunity\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Governor Claims Ethnic Division Became Business Opportunity\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The governor of North Kivu province Erasto Bahati Musanga says ethnic and racial discrimination in DR Congo has been del ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/governor-claims-ethnic-division-became-business-opportunity\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Rwanda\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-02-06T13:55:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-02-06T17:48:58+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2026\/02\/sm_1770374188.263271.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"567\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/governor-claims-ethnic-division-became-business-opportunity#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/governor-claims-ethnic-division-became-business-opportunity\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Governor Claims Ethnic Division Became Business Opportunity\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-06T13:55:28+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-02-06T17:48:58+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/governor-claims-ethnic-division-became-business-opportunity\"},\"wordCount\":824,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/governor-claims-ethnic-division-became-business-opportunity#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2026\/02\/sm_1770374188.263271.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"AFC\/M23\",\"DR Congo\",\"Goma\",\"NORTH KIVU\",\"Rwanda\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"Policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/governor-claims-ethnic-division-became-business-opportunity#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/governor-claims-ethnic-division-became-business-opportunity\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/governor-claims-ethnic-division-became-business-opportunity\",\"name\":\"Governor Claims Ethnic Division Became Business Opportunity - 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