We began an intricate clandestine journey that took us to Rutshuru, in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, to investigate reported alleged massacres in a town called Kishishe.
Before our visit, what we had been painted was a terrifying image of civilians killed by M23 rebels while praying in an Adventist church, which was later burned down: Fifty dead on December 1, 100 on December 2, and 300 on December 2. from December. 5, all announced by various DRC government spokespersons.
They even declared three days of national mourning.
Read: ‘Around 300’ dead in massacre in Democratic Republic of Congo
Meanwhile, the UN Mission, Monusco, reported 131 victims, adding that the women were raped and others kidnapped to be Boko Haram-style sex slaves.
Addressing the United Nations Security Council, Monusco chief Bintou Keita even called on the council to “call for the immediate release of survivors prevented from leaving the M23-controlled area.”
However, they all agreed that they had not set foot in Kishishe, so their claims were based on hearsay.
The “Kishishe massacres” became public one day after Alice Wairimu Nderitu, the UN special adviser for the prevention of genocide, issued a statement after a four-day visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo, giving the voice of alarm that indicators of a genocide against the Banyamulenge were gradually diminishing. falling into place.
So a group of journalists who had led the Cabo Delgado expedition in Mozambique two years ago after Rwanda sent a stabilization force to the conflict-ridden region met again, this time for a mission deep into the war zone of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Also read: In Mozambique war, Rwandan and TZ allies face difficult odds
We got in touch with John* (not his real name), an M23 contact who lives in Kigali. John made some calls and confirmed that the M23 would arrange safe passage for us in Rutshuru territory, where all kinds of militias are active.
After three days and nights of riding trucks, motorbikes, walking about 30 kilometers, taking Marc, our cameraman, and sleeping in trenches, we arrived at the small town at the entrance of the Virunga National Park.
When we entered Kishishe, our preconceived ideas began to dissipate. We found residents interacting with M23 rebels. The town was somewhat deserted, with people still returning after having fled earlier.
Located in the middle of nowhere, with no electricity to charge cell phones, no radio signal, a dilapidated four-room school, no production or distribution factors like a market, a mill, or cattle, and its subsistence farmers, unaware of its overnight. World Fame.
This is what we learned from Kishishe residents:
Nineteen people were killed during a brief battle between a local militia and the M23 on November 29, 2022. Eight of them were residents, 11 were militiamen. The battle was sparked by an ambush, allegedly set up by the FDLR and Mai-Mai, on the northern flank of the village.
There were no children or women killed, no cases of sexual violence or kidnapping, they told us.
So we sent a questionnaire to Monusco and the DRC government asking: What are the names of the people who were killed? Where did you get your information?
Monusco responded by admitting that he did not know the identity of the victims. As for their findings, they added that they would evaluate the “opportunity of making them public,” keeping in mind the safety of witnesses.
It is not the first time that “massacres” in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo have been fabricated and spread by prominent figures and major news agencies, and then refuted after an investigation.
In the so-called “Kipupu Massacres” in South Kivu: the figure of 220 victims initially announced by provincial parliamentarians, was taken up by Congolese politicians and later disseminated by the international media. The number of victims was eventually reduced to 15 after a joint Monusco-DRC government mission visited the site on July 29, 2020.
