A resident living in Uvira, where the Wazalendo continue committing extreme violence against the local population—especially the Banyamulenge—compared them to the Interahamwe militia that carried out the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda.
This resident explained that Interahamwe was once a positive name before 1994, but after the genocide against the Tutsi it turned into a deeply negative insult. He added that the same thing is now happening with Wazalendo in the DRC.
He said: “You know how the word Interahamwe used to sound good before 1994. But now, just mentioning it, anyone who hears it takes it as something very bad because of what they did in Rwanda that year.”
He continued: “Now it is an insult; anyone called Interahamwe is considered an even worse killer.”
He stated that Wazalendo will also reach a point where their name will only be used as an insult in the DRC.
He said: “A time will come when if someone wants to insult you, they will just call you ‘Wazalendo.’ No one will want to hear it anymore because of the bad acts they continue to commit in the eastern part of this country, the DRC.”
He made these remarks after, on Monday, 25 August 2025, Wazalendo caused great chaos in the city of Uvira, South Kivu Province.
This happened when the Banyamulenge wanted to bury Colonel Gisore Patrick, who recently died in a civilian plane crash while traveling from Lubutu to Kisangani in Tshopo Province.
Some of the Banyamulenge mourners had come from Luvungi in the Rusizi Valley, while others came from Bujumbura, Burundi.
However, Wazalendo blocked them, saying no Banyamulenge should be buried on DRC soil, claiming they are Rwandans.
Reports add that some were robbed of their phones, money, and cars.
This was followed by heavy gunfire, with Wazalendo shooting in many different areas of Uvira city.
Though some of those arrested were later released, on the morning of Tuesday, 26 August 2025, General Kasimbila John, a Wazalendo commander, sent out a voice message urging his fighters everywhere to prepare and kill those he called “Rwandans,” referring to the Banyamulenge.
He said: “I want to tell you that we have many enemies here in Uvira. The FARDC sector commander, the ANR chief, the DGM chief, and even the regional commander are all bringing in the enemy here. And you know who the enemy is—no one else but the Rwandan.”
He declared that he and his fighters were going to move around wherever the enemy was and carry out what he called ‘kufyeka adui wa Congo’—which, translated from Kinyamulenge, means to exterminate the enemy of Congo.
The violence committed by Wazalendo in Uvira and in other areas such as its surrounding hills, Fizi, and Mwenga has reached an alarming level.
Many residents of these regions strongly resent it and are calling on the M23 and Twirwaneho movements to take control of these areas, since wherever those groups hold territory there is peace, and civilians live in security and freedom.
