Africa

Felix Tshisekedi and Paul Kagame, in Gisenyi, Rwanda, June 25, 2021

On Sep 16, 2022, Vidiye Tshimanga, the special strategic advisor to  president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)  Felix Tshisekedi,  resigned a few hours after secret videos of his conversations with alleged investors, in which he was reportedly demanding bribes and kickbacks, were released. AfroAmerica Network has now obtained other secret recordings by agents connected to international organizations confirming that the special forces of the Congolese military FARDC have been deployed in East, not to fight the rebels as a priority, but mostly to make sure that the minerals, especially coltan and tourmaline, are exploited by entities connected  to officials in Kinshasa, and that these minerals are sold to specific agents, especially Rwandan entities,  who would pay the required kickbacks to DRC government officials, through high ranking military officers.   Most of those FARDC military officers are connected to M23 and the Rwandan government.

Vidiye Tshimanga, Special advisor to the DRC President Tshisekedi

On Wednesday, September 15, 2022, videos were leaked and released to media showing Vidiye Tshimanga, the special strategic advisor to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) President, Felix Tshisekedi, offering unlimited access to mineral riches of the country in exchange of bribes and kickbacks, includiing  shares in the companies and underhand paybacks, for himself and the president. The videos appeared to be a work of undercover agents targeting the corrupt officials of DRC. Following the releases, Vidiye Tshimanga resigned on Thursday, Sep 16, 2022  morning, a few hours after the videos of his conversations with alleged investors, in which he was demanding bribes, were released.

Paul Kagame's RDF Troops Deployment in 2017

As reported by AfroAmerica Network, as the security situation in the DRC worsens and the human rights abuses in Rwanda have increased, pushing  the US Government and the US Senate to be mulling over economic sanctions targeting Rwandan leaders, United States Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, is already travelling in  Africa, with a stay in Pretoria, South Africa, and  scheduled visit in  Kinshasa, DRC on  August 9, 2022 and  in Kigali, Rwanda on August 10, 2022  to address the matter (see USA-DR Congo-Rwanda: Is the USA Government Mulling Over Imposing Sanctions Against Rwandan Government Leaders Over RDC and Human Rights Abuses?).   Meawhile, independent reports confirm that on August 4, 2022, the UN Security Council was presented a report by UN Experts confirming that the Rwandan military has been supporting, reinforcing, and arming and deploying troops within M23 Congolese rebels.