In the collective imagination of many Congolese, the Tutsi are viewed as an active and permanent threat. They are dehumanized and caricatured as beings insensitive to physical or moral suffering, devoid of ordinary human needs and emotions.
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Such perceptions are used to justify extreme violence against them, including acts of cannibalism. These atrocities do not arise from cannibalistic traditions or a desire to consume human flesh, but from hatred.
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For perpetrators, even the bodies of dead Tutsi must be destroyed because they are regarded as animals and therefore consumable. This hatred extends beyond sections of the population: the state itself equips security forces to persecute them, deny their belonging, and destroy their livelihoods.
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Tutsi are often portrayed as criminals by birth and denied the presumption of innocence. Former DR Congo army spokesperson Gen Sylvain Ekenge claimed Tutsi women were instruments of "infiltration" used to preserve alleged "racial superiority," while politician Justin Bitakwira suggested Tutsi are born criminals. Such rhetoric portrays them as "congenitally dangerous" and normalizes calls for their elimination. Even without committing crimes, they are treated as inherently guilty simply because they are Tutsi.
Armed groups are widely mobilized through "nationalist" rhetoric supposedly aimed at defending "our soil." Militias advocate the forcible expulsion of Congolese Tutsi, whom they describe as "Rwandan invaders."
Between 2016 and 2018, Mai-Mai groups erected roadblocks between Uvira and Bijombo. Travellers had to pay fees to pass, while Congolese Tutsi risked being killed or forced to pay double.
Contemporary features of anti-Tutsi ideology
To understand anti-Tutsi hatred in the Kivus, one must revisit the writings of civil society actors in the 1980s and 1990s. During this period, associations in eastern Zaire received substantial European funding after Europe distanced itself from African allies following French President François Mitterrand's La Baule speech, which allegedly promoted democratization.
Civil society organizations emerged across sub-Saharan Africa under the banners of human rights and development. Yet many NGO leaders in North and South Kivu did not genuinely embrace those principles, especially regarding the citizenship rights of Zairian Tutsi.
Democratization unleashed ethnic hostility. Many self-proclaimed human rights defenders in the Kivus regarded Tutsi as a separate racial category without legitimate rights. In their view, Tutsi were evil Rwandans who "must go back home."
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As hatred became politically acceptable, defending Tutsi in Zaire, and later in DR Congo, became dangerous. Rights activists expressing moderate views on the issue were marginalized or imprisoned. One manifestation of this hostility is that the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda has never been formally recognized in DR Congo. Speaking about it is often perceived as supporting the Tutsi, who are treated not as victims deserving protection, but as the source of accusation.
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Civil society actors frequently present Tutsi as the root cause of the country's problems.
Anti-Tutsi hatred as a political tool
Hostility toward Tutsi also carries political and economic incentives. Electoral candidates compete to demonstrate toughness against them. During the 2023 election campaign, President Félix Tshisekedi focused heavily on attacking Rwanda, widely perceived in Congolese discourse as a "Tutsi state." Political leaders who disagree on many other issues often unite around anti-Tutsi rhetoric.
The Tutsi, wherever they are, are portrayed as inherently dangerous. This ideology functions as a powerful mobilizing tool, fuelling dehumanization, conspiracy theories, and extreme violence. It lies at the heart of the recurring crises in eastern DR Congo.
The writer is a researcher and analyst on the Great Lakes Region.
