Bring it on! Rwanda's Kagame calls Ramaphosa a liar, dares him to a fight

Rwanda's President Paul Kagame has accused President Cyril Ramaphosa and government officials of  “lying” and “distorting” talks between the two statesmen in his Wednesday statement to South Africans. 

Taking to social media after the release of the tweets and statements by the South African government, Kagame called out his counterpart, fuelling speculation that relations between the two governments had taken a nosedive. 

Ramaphosa was forced to make a public statement after the deaths of 13 South African peacekeeping troops as tensions escalated in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo between its military and the rebel group M23 which is said to be funded by Rwanda.

During a media briefing on Wednesday, minister of defence Angie Motshekga said Ramaphosa had warned Rwanda that firing on South African troops would be seen as a declaration of war. She said this was also communicated by its generals stationed in Goma in the DRC after the deaths of 13 soldiers. 

In his official account on X, Kagame said he has held two conversations this week with Ramaphosa on the situation in eastern DRC, including earlier on Wednesday. 

“What has been said about these conversations in the media by South African officials and President Ramaphosa himself contains a lot of distortion, deliberate attacks and even lies. If words can change so much from a conversation to a public statement, it says a lot about how these very important issues are being managed,” he said. 

In his statement, Ramaphosa said the fighting was “the result of an escalation by the rebel group M23 and Rwanda Defence Force (RDF) militia engaging the Armed Forces of the DRC (FARDC) and attacking peacekeepers from the Sadc Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (SAMIDRC).”

Kagame did not take lightly to this. 

“A few important clarifications for the record: The Rwanda Defence Force is an army, not a militia. SAMIDRC is not a peacekeeping force, and it has no place in this situation. It was authorised by Sadc as a belligerent force engaging in offensive combat operations to help the DRC government fight against its own people, working alongside genocidal armed groups like FDLR which target Rwanda, while also threatening to take the war to Rwanda itself,” he said.

Kagame said the SAMIDRC had displaced a true peacekeeping force, the East African Community Regional Force, and this had contributed to the failure of the negotiation processes.

“President Ramaphosa has never given a 'warning' of any kind, unless it was delivered in his local language which I do not understand.

“He did ask for support to ensure the South African force has adequate electricity, food and water, which we shall help communicate.

“President Ramaphosa confirmed to me that M23 did not kill the soldiers from South Africa, FARDC did,” Kagame said. 

“If South Africa wants to contribute to peaceful solutions, that is well and good, but South Africa is in no position to take on the role of a peacemaker or mediator. And if South Africa prefers confrontation, Rwanda will deal with the matter in that context any day.”

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