According to Olivier Nduhungirehe, Rwanda’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, the country has asked the UK to apologize and issue a statement retraction of false statements made by Lord Collins of Highbury, the UK’s Minister for Africa, citing the harm these claims caused to Rwanda’s reputation.
Speaking to the UK Parliament on February 26, 2025, Collins was asked about the recent deaths of 70 Christians who were murdered by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) with hammers and machetes. These victims’ bodies were found in a church in the North Kivu province’s Lubero area.
He replied that Rwanda had refuted all of the accusations, but that he had spoken with Nduhungirehe about the issue in Geneva. Rwanda denounced the statement as ignorance and an attempt to deceive the world about the security situation in the Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), further straining the already difficult relations between the two countries.
The UK Ambassador to Rwanda was called two days later to address the issue and offer clarifications.
Nduhungirehe expressed his shock at Collins’ statement during a March 2, 2025, media briefing, speculating that it might have been artificial intelligence (AI) developed.
“We called the UK Ambassador right away and told him that these allegations were intolerable. First and foremost, we made it plain that Lord Collins of Highbury, the Minister for Africa, was lying since we never brought up the ADF,” Nduhungirehe stated.
He added that proof refuting the accusations was also presented to the UK Ambassador. “We are vigorously combating terrorist organizations like those in Cabo Delgado, thus it is totally unacceptable to accuse Rwanda of working with the ADF. Furthermore, people tend to believe these claims without examination because they were made by the UK, a significant world power,” he continued.
He acknowledged that Collins’ comments had led to false information spreading online, with some people asserting that Rwanda had connections to the ADF. He also restated Rwanda’s demand that the UK government issue a formal apology and a public statement denying Collins’ claims.
For this reason, we requested an apology and a declaration from the UK government stating that their Minister’s allegations were untrue. The Minister did not apologize, Nduhungirehe said, even though he acknowledged in a letter that Rwanda has nothing to do with the ADF and that we never spoke about the issue.
“He acknowledged that his claims were untrue and that Rwanda had no connection to the ADF, a terrorist organization that murders Christians in churches. We cannot put up with such lies,” he continued.
Following the UK’s announcement that it would impose sanctions on Rwanda due to claims that it was aiding the M23 rebel group and stationing troops in the Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, relations between Rwanda and the UK started to worsen. Rwanda has continuously refuted these claims and shown proof to the contrary.
Rwanda has voiced worries about the cooperation between the FDLR terrorist group and the Congolese Armed Forces (FARDC), Burundian forces, and European mercenaries, and accuses the UK of hastily siding in the conflict in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
