An association of Banyamulenge Tutsis living in the United States, Banyamulenge Global Advocacy (BGA), has sharply denounced the Rwandan government’s longstanding claim that the Banyamulenge community is under imminent threat in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), arguing that the narrative has been repeatedly used as a pretext to justify nearly three decades of Rwandan military presence on Congolese soil.
In a strongly worded letter dated November 22, 2025—now being recirculated—addressed to the U.S. Senate, the House of Representatives, the Department of Homeland Security, and federal and state authorities, the Fort Worth–based organization warns of what it calls a “coordinated campaign” aimed at manipulating american public opinion on eastern Congo. BGA, headquartered at 8505 Stetson Dr, Fort Worth, Texas, says its members are “American citizens and lawful residents of Congolese origin” who reject what they describe as the instrumentalization of their community in pursuit of “geopolitical objectives narrowly aligned with the interests of the rwandan government.”
A narrative of perpetual threat
According to the letter, Kigali has over the years constructed “a sophisticated narrative” portraying the Banyamulenge as a community under constant danger in the DRC, in order to “justify repeated military interventions and the prolonged presence of its troops” in the country. BGA points to recent security gains achieved through cooperation between the Congolese and Burundian armed forces—including the neutralization of the RED-Tabara group and improved stability in Uvira, Fizi, and Mwenga—as evidence that “effective protection of the Banyamulenge is now being ensured by national forces, not by the M23 or any foreign-backed proxy.”
Mahoro Peace Association in the crosshairs
The letter takes direct aim at the Mahoro Peace Association (MPA), describing it as a “manufactured voice claiming to speak on behalf of the Banyamulenge.” Planned demonstrations by the group in the United States, BGA argues, are “deliberately framed as grassroots movements, despite failing to reflect the aspirations or lived reality of our people.”
For BGA members, these actions are part of a “sophisticated communications strategy” designed to undermine security cooperation between the DRC and Burundi, “revive a climate of fear that has already cost countless lives,” and “shape U.S. policy in line with Kigali’s priorities.”
Calling on U.S. institutions to remain vigilant
BGA poses a pointed question to U.S. lawmakers: “How can an organization based in the United States, while benefiting from American freedoms, position itself as the mouthpiece of a foreign rebellion and a state repeatedly implicated in cross-border aggression?” The group urges American institutions to exercise heightened vigilance, warning against “propaganda disguised as community advocacy,” and to rely instead on United Nations reports, regional analyses, and the testimony of Congolese communities who, for 30 years, have borne the consequences of a Rwandan narrative invoking the alleged protection of the Banyamulenge to justify the continued presence of troops in the DRC.
Albert Osako
