The Democratic Republic of Congo has asked the English Premier League Club, Arsenal, to cut financial dealings with Rwanda. In a letter addressed to Arsenal owners, Stanley Kroenke and Josh Kroenke, DRC’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner, stated that the money used in funding “Visit Rwanda” comes from blood minerals.
According to the Minister, Rwanda is illegally extracting the DRC’s resources to fund Arsenal.
“It is time Arsenal ditched its blood-stained sponsorship deal with this oppressor nation. If not for your own conscience, then the club should do it for the victims of Rwandan aggression,” she said.
Minister Therese has questioned the morality of Arsenal’s management, its players, and supporters.
She also wondered why the club is continuing its financial relationship with ‘Visit Rwanda.’
“The president of that country, Paul Kagame, is an autocrat, and his army, along with its proxy militia, the M23, are waging war inside the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC),” she said.
However, Rwandan President Paul Kagame had long denied these allegations. There is also no evidence to directly support the allegations.
Rwanda’s Support for Congolese Rebels
The DRC foreign affairs boss added that Rwanda’s culpability in the conflict has become incontrovertible.
“A report by a UN group of experts has shown that at least 4,000 Rwandan troops are actively supporting the M23 rebel group in its military campaign in North Kivu,” she said.
“The Rwandan Defence Forces have disregarded a ceasefire I agreed with my Rwandan counterpart to bomb homes and hospitals in Goma.”
Presenting all that she believed were evidence, she then questioned if the UK top-tier club was aware.
“You are probably not aware that Rwanda ultimately seeks to annex a large part of the Eastern Congo for access to our minerals for its own economic gain,” she said.
Some African experts, like Prof. PLO Lumumba have questioned the credibility of the UN findings.
Humanitarian Crisis in Eastern DR Congo
She said, while Arsenal played its final match of the first phase of this year’s UEFA Champions League, 500,000 more people became displaced in the eastern DRC.
Thousands, she added, are currently trapped in the city of Goma with little access to food, water, and security.
“Countless lives have been lost, rape, murder, and theft prevail. Your sponsor is directly responsible for this misery,” she stated.
She said millions of tonnes of minerals critical to the energy transition—copper, cobalt, and lithium, and gold—have been mined illicitly in the territory occupied by Rwandan-backed forces and transported across the border, and exported from Rwanda.
“How certain are you that blood mineral cash is not being used to fund your sponsorship deal? Generous international aid that Rwanda receives from many countries is a major contribution to the Rwandan economy. How certain are you that aid money is not being diverted to fund your sponsorship deal?” she asked.
She further said Arsenal should rethink whether its association with Rwanda is doing more harm or good.
