Cape Town — Former Minister of Social Development, Lindiwe Zulu, said the ongoing conflict between South Africa and Rwanda could seriously dampen bilateral relations between the two countries.
Tensions between Rwanda and South Africa have reached fever point as Rwanda President, Paul Kagame accused President Cyril Ramaphosa of distorting the facts when it comes to the current volatile situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
“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,” Kagame said in a lengthy X post.
He added that South Africa was welcome to contribute to peaceful solutions but was in no position to be a peacemaker or meditator.
I held two conversations this week with President Ramaphosa on the situation in Eastern DRC, including earlier today. What has been said about these conversations in the media by South African officials and President Ramaphosa himself contains a lot of distortion, deliberate… https://t.co/i78aqtVjpr
— Paul Kagame (@PaulKagame) January 29, 2025
In response to Kagame’s coments, Zulu said any strain between the two nations is unavoidable she told Newzroom Afrika.
“That tension we cannot afford, quite frankly, if we look at the bigger picture of what SADC’s responsibility is, what the government of the DRC’s responsibility is, and what Rwanda’s responsibility is. So, any tension, any words that might be thrown left, right and centre by one or the other, it is not going to help the situation,” she said.
“The situation is going to be helped by South Africa and Rwanda, that is the two presidents as they have been engaging with each other, we saw all the nice pictures that came through when they had that conversation, we have to go back to the drawing board and have the presidents speaking to each other, the ministers of foreign affairs speaking to each other and the countries speaking to each other,” she added.
WATCH BELOW:
Concerns grow as the SANDF confirms the death of a 14th soldier in the Eastern DRC since the start of the year. The ongoing violence has also heightened tensions between South Africa and Rwanda, with Kigali accusing Pretoria of distorting facts. Former ambassador Lindiwe Zulu… pic.twitter.com/Hyn7tFBIWu
— Newzroom Afrika (@Newzroom405) February 2, 2025
Follow African Insider on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
Picture: X/@TheTruthPanther
For more African news, visit Africaninsider.com
Compiled by Matthew Petersen
