Our Jazz

Over the first 3 months of 2025, the media airwaves, especially if you live in East Africa, have been dominated by sensational headlines and talking points around the conflict in Eastern Congo.

These are some of the words and images you might have encountered on someone’s status or instagram story, something you glanced at during your doom scroll, or maybe took a step further, to take “real action” by retweeting on X.

But here’s the thing: media coverage of African conflicts rarely sticks. Unlike in other news markets, like in the case of the Ukraine war in Europe, which has enjoyed sustained media attention since 2022, conflicts in Africa are often covered in short, intense bursts – we like to think of it as a wave—when international newsrooms suddenly decide it matters.

That’s not by accident. Foreign agencies like Reuters, AFP, and the BBC largely control the narrative. They’re the ones with the funding, the accreditation, and the access. Local newsrooms often end up echoing what’s already been published by these foreign agencies. 

Now, even while fighting still continues, and peace efforts are being negotiated, we think that the latest wave has subdued. So, we figured this might be a good time to ask the question - What the hell was that? 

At the height of this latest wave, in early February, we managed to get in touch with a veteran journalist, Justin Dralaze, who was on the ground in Goma. We spoke to him for about 2 hours, and cross-referenced his insights with open-source research.

This is what we’ve come up with so far;

a) The Question of the Banyamulenge

We first touched on M23 in Issue 6, around the time Congo was headed to the polls. President Tshisekedi was riding a wave of anti-Rwanda feelings and managed to stay in power. Back then, we looked at how M23 started — from former rebels in a group called the National Congress for the Defence of the People (CNDP), who had once joined the national army before rising up again in 2012. But, in light of the Goma offensive earlier this year, we now have a clearer picture of what M23 stand for—especially one of their central claims: that they are defending the rights of the marginalised Banyamulenge people.

So, who are the Banyamulenge?

The Banyamulenge are a Congolese community with roots in the highlands of South Kivu. They're culturally tied to Tutsi populations in Rwanda, Burundi, and Uganda, having migrated to what is now eastern DRC in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Despite their long presence in Congo, they've consistently been labeled as outsiders—first under Belgian colonial rule, and later by Mobutu’s regime, which stripped them of citizenship in 1981.

M23’s claim to fight in their defence resonates with parts of this history. But if you’re watching their moves in 2025, it’s clear they’re playing a much bigger game now.

They’re not just saying “protect our people” anymore. They’re acting like a government-in-waiting.

Here’s what their story sounds like these days, once you listen closely:

1. “Look, we can govern too.”

   In places they control, M23 is setting up parallel governments—taxes, mining rules, even a police force.
   

2. “Don’t blame Rwanda.”

   M23 consistently denies any support from the Rwanda government. Instead, they flip the script—saying Kinshasa is the one using foreign mercenaries from Burundi and SADC countries.
   

3. Down with the state.
   M23 has branded President Tshisekedi’s government as illegitimate. They point to the recent Goma offensive where many Congolese troops surrendered—and say, “See? The state has collapsed.”

b) M23 has the advantage

There’s something strange—almost deliberate—about how the Congolese government has handled the M23 situation. Or more accurately, how they’ve refused to handle it.

Despite the mounting pressure, the advance of M23, and real signs that Kinshasa is losing grip in the east, President Félix Tshisekedi has maintained a no-dialogue policy. Not a single sit-down. No effort at talks. Just a hardline approach: fight them in the forests, push them out militarily. Dialogue planned for a few weeks ago has been indefinitely delayed.

When Al Jazeera aired an interview with an M23 official, Kinshasa banned the entire network from the country. Local journalists who try to cover M23 face intimidation, even death threats.

The strategy isn’t working. The DRC has poured millions into weapons since Tshisekedi took office. Now? Most of those weapons are in M23 hands.

Kagame told Larry Madowo in a recent interview that M23 is actually seizing weapons from the FDLR—a militia hostile to Rwanda. But that line was quickly dismissed. On the ground, it’s hard to distinguish between M23 rebels and Rwandan army soldiers. Most of the fighters in this region share Rwandan heritage anyway, making it even harder to track who’s who.

c)Qatar’s Quiet Power and the US’s loud moves.

The Qatari corridor offered the first face-to-face between Kagame and Tshisekedi since M23’s latest resurgence. The Emir himself, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, was at the table—personally steering the conversation. This kind of high-level engagement is rare in African conflicts, and it underscores Qatar’s broader ambitions: global diplomatic relevance, deeper ties to Africa, and stability in a region central to the global mineral supply chain.

Unlike the EAC and SADC, which were dogged by political suspicions and military missteps, Qatar brings something else to the table—economic leverage and diplomatic capital. For example, state-owned Qatar Airways is closing in on a deal to take over 49% of RwandAir and 60% of Kigali’s new Bugesera International Airport.

While Qatar works its backchannel, Washington is pursuing its own high-stakes play. The U.S. is pushing for a peace accord to be signed at the White House by the end of June— Their  proposition is clear: end the fighting, sign the paperwork, and the money, potentially billions of dollars in mining deals, comes in.

Hey! Uri here.

East Africa is carving out space on a global stage, even while still being held back by outdated global systems and internal shortcomings. East African people are moving around the region, while governments work to put in place policies for these people to exchange culture, explore opportunity, and live a life of dignity.

Malcolm (a realist lawyer) and I (a carelessly  optimistic journalist)  have been calling each other up to talk about all these East African stories we learn about and read about in the news, and decided to make our conversations more public, in a way that doesn't cover it all up in big English and elitism. This newsletter is our first crack at it. Tell a friend to tell a friend who is interested in this kind of thing.