Kagame was speaking at the 24th Extraordinary East African Community (EAC) Heads of State Summit, which was held virtually on Wednesday, January 29, 2025.

The summit focused on addressing the ongoing conflict in eastern DRC and the M23 crisis.

Earlier this week, during the battle to liberate Goma, FARDC soldiers and their allied forces were defeated. Instead of repelling attackers, they launched artillery shells into Rwanda’s Rubavu District.

By January 28, 2025, the attacks had claimed the lives of nine Rwandans and left many others injured.

In response to the incident, Kagame emphasized Rwanda’s responsibility to protect its citizens.

“The other day, two or three days ago, we lost people, there was a lot of shelling from eastern Congo, from Goma, killed a dozen people and injured hundreds. We will definitely take care of that, there is no question about it."

During the summit, Kagame also voiced his frustration about the role of international players in the crisis, particularly pointing out South Africa’s involvement.

He expressed concern over the confusion caused by various processes such as the Nairobi and Luanda peace initiatives.

"Honestly, even here, maybe you will help me understand what all this means. The processes became an end in themselves, and the people leading these processes became more important than the results of the processes," Kagame noted, further emphasizing the lack of real progress in resolving the issue.

Kagame also reflected on his recent discussions with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, who sought him out to discuss the situation.

Kagame described South Africa’s role in the conflict, stating, "For the last two days, on Monday and today morning, I spoke with the President of South Africa, who sought me out to speak with me on this matter because of their involvement in Eastern Congo. He’s also there pretending to be playing a peacemaker role, and he has a force that has been fighting alongside FDLR and has been fighting the M23 on the instructions of Tshisekedi."

Rwanda has experienced tensions with the DRC following the resurgence of the M23 rebel group in 2022.

DRC accuses Rwanda of supporting the rebels, a claim Kigali has denied, urging DRC to address its internal issues without involving neighboring countries.

DRC has been fighting alongside the FDLR genocidal militia, Western mercenaries, Burundian troops, and SADC forces. These forces were recently defeated by the M23, leading to the capture of Goma and other towns in eastern DRC.

Kagame questioned why leaders continue to accept manipulation by DRC President Félix Antoine Tshisekedi.

"Why do we, leaders of our own countries, accept this to go on forever and just accept that we shall be manipulated by Tshisekedi or whoever is supporting him?" he wondered.

Kagame also addressed the broader international community’s confused response to the situation, stating, “Then you have the whole international community just confused. They talked about Luanda, they talked about the Nairobi process.”

He criticized the international community’s focus on processes rather than addressing the root causes of the conflict.

“The Nairobi process became a whole process. Then the Luanda process, it’s like you can’t say anything that will displease President Lourenço. Definitely, this does not help deal with such a serious matter as we are faced with today,” he added.

The president made it clear that Rwanda would not tolerate any further provocations.

During the extraordinary summit, heads of state urged the DRC government to engage directly with M23 rebels and other armed groups in a bid to resolve the escalating crisis in the country’s east.

The leaders also called on DRC to directly engage with all stakeholders, including the M23 and other armed groups that have grievances.

DRC President Félix Tshisekedi, who has previously resisted direct negotiations with M23 was absent from the summit.