Jean Claude Hategekimana feared that returning to Rwanda could cost him his life.
uncertain
returning → fear → life
After years with the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), he decided to leave the armed group and return home.
asserted
he → decide → group
At Rwanda’s Mutobo Demobilisation and Reintegration Centre, he began preparing for civilian life.
asserted
he → begin → life
Born in 1996 in Rutsiro District, in western Rwanda, Hategekimana moved to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) with his parents and grew up in an area controlled by the FDLR.
asserted
Hategekimana → bear → FDLR
He joined the group in 2018, underwent military training and eventually reached the rank of captain.
asserted
He → join → captain
“I arrived at the Mutobo Centre after fighting to defend Goma.
asserted
I → arrive → Goma
Following our defeat, I fled to Masisi.
asserted
I → follow → Masisi
After realising that I was fighting for nothing, I decided to return to Rwanda.
asserted
I → realise → Rwanda
I came back on February 24,” he told Al Jazeera.
asserted
he → come → Jazeera
Hategekimana said FDLR members had been taught that anyone who returned to Rwanda would be killed.
asserted
who → say → Rwanda
“Upon arriving in Rwanda, I realised that the FDLR had been lying to us.
asserted
FDLR → arrive → us
For me, returning home felt like embarking on a suicide mission,” he said.
asserted
he → return → mission
His experience illustrates the challenge of reintegrating former fighters whose beliefs and fears have been shaped by years in an armed group.
asserted
beliefs → illustrate → group
Francis Musoni, secretary-general of the Rwanda Demobilisation and Reintegration Commission, said the Mutobo centre, located in Musanze in Rwanda’s Northern Province, was established in 2001 to receive members of the FDLR and other Rwandan armed groups returning from the DRC.
asserted
centre → say → DRC
The FDLR emerged in the aftermath of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsis.
asserted
FDLR → emerge → Tutsis
After the genocide, members of the former Rwandan armed forces and militia groups fled to what was then Zaire, now the DRC.
asserted
what → flee → forces
The Rwandan government accuses the FDLR of carrying out attacks against Rwanda and contributing to cross-border insecurity.
asserted
government → accuse → insecurity
At Mutobo, the rehabilitation programme includes medical care, psychosocial support, civic education and assistance with reconnecting with families.
asserted
programme → include → families
Returnees can also contact relatives and friends through a telephone service, Musoni said.
asserted
Musoni → contact → service
“We help them to build confidence among themselves, build trust, and empower them to go back into the community and contribute to the development of the country together with their families,” he said.
asserted
he → help → families
The centre also allows visitors and media representatives to meet returnees.
asserted
visitors → allow → returnees
Musoni said those undergoing rehabilitation can visit their communities for short periods to help rebuild their confidence in returning home.
asserted
those → say → confidence
“They can travel to their communities [during rehabilitation].
asserted
They → travel → rehabilitation
They are given written permission for a week or two, and we even facilitate transport,” he said.
asserted
he → give → transport
For the former commanders interviewed by Al Jazeera at Mutobo, the decision to leave the FDLR was shaped by family ties, disillusionment and concerns about personal safety.
asserted
decision → interview → safety
Major-General Anastase Munyaneza served in the former Rwandan armed forces in Kigali’s Kicukiro District during the 1994 genocide.
asserted
Munyaneza → serve → genocide
He said he left Rwanda after the genocide and later joined the FDLR, eventually commanding its South Kivu sector.
asserted
he → say → sector
Although he had come to accept the group’s beliefs, Munyaneza remained in contact with his family in Rwanda.
asserted
Munyaneza → come → Rwanda
News of their lives made him question his own circumstances.
asserted
him → make → circumstances
“I was the only one who had fled to the DRC.
asserted
who → flee → DRC
I regularly received news about them.
asserted
I → receive → them
I knew they were still alive, attending school, working for the government and improving their lives.
asserted
they → know → lives
I began asking myself what I was doing in the forest,” he said.
asserted
he → begin → forest
He added that seeing other members return safely encouraged him to consider going home.
asserted
members → add → him
Munyaneza said he contacted personnel from the United Nations Organisation Stabilisation Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO), who transported him from South Kivu to Bukavu and then to the Congolese-Rwandan border.
asserted
who → say → border
He subsequently proceeded to Mutobo.
asserted
He → proceed → Mutobo
Lieutenant-Colonel Idrissa Bizimana, who was responsible for ideology, propaganda and recruitment within the FDLR, said his decision to return followed a change in his convictions.
“I no longer believed in the ideology I had been promoting.
asserted
I → say → ideology
After receiving verified information about what was happening in Rwanda, I decided to return home,” he said.
asserted
he → receive → Rwanda
Bizimana said he had been in contact with a MONUSCO general who had offered to help him return.
asserted
him → say → general
Using a satellite phone equipped with GPS, he sent his location and the date.
asserted
he → use → location
…and 17 more, not listed.
The Aporia
