Former FDLR Captain Returns to Rwanda After Years of Fighting

Jean Claude Hategekimana feared death upon returning to Rwanda. Years of fighting with the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) made him nervous. Yet he chose to leave that armed group and come home. Now he sits at the Mutobo Demobilisation and Reintegration Centre in Musanze, preparing for civilian life again. Born in 1996 in Rutsiro District, western Rwanda, he moved to the Democratic Republic of the Congo with his parents. They lived where FDLR troops held control. Hategekimana joined the group in 2018. He finished military training and climbed up to become a captain.

"I arrived at the Mutobo Centre after fighting to defend Goma," he told Al Jazeera. "Following our defeat, I fled to Masisi. After realising that I was fighting for nothing, I decided to return to Rwanda. I came back on February 24." He said FDLR members were taught that returning to Rwanda meant death.

"Upon arriving in Rwanda, I realised that the FDLR had been lying to us," he added. "For me, returning home felt like embarking on a suicide mission." His story shows how hard it is for former fighters to rebuild lives when their fears and beliefs were shaped by years of war.

Francis Musoni, secretary-general of the Rwanda Demobilisation and Reintegration Commission, explained that the Mutobo centre opened in 2001. It was built to receive FDLR members and other Rwandan armed groups returning from the DRC. The FDLR formed after the 1994 genocide against the Tutsis. After those killings, former army members and militia fled to then-Zaire, now the DRC. The government accuses the FDLR of attacking Rwanda and causing cross-border insecurity.

Rehabilitation at Mutobo includes medical care and psychosocial support. Returnees get civic education too. They receive help to reconnect with families. Musoni said returnees can use a telephone service to contact relatives and friends. "We help them to build confidence among themselves, build trust, and empower them to go back into the community," he stated. "They contribute to the development of the country together with their families."

The centre also lets visitors and media meet these men. Musoni noted that rehabilitation participants can visit their communities for short periods. These trips help rebuild confidence in returning home. "They can travel to their communities during rehabilitation," he said. "They are given written permission for a week or two, and we even facilitate transport."

Former commanders interviewed at Mutobo faced different paths back. Family ties, disillusionment, and safety concerns shaped their choices. Major-General Anastase Munyaneza served in the former Rwandan armed forces in Kigali's Kicukiro District during the 1994 genocide. He left Rwanda after that tragedy and later joined the FDLR. He eventually commanded its South Kivu sector. Although he accepted the group's beliefs, Munyaneza kept contact with family in Rwanda. News of their lives made him question his own situation.

"I was the only one who had fled to the DRC," Munyaneza said. "I regularly received news about them. I knew they were still alive, attending school, working for the government and improving their lives.

I began asking myself what I was doing in the forest," a former fighter admitted. Seeing other members walk back to safety gave him the push he needed to head home. Munyaneza explained that he reached out to staff from the United Nations Organisation Stabilisation Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, known as MONUSCO. They moved him from South Kivu down to Bukavu and then across to the Congolese-Rwandan border before he arrived at Mutobo.

Lieutenant-Colonel Idrissa Bizimana held charge over ideology, propaganda, and recruitment for the FDLR. He stated his choice to return came after a shift in his own beliefs. "I no longer believed in the ideology I had been promoting," he said. Once he received verified information regarding events inside Rwanda, he made the decision to come back. Bizimana noted he stayed in touch with a MONUSCO general who promised assistance. Using a satellite phone with GPS capabilities, he sent his exact location and the date. A helicopter was then dispatched to pick him up.

Lieutenant-Colonel Emilien Mpakaniye joined the group in 1998 and managed economic affairs at headquarters. He started doubting the organization after becoming disillusioned with what he called lies. Colonel Augustin Nshimiyimana, a former intelligence commander, returned to Rwanda in 2022 for rehabilitation at Mutobo. He left after another commander accused him of working with Rwanda following a disagreement over a mission in Bujumbura. That accusation scared him because it meant they viewed him as Tutsi, and the next step was death. "When they accuse you of working with Rwanda, it means they consider you a Tutsi, and the next step is to kill you," he said.

At Mutobo, former fighters get education and practical support to prepare for life after discharge. Febronie Mukankiko teaches at the center and noted that students who grew up in the forest need a different approach from ordinary pupils. "Our students are different from ordinary students. They are adults who grew up in the forest, so teaching them requires special skills," she said. Teachers undergo extra training to ensure they can instruct these individuals effectively. She added that finishing their studies could be a huge achievement for people with limited access to formal schooling. "When they graduate and receive their certificates, they are very happy," she noted.

Musoni said the average stay at the center was five months before returnees finished the formal discharge process. Help might include financial aid, vocational training, formal education, and assistance in setting up income-generating activities. The commission also follows up with former residents to see how they are adjusting back in their communities. For those who have spent years away from Rwanda, leaving Mutobo marks the start of another transition: finding work, reconnecting with family, and adjusting to civilian society.

For Mpakaniye, disillusionment came partly from the contrast between the lives of senior commanders' families and those of ordinary fighters. "First, their family members live in Rwanda and in Europe, while ours are in the forest," he said. This gap highlighted the harsh reality many soldiers faced inside the jungle compared to the comfort enjoyed by leaders back home.