Imagine taking selfies amid bullets, displacement, and terror; and that’s exactly what Patrick Muyaya, a DR Congo’s government Spokesperson, is asking residents of Uvira to do.
He has urged people to snap photos with their Banyamulenge neighbors and post them online to mislead the world that everyone lives together in perfect harmony in a territory engulfed by war crime and persecution.
The irony is stark. With the ongoing atrocities in the region; government-aligned Wazalendo militias and FDLR fighters are openly involved in killing, raping, and displacing Banyamulenge and other Kinyarwanda-speaking communities—sometimes with horrifying brutality, where the FARDC) have failed to protect civilians.
Many observers describe Muyaya’s social media initiative as a thinly veiled PR stunt, aimed more at improving the government’s image than addressing the brutal reality on the ground.
The administration of President Félix Tshisekedi now faces both internal pressure and international condemnation, as hashtags of “harmony” struggle to mask bullets and bloodshed.
Analysts note that while selfies may trend online, they do little to stop the ongoing violence, forcing questions about the credibility of such government campaigns in a conflict-ridden zone.