Musanze, Rwanda – Jean Claude Hategekimana feared that returning to Rwanda could cost him his life. After years with the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), he decided to leave the armed group and return home. At Rwanda’s Mutobo Demobilisation and Reintegration Centre, he began preparing for civilian 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. He joined the group in 2018, underwent military training and eventually reached the rank of captain.
“I arrived at the Mutobo Centre after fighting to defend Goma. 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 told Al Jazeera.
Hategekimana said FDLR members had been taught that anyone who returned to Rwanda would be killed.
“Upon arriving in Rwanda, I realised that the FDLR had been lying to us. For me, returning home felt like embarking on a suicide mission,” he said.
His experience illustrates the challenge of reintegrating former fighters whose beliefs and fears have been shaped by years in an armed group.
Rebuilding civilian life
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.
The FDLR emerged in the aftermath of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsis. After the genocide, members of the former Rwandan armed forces and militia groups fled to what was then Zaire, now the DRC. The Rwandan government accuses the FDLR of carrying out attacks against Rwanda and contributing to cross-border insecurity.
At Mutobo, the rehabilitation programme includes medical care, psychosocial support, civic education and assistance with reconnecting with families. Returnees can also contact relatives and friends through a telephone service, Musoni said.
“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.
The centre also allows visitors and media representatives to meet returnees. Musoni said those undergoing rehabilitation can visit their communities for short periods to help rebuild their confidence in returning home.
“They can travel to their communities [during rehabilitation]. They are given written permission for a week or two, and we even facilitate transport,” he said.
Different journeys home
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.
Major-General Anastase Munyaneza served in the former Rwandan armed forces in Kigali’s Kicukiro District during the 1994 genocide. He said he left Rwanda after the genocide and later joined the FDLR, eventually commanding its South Kivu sector.
Although he had come to accept the group’s beliefs, Munyaneza remained in contact with his family in Rwanda. News of their lives made him question his own circumstances.
“I was the only one who had fled to the DRC. 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,” he said.
He added that seeing other members return safely encouraged him to consider going home.
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. He subsequently proceeded to 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. After receiving verified information about what was happening in Rwanda, I decided to return home,” he said.
Bizimana said he had been in contact with a MONUSCO general who had offered to help him return. Using a satellite phone equipped with GPS, he sent his location and the date. A helicopter was then dispatched to retrieve him, he said.
Lieutenant-Colonel Emilien Mpakaniye, who joined the FDLR in 1998 and was responsible for economic affairs at its headquarters, said he began questioning the organisation after becoming disillusioned with what he described as its lies.
Colonel Augustin Nshimiyimana, a former FDLR intelligence commander, returned to Rwanda in 2022 and underwent rehabilitation at Mutobo. He said he decided to leave after another commander accused him of working with Rwanda following a disagreement over a mission in Bujumbura.
Nshimiyimana said the accusation made him fear for his life.
“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.
Preparing for a new life
At Mutobo, former fighters receive education and practical support to prepare for life after discharge.
Febronie Mukankiko, a teacher at the centre, said teaching people who grew up in the forest required a different approach.
“Our students are different from ordinary students. They are adults who grew up in the forest, so teaching them requires special skills. We undergo additional training to ensure that we can teach them effectively,” she said.
She added that completing their studies could be a significant achievement for those with limited access to formal education.
“When they graduate and receive their certificates, they are very happy,” she said.
Musoni said the average stay at the centre was five months, after which returnees completed a formal discharge process. He said assistance could include financial support, vocational training, formal education and help establishing income-generating activities. The commission also follows up with former residents to assess how they are adjusting to life 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.