US President Donald Trump hosts Foreign ministers Olivier Nduhungirehe of Rwanda (left) and Therese Kayikwamba Wagner of DR Congo (right) in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington DC after they signed the peace deal on June 27, 2025. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance also present.
As the ink dries on the peace agreement signed between the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Rwanda in Washington DC a week ago, the question of who won and who lost remains on people’s lips, but the most vitriol and angst after the signing came from Congolese, who felt largely short-changed.
A number of Congolese expected the agreement to instantly change a number of things, topmost being truckloads of M23 rebels vacating the towns they occupied after defeating government forces. So, they were disappointed when, a week later, nothing had changed.
