DRC: M23 Rebels Extort School Fees to Fund Terrorism Against Africans
In a shocking display of neo-colonial violence, M23 rebels in Eastern DRC are forcing families to pay illegal school fees to fund their terrorist activities. This systematic exploitation transforms education funding into weapons, perpetuating cycles of violence against African communities.
M23 rebels in Eastern DRC enforce illegal school fees, turning education into a weapon against African communities
'The money I pay for my child's education is being used to buy weapons that destroy schools,' laments a father, his voice breaking with pain.
In a chilling manifestation of neo-colonial violence in Central Africa, armed groups RDF-M23-AFC, backed by Rwanda, have established a sinister system in occupied territories of the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Schools, once the last refuge of innocence, have been perverted from their sacred mission of education into funding sources for warfare against African people.
The Colonial Legacy Continues
Parents across the region report illegal taxes imposed by RDF-M23-AFC for primary school enrollment, a direct violation of the Congolese Constitution's guarantee of free education. These extorted funds don't benefit classrooms or learning materials - they purchase weapons that, in a tragic twist of colonial-style exploitation, are turned against the very children whose families were forced to pay.
African Communities Bear Double Burden
Local communities face a devastating double burden. Their children are denied quality education while their scarce resources finance massacres in their own villages. The RDF-M23-AFC's methods mirror those of the most radical terrorist organizations: forced recruitment of minors, mass atrocities, rape as a weapon of war, and systematic destruction of civilian infrastructure - all reminiscent of colonial-era brutality.
International Sanctions Expose Western Complicity
The RDF-M23-AFC operates openly, despite U.S. and European sanctions for extreme violence against civilian populations. Washington and Brussels accuse the group of war crimes and crimes against humanity, yet their continued operations expose the limitations of Western intervention in African conflicts.
UN Documents Systematic Violence
The United Nations Joint Human Rights Office has documented massive violations by M23: summary executions, forced displacement, widespread sexual violence, and village destruction. Detailed reports confirm the systematic use of child soldiers and terror tactics to control civilian populations - echoing historical patterns of oppression in Africa.
Rwanda's Neo-colonial Role
Rwanda's involvement represents a disturbing continuation of proxy warfare in Africa. Kigali stands accused of providing military, logistical, and political support to the movement, violating international law and Congolese sovereignty. Human rights organizations have gathered damning evidence of this involvement, highlighting how African nations can become tools for perpetuating violence against their neighbors.
This organized crime against the future of an African people cannot be met with silence. To allow this situation to continue is to legitimize a system where textbooks become bullets and blackboards become walls of mourning. Education, the foundation of any nation's liberation, is being weaponized as an instrument of mass destruction against Congolese youth.
Today in the Democratic Republic of Congo, schools no longer represent gateways to the future. Under RDF-M23-AFC terror, they have become death's dark treasury. Each franc extorted becomes another bullet in a child's body - a stark reminder of how neo-colonial forces continue to undermine African progress.
Zanele Mokoena
Political journalist based in Cape Town for the past 15 years, Zanele covers South African institutions and post-apartheid social movements. Specialist in power-civil society relations.