Rwanda on Thursday described recent criticism of its Arsenal, Bayern Munich and Paris St Germain sponsorship deals by the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s (DRC) foreign minister as a threat to regional peace and stability.
Earlier this month the DRC's foreign minister Therese Kayikwamba Wagner urged the three clubs to end their “bloodstained” sponsorship agreements with “Visit Rwanda”, questioning the morality of such partnerships while fighting raged in eastern DRC.
Rwanda-backed M23 rebels have seized key parts of eastern DRC in recent weeks in what is the gravest escalation in more than a decade of a long-running conflict rooted in the spillover into the DRC of Rwanda's 1994 genocide and the struggle for control of the DRC's vast mineral resources.
“The government of Rwanda rejects recent attempts by the DRC to undermine Rwanda’s international partnerships through misinformation and political pressure,” the Rwanda Development Board, which oversees the deals, said on Thursday.
“These efforts not only misrepresent the truth but also threaten the foundations of regional peace, stability and economic co-operation we have worked tirelessly to build.”
Wagner did not immediately respond to a request for comment on WhatsApp.
The fighting in eastern DRC has led to human rights violations including summary executions, the bombing of displacement camps, reports of gang rape and other sexual violence, according to the UN.
Rwanda says it is defending itself, accusing the DRC's military of joining forces with ethnic Hutu-led militias bent on slaughtering Tutsis in the DRC and threatening Rwanda, where Hutus targeted Tutsis in a 1994 genocide and some of them later fled to the DRC.
“Visit Rwanda” began their sponsorship of Arsenal in 2018, with the latest deal reported to be worth more than £10m (R232.3m) per year.
Bayern Munich signed a five-year football development and tourism promotion partnership with Rwanda in 2023, while “Visit Rwanda” has been a sponsor of PSG since 2019.
Reuters previously contacted the three clubs about the sponsorship deals but none replied.