From Dar to Goma: How I met, and had lunch with rebels

It was seven days before Christmas eve, the period in which Christians all over the world are busy with shopping and planning for the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, but to me it was a scary and memorable day -- the day I chatted and lunched with M23 rebels’ top commander, General Sultan Emanuel Makenga, a 39-year-old soldier, who has fought three different wars in three different countries of Uganda, Rwanda and Congo, but still willing to fight till his last blood.

It was frightening because as a journalist, I was risking my life to enter the war zone at my own peril. Courage and risk taking are some of the characteristics of a good journalist, but sometime, the fact that you are still a human being overrules them, allowing fear to conquer your mind and heart as you ponder the task ahead of you.

It was memorable because this was a rare opportunity for me as a journalist, and I needed to be fully prepared to get the story as soon as possible and get out quickly, or end up being a tourist in a foreign a country or a war victim. Earlier before leaving Kigali where I had been invited to attend the 25th anniversary of the ruling party, Rwandese Patriotic Front, I thought about my security and analysed any threats that I could face there, before deciding to travel to Goma.

I skipped the 25th RPF Anniversary because from my editorial judgment, the big story is not when a dog bites a man, but when a man bites the dog. Therefore to me securing interview with the M23 Commander was bigger than attending the celebration of the ruling party in Rwanda.

I made this assignment a top secret for security reasons, though at the last minute, I informed my news editor, Rodgers Luhwago, through the email so that if I don’t make it or if I faced any problems, he should be able to know what was really taking place and where necessary set the record straight . In investigative journalism, security protocols both for the assignment and for those involved in it matter a lot.

During my stay here, I also established that unlike many rebel factions the survival of M23 rebels was built on disciplined soldiers, trainings in Gorilla’ tactics and above all strong support from the indigenous in the Eastern part of Congo and geographical features of Goma. General Makenga is hailed by his soldiers as a brave fighter who leads the battle from the front line. To his soldiers he is their inspiration, and their role model.

This is why it may be tough for any African forces to win the war as they did in Somalia. Fighting rebels who have no permanent homes, but are strongly backed by the people you claim to protect has failed in Afghanistan.

“Our life has been in the bush, we know the area because we were born and raised here…AU forces may have succeeded in Somalia, but remember Kivu province alone is bigger than Somalia. If they engage us, we shall respond with full force because this is our home.” John tells me as he parks the car at the Rwandan border, the same place he picked me in the morning.