Congo-Brazzaville confirms termination of land agreement with Rwanda

The Government of Congo-Brazzaville has confirmed that it has terminated the land agreement it had signed with Rwanda, after the investors who were supposed to develop it failed to meet the conditions outlined in the agreement.

On April 12, 2022, during an official visit by President Paul Kagame to Congo, the land-related agreement was signed.

It was an agreement between the Government of Congo-Brazzaville and a local company called Macefield Ventures Limited-Congo (MVL), which includes Rwandan investors.

According to the agreement, the land was intended to be used for cultivating castor plants, whose seeds would be processed into biofuel that does not pollute the environment.

The Congolese government had committed to lending MVL-Congo 150,000 hectares of land for this purpose, with the company expected to utilize the land over the next 30 years.

In addition, another 11,500 hectares were loaned to a company called ELEVECO, also legally registered in Congo and operating under MVL. This land was to be used for projects aimed at promoting agriculture and livestock.

The Government of Congo-Brazzaville, through its spokesperson Thierry Lézin Moungalla, recently confirmed that the agreement regarding this land had been terminated.

He said: “Do you remember the widely discussed story about Rwanda’s land, the disagreements, the accusations, and the media frenzy it sparked? But why is no one talking about what followed? What came next? Why is it no longer being discussed?”

“It’s because the case has been closed. Why was it closed? Over time, various Prime Ministers have explained that the land-use permits were provisional, granted to Rwandan companies for specific projects or activities.”

Minister Moungalla further explained that the decision to terminate the agreement was based on the failure of the Rwandan investors to fulfill the obligations outlined in the agreement, including the requirement to begin land development no later than December 2024.

He also stated that before the agreement was terminated, the Rwandan companies involved had been informed.

He said: “We had set December 8 as the deadline, but by that date, we had not received any convincing or concrete responses from the companies involved. This led the Secretary of State for Land Affairs, Mabiala—who had granted the authorization on behalf of the Government—to inform the stakeholders that the agreement had been terminated.”

“The case concerning the land referred to as Rwanda’s was closed because the independent partners involved failed to meet the required obligations. The agreement was terminated after December 8, through a letter sent by Secretary of State Mabiala to the concerned companies on behalf of the Government.”

Congo-Brazzaville terminated the land agreement amid pressure from opposition figures who accused the government of having sold the land to Rwanda since the deal was signed.

For instance, in May 2024, Dave Mafoula, a 2021 presidential candidate, called on citizens to protest in the streets, alleging that 11,000 hectares had been sold to Rwanda for a meager sum.

Other politicians claimed that the Brazzaville government had sold land to Rwandans that exceeded Rwanda’s own size, while others suggested that Rwanda had received the land to use as a military base from which to attack the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

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