In a bold and emotional release, the activist music duo Mutesicelin, composed of Rugwiza and Céline, has delivered a stirring new anthem titled “INTSINZI YA AFC/M23” (“The Victory of AFC/M23”). Released on June 17, 2025, the song pays homage to the Sarambwe Lions, fighters of the Alliance Fleuve Congo (AFC)/M23, and casts them as guardians of justice** and heroes of the Congolese people.
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This powerful musical tribute is already resonating with communities across eastern DRC and beyond, not only for its artistic strength but for its clear political message: the struggle for recognition, dignity, and the right to belong.
Both Rugwiza and Céline hail from the Banyamulenge community, a group long marginalized within Congolese society. Through Mutesicelin, they have consistently used music as a platform to amplify silenced voices and challenge dominant narratives that paint movements like AFC/M23 solely through the lens of rebellion or criminality.
“We don’t sing for war,” The duo says in one verse, “we sing for memory, for truth, and for those who carried our dignity on their backs.”
The song’s lyrics evoke images of resistance, perseverance, and defiance. The Sarambwe Lion, often portrayed in official accounts as militants, are here depicted as defenders of vulnerable communities standing in places where the state and international actors have failed to protect civilians.
“INTSINZI YA AFC/M23” is not just a song. It is a counternarrative, a reminder that not all stories coming from eastern DRC follow official scripts. While the Congolese government and some international organizations continue to condemn the M23 movement, local populations, particularly in Banyamulenge and other Tutsi-speaking communities, see the AFC/M23 as a protective force, filling the void left by decades of state neglect, ethnic targeting, and regional instability.
The song serves as a cultural and political statement, urging the world to, re-examine the complexities of the Congolese crisis, and to listen to the voices that have too often been silenced.
Released amid rising tensions in North Kivu and Ituri, the song calls on Congolese citizens, the diaspora, and international observers to reconsider what resistance means, and who gets to be called a “hero.”
Mutesicelin latest work is a reminder that art remains one of the most powerful tools of resistance and remembrance. In a region saturated with conflict and confusion, their voices rise with clarity and purpose.
The duo encourages listeners to share the song, not only as a work of art but as a political and humanitarian message, a tribute to those who continue to fight, not for power, but for recognition, identity, and survival.
