Question Time viewers 'lost for words' after Tory MP thinks Rwanda and Congo are the same country

Pretty much everyone is aware that Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) are separate countries – or, at least you’d like to think so.

However, Conservative minister Chris Philp was laughed at by members of the Question Time audience on Thursday night (April 25) after saying: “Rwanda is a different country to Congo, isn’t it?”

The MP faced ridicule online after being asked a question about the government’s controversial Rwanda deportation plan.

He was asked by a member of the audience whether relatives of people from the DRC would be sent to Rwanda amid ongoing violence which has left close to seven million people displaced. There have been growing clashes between Rwandan-backed M23 Tutsi-led rebels and the DRC army.

Responding to the question, Philp said: “No, I think there’s an exclusion on people from Rwanda being sent from Rwanda.”

The audience member who asked the question replied: “They’re not from Rwanda, they’re from Congo.”

Philp, confused, replied: “Well ... Rwanda is a different country of Congo, isn’t it?”

The comment spark derision in the room, and much more on social media.

Carol Vorderman was one to criticise Philp, along with plenty of others.

The government's Rwanda policy has faced criticism and condemnation ever since it was first proposed, with human rights groups arguing it will place asylum seekers at “risk of an unsafe future”, and the Supreme Court previously finding the plan unlawful.

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