East African Community Heads of State on Friday, July 22, appointed Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta as facilitator of peace talks in the DR Congo.
The announcement was made at the end of the 22nd Ordinary Summit of EAC Heads of state in Arusha, Tanzania, soon after Kenyatta handed over EAC Summit chairmanship to Burundi’s Evariste Ndayishimiye.
The new EAC Chairperson emphasised that he will especially focus on promoting peace and security in the region during his term.
As noted, the Summit received an update on the Nairobi process on the DR Congo and decided to mainstream the Nairobi process into the EAC by invoking the provisions of article 4 of the EAC protocol on peace and security.
The end of the 22nd Ordinary Summit of EAC Heads of state in Arusha, Tanzania, on July 22. EAC Secretary General Peter Mathuki watches as outgoing Summit Chairperson, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta hands over to Burundi’s Evariste Ndayishimiye.
Reading the final communiqué of the Summit, EAC Secretary General Peter Mathuki, noted that the summit appointed Kenyatta as facilitator to oversee the implementation of the Nairobi process "as provided for in the modality for the establishment and functioning of the EAC panel of eminent persons and for the deployment of special envoys or representatives.”
Kenyatta, who presided over the initial parts of the Summit, was attending the last regional leader’s Summit as he will step down in August when Kenya holds elections and ushers in a new President.
The leaders as well approved the terms of reference for the facilitator; directed that a special fund be established to support implementation of the process; and decided to expeditiously deploy a joint regional force in eastern DR Congo.
The development came a day after the two-day meeting of the Joint Permanent Commission (JPC) between Rwanda and DR Congo convened in the Angolan capital, Luanda, and put emphasis on, among others, the need to eradicate the FDLR terrorist group and its splinters.
The July 20-21 Luanda session also tasked the EAC Force to deal with the terror group upon deployment.
The Rwanda-DR Congo JPC was established by a ‘roadmap on the pacification process in eastern DR Congo agreed upon on July 6 during a tripartite summit between Presidents Paul Kagame, DR Congo's Félix-Antoine Tshisekedi and their host, João Lourenço.
Presidents Kenyatta and Lourenço, the Chairperson of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR), are working to broker peace after the resurgence of the M23 rebellion, in the last few months, caused friction between Rwanda and its neighbour, DR Congo.
The resurgence of the rebels, according to Kigali, overshadowed the presence of more than 130 negative militia groups in eastern DR Congo, including the FDLR. The latter, a serious cause for concern in Kigali, was founded by remnants of the Rwandan genocidal government forces and militia that committed the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.
Relations between the two countries soured even more after Kinshasa accused Kigali of supporting the M23, an accusation Kigali refutes. Worse still, Rwanda is aware that the Congolese army, FARDC, is fighting the M23 alongside FDLR.
About the Nairobi peace process
Consultative discussions on peace and security in the DR Congo, or the inter-DR Congo peace dialogue were started in April, in Nairobi, Kenya. At the time, close to 30 Congolese armed groups engaged in consultations aimed at finding lasting solutions to the insecurity in their country’s volatile eastern region where more than 130 local and foreign armed militia groups have wreaked havoc for decades.
The regional initiative is an outcome of the first and second EAC Heads of State conclaves on the peace and security situation in DR Congo under the chairmanship of President Kenyatta held on April 8 and 21, respectively, at State House Nairobi.
The first conclave was held on April 8, soon after DR Congo President Félix Tshisekedi signed the Treaty of accession by his country to the EAC, making it the seventh member of the regional economic bloc. During the second conclave, Presidents Tshisekedi, Evariste Ndayishimiye of Burundi, Kenya’s Kenyatta, Yoweri Museveni of Uganda and Rwanda’s foreign minister Dr Vincent Biruta, agreed to the deployment of a regional force to contain armed groups in DR Congo.
During the third conclave hosted on June 20 by President Kenyatta, in Nairobi, six regional leaders deliberated on the security situation in eastern DR Congo and on measures to promote peace, stability and development there and wider region.
Among others, in the third conclave, the leaders directed that an immediate ceasefire be enforced and cessation of hostilities commence immediately, including withdrawal [by the warring parties] from recently taken positions. In doing so, it was noted, the political process should be intensified by all parties in order to allow the Congolese citizens to feel safe and secure and be able to pick up and continue their respective social, cultural and economic activities.
They also agreed and reinforced that trust and confidence-building, cessation of hostilities, unconditional ceasefire, participation in the political processes in the country, prioritisation and participation in the country’s development, citizenship, presence of foreign negative elements, fate of combatants during reintegration and status of refugees and internally displaced persons are among critical issues that require concerted, urgent and durable resolution.
DR Congo’s problems are inherently political and can only be addressed through a political process, President Kagame said on July 4, during a televised interview, which also featured live call-ins from ordinary citizens.
"The political process is very important for me and I guess for everyone else, it comes first,” Kagame said.
"You just don’t keep fighting and expect to find a solution for political crises, or for governance problems.”
Kagame said he supports the EAC-backed inter-Congolese peace dialogue under the Nairobi Process, but expressed concern that Kinshasa tends to shift goalposts whenever regional leaders have agreed on the way forward.