Analysts say that the Congolese leadership continues to disrupt efforts put in place by regional leaders to restore peace and stability in eastern DR Congo.
Under the Luanda agreement signed in November 2022, DR Congo was tasked with disarming armed groups including the genocidal FDLR militia and ceasing hostilities.
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However, little has been done on the DR Congo side. Instead, Kinshasa authorities continue inciting the public to protests against efforts geared to restoring normalcy in eastern DR Congo.
Activists took to the streets in Goma, the capital of North Kivu province, on January 18, in protest of what they called the passivity and inaction of the East African Community Regional Force (EACRF) in the face of the M23 rebels.
Despite the M23’s ongoing withdrawal, the protestors called on the EAC force to fight the rebels.
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But regional leaders are prioritising non-military action, something reiterated by EAC Secretary General Peter Mathuki, during an African Union event in Nairobi on January 19.
"Our intention is not to engage in combat or have our region at war, but to see how we all live in peace. The process in Eastern DRC has to be solved through political processes; our military are there to reinforce the political process,” Mathuki told journalists.
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The regional force deployed in DR Congo’s eastern region in November 2022 is mandated to support the Luanda and Nairobi peace processes.
"It is clear that the Congolese government had a role in encouraging the citizens to take part in the protests against the EAC regional force. But this is a force that has not even fully deployed its troops or accomplished its mission,” Alain Mukuralinda, the deputy Rwandan government spokesperson, said on national television on Sunday, January 22.
Mukuralinda said Congolese leaders lied to the people that the EAC mission would be 'a purely offensive mission' to fight the M23 rebels.
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"However, the Luanda resolution was clear that the regional force would resort to military means only if the M23 did not comply with the and only the EAC leaders would approve the use of force. The facilitator [former Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta] has reported the issue,” Mukuralinda said.
The government of Rwanda is troubled by Kinshasa’s deliberate deception with regard to the regional efforts for peace, Mukuralinda noted.
Maj Gen Jeff Nyagah, the commander of the EAC force, in November 2022 explained that their mission had three tracks. He said the political and diplomatic processes would be "the first priority,” followed by the disarmament and demobilisation of the armed groups.
"If these two tracks fail, then we’ll automatically transit to the third track, that is military action,” Nyagah said.
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"The current conflict does not originate in Africa; it’s a result of the border demarcated by the Europeans and they are the ones who benefit from it,” said Rusa Bagirishya, a writer who worked in DR Congo.
"What we, as Africans, must know is that other people divide us and we kill each other without any legitimate reason, because they would not be able to exploit a peaceful Congo.”
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"The Congolese political and military leaders lying to their citizens is a way of frustrating the regional peace efforts and continuing to cause chaos in the interests of the incumbent government,” said Olivier Mukama, a lawyer who was based in Kinshasa until recently.
Mukama said it would be easy for any outsiders to exploit DR Congo because they take advantage of a corrupt government in Kinshasa.
Mukuralinda said Congolese leaders have chosen to blame the conflict in eastern DR Congo on foreign countries in spite of the regional mechanisms, making it difficult for the mechanisms to take hold.
He said the Congolese government should instead respect the Luanda and Nairobi processes.