Ruto, Mnangagwa to convene Joint EAC-SADC Summit in a week » Capital News
NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug 1 — Presidents William Ruto of Kenya and Emmerson Mnangagwa of Zimbabwe have announced plans to convene an extraordinary Joint EAC-SADC Summit within seven days to formally adopt key resolutions on peace in DRC.
The Joint Summit will build on decisions made during a high-level co-chairs’ session held in Nairobi on Friday, which resolved to merge the EAC-led Nairobi Process, the SADC-supported Luanda Process, and other related peace efforts into a single African Union (AU)-anchored framework.
“Today marks a turning point. There is now one African-led process that brings on board all the other initiatives — Nairobi, Luanda, and any others — into one coherent process on the situation in eastern DRC,” President Ruto said on Friday.
He added that beyond aligning structures and mandates, the initiative has consolidated the technical secretariats of the EAC, SADC, and AU into a Joint Secretariat, based at the AU Commission headquarters in Addis Ababa, to coordinate humanitarian responses, security interventions, and dialogue efforts.
President Mnangagwa lauded the progress, commending Ruto’s “cordial and committed leadership” and stressing that collaboration between the AU, EAC, and SADC is essential for a durable solution to the conflict.
Unified action
The communiqué referenced previous decisions made at the EAC-SADC joint summit in Dar es Salaam (February 8), a virtual summit in March 2025, the AU Peace and Security Council session (February 14), and UN Security Council Resolution 2773, all of which underscored the need for unified action in eastern DRC.
A panel of AU-appointed facilitators, including Olusegun Obasanjo (Nigeria), Uhuru Kenyatta (Kenya), Catherine Samba-Panza (Central African Republic), Sahle-Work Zewde (Ethiopia), and Mokgweetsi Masisi (Botswana) attended the Nairobi session.
Also present were AU Commission Chairperson Mohamud Ali Youssouf, Kenya’s Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi, Zimbabwe’s Foreign Minister Frederick Shava, and EAC Secretary General Veronica Nduva.
The upcoming summit will institutionalize the Nairobi resolutions, authorize implementation mechanisms, and launch the inclusive mediation process under the new AU-led structure.
Leaders expressed optimism that with unified leadership, coordinated resources, and inclusive dialogue, lasting peace and recovery in eastern DRC are within reach.