Wetang’ula urges EAC leaders to support Ruto’s efforts to stabilize DRC » Capital News
National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang’ula has called for unity of purpose among leaders in the East African Community (EAC) in the regional push to restore stability in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which has been plagued by internal and cross-border violence for the past three decades.
The mineral-rich city of Goma has been in the news since Sunday, after the M23 group captured the capital of North Kivu on Monday.
Wetang’ula, who has previously served as Kenya’s Foreign Affairs Minister, noted that the turmoil in the DRC directly affects each of the EAC member states.
“I urge our leaders to support the efforts of the EAC chair to engage in dialogue and alleviate the suffering of our people,” he stated.
The surprise offensive heightened tensions in the DRC, with regional leaders attempting to broker a truce. President William Ruto, who is the current chair of the EAC, called an emergency Head of States Summit.
Among other resolutions, the summit urged the DRC government to directly engage all stakeholders in the conflict, including M23 and other armed groups with grievances, to end the rebel assault.
DRC President Félix Tshisekedi skipped the virtual summit, instead delivering a speech to the nation in which he promised a military campaign to reclaim lost territory.
The emergency summit’s deliberations were summarized in a ‘leaked video’ in which Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame criticized neighboring countries for the failure of diplomatic efforts to resolve the conflict between Congo and the M23 over the past three years.
“Is there anybody among us who did not see this coming? I saw it coming because I did not see who was taking charge of the process,” he said.
READ: Kagame Lectures EAC Leaders, Takes a Swipe at Uhuru at Summit on DRC
Kagame questioned why, after agreeing to withdraw the EAC Regional Force, the Summit seemed “surprised” by the worsening situation after M23 rebels took control of Goma city in the DRC.
The Rwandan leader, accused by international observers of fueling chaos in Eastern DRC by supporting M23 rebels, faulted the bloc for being vague on the situation in the DRC.
“If we keep saying good things and being nice to each other while each one fulfills their own interests rather than the common interest we have as East Africans, I don’t see how we are going to contribute effectively to finding a solution,” he cautioned.
Kagame also criticized the Nairobi and Luanda Processes, which he said “became an end in themselves, and the people leading these processes became more important than the results of the processes.”
However, Speaker Wetang’ula, speaking on January 31, pleaded with the international community to broaden their support for Ruto’s efforts to mediate peace in the DRC.
“The support our president is receiving should be expanded to ensure that issues compromising regional security and undermining our economies are addressed,” he stated.
Ruto was tasked with advocating for a joint summit with the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to discuss a security ceasefire in the eastern part of the DRC.
According to a communiqué from the 24th Extraordinary Summit, leaders noted that the Southern African Development Community (SADC) has also been involved in eastern DRC.