President William Ruto on Monday faced another diplomatic setback as the SADC appeared to reverse a communication he made regarding appointment of peace facilitators on the DRC conflict.
The Joint Meeting of EAC-SADC ministers on Monday called for the expedited finalization of the expanded panel of facilitators by March 25 and that the selection considers gender and language inclusivity.
“The joint EAC and SADC Secretariats to immediately develop a political framework to merge the Luanda and Nairobi Processes and engage the African Union to provide information detailing the architecture and progress made by both the Luanda and Nairobi processes by 25 march 2025,” the communique said in part.
The meeting also recommended that the co-chairpersons of the joint EAC-SADC Summit to engage the AU and the leaders of Luanda and Nairobi processes on the need to expedite the merger by March 31.
The meeting was co-chaired by PCS and Foreign Affairs CS Musalia Mudavadi doubling as Head of EAC Delegation and Zimbabwe Foreign Affairs Minister Amon Murwira, who is also chairperson of SADC Council of Ministers.
The AU-led 2022 Luanda Process is aimed at defusing tensions between Rwanda and the DRC. It is led by Angola President João Lourenço, who is now the AU chairman.
The EAC-led Nairobi process, on the other hand, seeks to engage all stakeholders, including the DRC government, armed groups, the civil society, and the international community in finding a peaceful resolution to the conflict through dialogue and negotiation. It is led by retired President Uhuru Kenyatta.
The joint meeting of ministers further directed the EAC Secretariats to immediately facilitate the meeting of the co-chairs of the joint EAC-SADC Summit to finalise the process to expand the panel of facilitators.
The list of candidates will be submitted “for approval to the Joint SADC-EAC Summit”.
The merger of the Luanda and Nairobi processes and the expansion of the facilitators was proposed by the EAC-SADC Joint Summit in Tanzania on February 8.
On February 24, President Ruto released a statement supposedly jointly with his co-chair President Emerson Mnagangwa.
Through the statement, President Ruto announced the appointment of retired presidents Uhuru (Kenya), Olusegun Obasanjo (Nigeria) and former Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn.
Curiously, however, there was no representation from SADC region or Angola, which leads the Luanda process.
Soon after, there were murmurs from the SADC Secretariat that they had not been given time to review the list, and that it needed to have been approved at a joint summit after consideration by the ministers.
Ruto, who is engaging in the process in his capacity as the EAC chairman, further finds himself in an awkward position, having allowed M23 and allied forces to announce a political-military formation in Nairobi.
Already, DRC has recalled its ambassadors to Kenya and the EAC and the Kenyan envoy to Kinshasa is yet to present his credentials months after his posting.
The President is also facing condemnation over the announcement of a parallel government by Sudan rebels RSF in Nairobi.
The Monday meeting also reviewed the report of the Joint Meeting of the Chiefs of Defence on the security situation in Eastern DRC and discussed the establishment of a Secretariat-level Technical Coordination Mechanism to monitor implementation of Joint Summit decisions.
The roadmap on implementation measures, including financing modalities, were also discussed.
Rwanda Foreign Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe welcomed the resolutions, saying all delegations were solution-oriented, leading to a quick and important outcome.
“The outcome reached by ministers in Harare was a demonstration that “African solutions to African problems” is more than a slogan and can be a reality, provided that political will prevails and that African leaders and officials take their responsibility, away from the noise blowing from overseas,” Nduhungirehe said.
