Retired President Uhuru Kenyatta has blamed the stalling of the Nairobi Peace Process on his sidelining, domestic politics in Kinshasa and the expulsion of EAC regional force.
Through a press conference by his spokesperson Kanze Dena on Thursday, Uhuru, who is the Facilitator of the EAC-led Nairobi peace process on the DRC, highlighted a series of events that culminated in the stalling of the Nairobi process and the resurgence of fighting in eastern Congo.
He noted that while progress was encouraging up to June 2023, the process started slowing down thereafter, as political focus shifted to the December 2023 elections in the DRC
Among the initiatives Uhuru highlighted in his peace efforts include diplomatic engagements and meeting with political, civil and military stakeholders across the region.
“Key initiatives included multiple targeted discussions with armed groups, including the M23, confidence building measures with various civil rights and women groups and the organization of several high-level conferences to resolve tensions and identify pathways to peace.
“The efforts supported by EACRF, the UN and MONUSCO led to a noticeable reduction in hostilities, a return of displaced persons, and significant withdrawals by armed groups from strategic areas in North Kivu,” Uhuru said in the statement read by Dena.
EXPULSION OF EACRF
The Facilitator, however, regretted that as the 4th Intra-Congolese Dialogue Conference was set to take place in June 2023, political attention shifted towards the presidential elections.
“This shift resulted in slowing down of the Nairobi Peace Process.
Unfortunately, at the same time a political impasse resulted in the withdrawal of the Kenyan forces from EACRF,” Uhuru said.
DRC President Felix Tshisekedi expelled the EACRF forces, accusing them of of ‘cohabiting’ with rebels after the regional troops declined to engage M23 militarily in combat.
“We are going to evaluate the situation because there are problems with the regional force. The first reason that pushes us to ask questions is the role that was assigned to this regional force, which is not fulfilled,” Tshisekedi told journalists in Gaborone, Botswana, in May 2023.
“Today, in certain regions, there is a co-habitation that we have noticed between the contingents of the regional force of Eastern Africa and the terrorists of M23, which was not the plan,” he added.
Kenyatta in his statement said the suspension of the troops disrupted the momentum of the peace process, leading to a slowing down of the peace negotiations and a breakdown ion military cooperation and ultimately a resurgence of fighting in the region.
He notes that the Nairobi Process was structured around the elements of political dialogue and military intervention, with EACRF providing peacekeeping and peace enforcement support, while complementing dialogue efforts.
“Despite efforts to maintain dialogue, including consultations between the facilitator, President Tshisekedi of DRC and the M23 leadership, the political and security landscape in the DRC became increasingly unstable,” Uhuru added.
Kenyatta further accused the government of President Tshisekedi of disinterest in the Nairobi process after winning reelection.
“Following the December 2023 elections in the DRC, the formation of a new government delayed the resumption of the Nairobi Process. While engagements with key stakeholders continued, the lack of political momentum, coupled with renewed hostilities in North Kivu and South Kivu has significantly undermined the progress made in 2022-23,” he said, further noting, “The M23, once a subject of a ceasefire agreement, has now regained control over key towns, including Goma and fighting has once again escalated across the region”.
Kenyatta added that he believes the Nairobi Process, though “temporarily sidelined”, and the Luanda process are still critical frameworks for dialogue and conflict resolution in the eastern DRC.
“The facilitator remains committed to finding pathways to peace, in collaboration with the government of the DRC, regional partners, and international stakeholders.
“However, the recent resurgence of hostilities highlights the urgent need for renewed political will, regional cooperation, and sustained support for peace efforts to avoid further deterioration of the security situation,” he said.
Uhuru informed that he has sent his report to the EAC, the AU and SADC secretaries ahead of the joint summit in Dar es Salaam on Friday and Saturday.
For a solution to be found, DRC and Rwanda need to return to the negotiation table, while at the same time “ensuring the internal dynamics of people and politics in the eastern DRC are managed and directed to a path of peace and reconciliation.”
President William Ruto is set co-chair the joint summit of EAC-SADC on the eastern Congo.
President Tshisekedi, who missed the EAC meeting, and his Rwanda counterpart Paul Kagame have confirmed attendance. Ruto also said South Africa’s Cyril Ramaphosa, Uganda’s Yoweri Museveni, and Hassan Mohamud of Somalia confirmed participation.
OVERLAPPING MANDATES
Prof Peter Kagwanja told the Star that he interpreted Kenyatta’s statement as claiming back his mediation mandate, amidst conflicting and overlapping interventions in the DRC.
“The problem of DRC is overlapping and conflicting mandates. We have the African Union that invited Angola’s President João Lourenço to mediate the conflict, but then Kinshasa doesn’t want to negotiate with M23, then you have the EAC mandate that had two key elements: Peace keeping and the mediation that was led by Uhuru.
“Then we have the SADC mission at the invitation by the DRC who mandate is peace enforcement, which Kagame is against. And because of the interests of France and Belgium, you have the European Union who brought the Romanian mercenaries,” Prof Kagwanja argued.
He noted that if the Uhuru-led Nairobi process is to be revamped, it has to be structured in consideration of the dynamics of the other mandates.
Already, he noted, there is risk of further complications that would end up with three approaches from Nairobi.
“You have President Ruto leading the EAC as the current chairman, Uhuru with the EAC intervention, and if Raila Odinga wins the AUC, he will feel as the person who should lead the process, ending up with three mediations,” Kagwanja said.
