Online Reporter
Welcome to our live coverage of a pivotal meeting taking place today at the Kenyan State House.
SADC Chairperson President Emmerson Mnangagwa is convening with his counterpart, President Dr William Ruto of Kenya, who also serves as the Chairperson of the East African Community (EAC).
The focus of this high-level discussion is the formal appointment of a panel of five distinguished facilitators tasked with seeking a durable solution to the ongoing conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
As tensions continue to affect the region, there is hope that the collaborative efforts of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the EAC, and the African Union (AU) will pave the way for lasting peace.
The panel includes notable figures such as former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, former Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, former Central African Republic President Catherine Samba-Panza, former Ethiopian President Sahle-Work Zewde, and former Botswana President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi.
Joining the conversation are senior officials, including AU Commission Chair Mr Mahamoud Ali Youssouf, SADC Executive Secretary Mr Elias Magosi, and EAC Secretary General Ms Veronica Nduva. Stay tuned as we bring you updates and insights from this crucial meeting aimed at fostering peace and stability in the region.
Stay tuned as our reporter Africa Moyo gives you updates live from Kenya.
Stage set for key DRC talks
SADC Chairperson President Mnangagwa has arrived at the Kenya State House.
Upon arrival at the State House, President Mnangagwa was cordially welcomed by his Kenyan counterpart, Dr William Ruto.
The leaders are now in a brief engagement from which they will emerge and move to the meeting, which has since been set.
Foreign Affairs and International Trade Minister Professor Amon Murwira is also here.
The meeting of the SADC and EAC co-chairs and officials from the African Union Commission will formally adopt documents relating to the facilitators’ terms of reference and discuss funding modalities for the team.
The panel of five facilitators is composed of former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, former Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, former Central African Republic President Catherine Samba-Panza, former Ethiopian President Sahle-Work Zewde, and former Botswana President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi.
Leaders praise DRC peace facilitators for taking roles
SADC Chairperson, President Mnangagwa, and Kenya’s President Dr William Ruto, the East African Community (EAC) Chairperson, have praised the five former presidents for agreeing to take on the roles of facilitating lasting peace in eastern DRC.
In their remarks at the joint EAC/SADC meeting, President Mnangagwa stated that the meeting fulfils the mandate bestowed upon them by the Joint EAC-SADC Summit held in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
“Allow me to express our sincere appreciation to you, our distinguished facilitators, for accepting this noble but onerous responsibility. As fellow African leaders, we are familiar with the complexities of the situation in the eastern regions of our sister country, the Democratic Republic of Congo. We empathise with the daily struggles of our brothers and sisters in their cherished desire for enduring peace, security, and development,” he said.
President Ruto also thanked the former presidents for accepting the role of facilitators. He noted that their wisdom and experience would be invaluable in silencing the guns in eastern DRC. He added that they will be merging the Nairobi and Luanda peace processes into one to strengthen the quest for peace in the DRC.
SADC and EAC are encouraged by the extra-regional efforts to end conflict in eastern DRC, as evidenced by the Doha and Washington processes.
African Union Commission Chairperson Mr Mahamoud Ali Youssouf stated that the AU is encouraged by the efforts of SADC and the EAC to bring peace to the DRC.
However, he reiterated that the AU would be happier if African challenges received African solutions.
Online Reporter