Kenyatta calls on all parties to unite and lay down arms in eastern DRC

By Zeenat Hansrod, KINSHASA DR Congo

During his two-day visit to Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, former Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta urged the Congolese to lay down arms and nurture a sense of patriotism. 

The visit came as troops in eastern DRC clashed anew with M23 rebels north of the key eastern city of Goma.

After Kenyatta landed in Kinshasa on Sunday 13 November, he held talks with DRC’s President Felix Tshisekedi at the Presidential Palace of Mount Ngaliema.

Kenyatta is acting as the East African Community's facilitator on the Peace Process in the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The visit takes place against the backdrop of heavy fighting in Kibumba opposing the March 23 Mouvement (M23) rebels and the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC).

Kenyatta held a series of meetings to assess the situation on the ground ahead the peace dialogue on the security situation due on Monday 21 November in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi.

This third round of peace talks between DRC government and armed groups is held under the auspices of the East African Community (EAC), which DRC joined in April 2022.

In an interview to the United Nations’ Radio Okapi, Kenyatta said that the EAC is holding talks with the government and the Congolese people to see how peace can prevail in the country and to encourage solidarity among the various communities and ethnic groups.

“There are those who come from elsewhere to divide you. But they don't divide you because they love you. They divide you for their own interests, that they seek in your country.

“Weapons can only cause victims. They can never bring you development and wealth,” he said.

Kenyatta met religious and traditional leaders, representatives of local groups from eastern DRC as well as women associations from Ituri, North Kivu and South Kivu. He also spoke with members of the governments and foreign diplomats.

The eastern DRC has been plagued by fighting by at least 122 rebel groups, according to the United Nations, for more than 25 years.

The M23 - a mostly Congolese Tutsi group - has advanced towards Goma, the capital of North Kivu province, and is stationed at 25 to 30 kilometres from the city. Kibumba is 20 kilometres away from Goma.

The M23, Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), Cooperative for the Development of Congo (CODECO), and the Mai-Mai are among the most deadly in North Kivu and Ituri, two mining provinces bordering Rwanda and Uganda.