In a rare occurrence, President William Ruto and his predecessor, Uhuru Kenyatta, met at the State House in Nairobi on August 1, 2025.
The two leaders were attending a joint meeting of the East African Community (EAC) and Southern African Development Community (SADC) Co-Chairs with the Panel of Facilitators for the DRC Peace Process.
The meeting was co-chaired by Ruto, in his role as the current EAC Chairperson, and President Emmerson Mnangagwa of Zimbabwe, who chairs the Southern African Development Community (SADC). President Mnangagwa arrived in the country on Thursday, July 31, 2025.
The high-level gathering was a concerted push to harmonise peace efforts and bring stability to the volatile eastern DRC region.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Nairobi meeting aimed to align efforts between EAC and SADC-led initiatives and reinforce regional coordination in the DRC in a show of the continent's commitment to African-led solutions.
"The Nairobi meeting brings together regional leadership with a focus on the ongoing peace process in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and will also serve as a briefing session with the Panel of Facilitators steering the mediation efforts," the ministry said.
"The Joint EAC-SADC engagement is a strong demonstration of Africa's commitment to Africa-led solutions for regional and continental peace and stability."
Uhuru was part of the deliberations in his official capacity as a facilitator of the EAC-led Nairobi Process on the Peace and Security Situation in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
In March, the joint summit of EAC and the SADC appointed Uhuru Kenyatta and four other former African heads of State to lead peace talks in the DRC.
At the same summit, which was co-chaired by Ruto and Mnangagwa, Olusegun Obasanjo - Nigerian former President, Kgalema Motlanthe - former South African president, Catherine Samba-Panza -former President of the Central African Republic and Sahle-Work Zewde - former President of Ethiopia were also appointed as facilitators of the DRC peace process.
Uhuru had previously been appointed as a facilitator of the EAC and SADC joint peace process in the eastern DRC in February.
He was appointed alongside former Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo and former Ethiopian prime minister Hailemariam Desalegn.
