President William Ruto and other six Heads of State from the East African Community (EAC) announced four directives on February 4, 2023, that will change the course of the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
The resolutions were made through an official communique of the 20th Extra-Ordinary Summit of the EAC Heads of State held at Bujumbura, Burundi.
Heads of State in attendance were; Évariste Ndayishimiye (Burundi), Yoweri Museveni (Uganda), Paul Kagame (Rwanda), Samia Suluhu Hassan (Tanzania), Félix Antoine Tshisekedi (DRC), William Ruto (Kenya).
South Sudan President Salva Kiir was represented by Deng Alor Kuol who also acts as Minister of East African Community Affairs.
In the first directive, the Heads of State ordered an immediate ceasefire by all parties. This includes the M23 rebels and the DRC security forces.
It was further declared that all armed foreign groups should be withdrawn from the region.
“The chiefs of defense forces will meet within one week to set new timelines for the withdrawal and recommend appropriate deployment matrix,” part of the communique stated.
According to the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the DRC (MONUSCO), four main armed foreign groups operate in the country.
They include; The Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), The Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), The Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), and The National Liberation Forces (FNL).
The withdrawal will be accompanied by a dialogue process as stated in the communique.
Lastly, if any party flouts any of the directives, it was directed that such violation should be reported to Évariste Ndayishimiye who chairs the summit.
Upon receiving the report on the violation, Ndayishimiye will immediately call the other heads of state for consultation.
Kenya's former President Uhuru Kenyatta was also commended for his peace talks aimed at bringing peace to DRC.
During the summit, Ruto was lauded for sending troops to the region and supporting DRC financially through the EAC Peace Facility Fund.
On November 9, 2022, it was revealed that Kenya would deploy 903 soldiers to the troubled nation.
“The deployment of Kenyan troops in DRC is within the interest of peace in the region and in Kenya”, the National Assembly through Nelson Koech, president of the Kenyan parliamentary commission on defense, intelligence, and external relations announced then.
Before the National Assembly's approval, Ruto had announced that deployment was necessary as it was the only option to bring peace to DRC.
“Every society deserves the opportunity to experience peace and safety. Without peace, human freedom is in jeopardy and without security, opportunities remain a mirage and unattainable,” the President remarked on November 2, 2022.
