Ruto Hosts Uhuru Kenyatta For Joint EAC-SADC Meeting On DRC
In an uncommon event, President William Ruto and his predecessor, Uhuru Kenyatta, met today at State House in Nairobi.
The two leaders are attending a joint meeting of the East African Community (EAC) and Southern African Development Community (SADC) Co-Chairs with the DRC Peace Process Facilitators Panel.
The summit is co-chaired by Ruto, the current EAC Chairperson, and Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who chairs SADC.
Panel of Facilitators for the DRC Peace Process including former President Uhuru Kenyatta arrive at State House, Nairobi pic.twitter.com/hopvjpmRbk
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President Mnangagwa landed in the country yesterday evening.
The high-level meeting is a coordinated effort to coordinate peace efforts and bring stability to the troubled eastern DRC.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Nairobi summit intends to coordinate EAC and SADC-led projects.
This involves strengthening regional coordination in the DRC as a demonstration of the continent’s commitment to African-driven 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 will participate in the deliberations as an official facilitator of the EAC-led Nairobi Process on the Peace and Security Situation in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
In March, the EAC and SADC held a combined summit and chose Uhuru Kenyatta and four other former African heads of state to spearhead peace talks in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
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.
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He was appointed alongside former Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo and former Ethiopian prime minister Hailemariam Desalegn.
Uhuru’s presence at State House plays into Ruto’s broader strategy of unifying former rivals in the interest of national interest and portrays him as a leader above grudges.
However, it remains to be seen whether or not this is a rekindled bromance that will defy the test of time as the country gears up for yet another round of charged electioneering season with the 2027 polls barely two years away.
Ruto Hosts Uhuru Kenyatta For Joint EAC-SADC Meeting On DRC
