East African Community (EAC) peace envoy in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Uhuru Kenyatta has said that the 2023 elections in DR Congo and a lack of political goodwill undermined the entire peace effort.
Speaking on Thursday, February 6, Kenyatta stated that both M23 leaders and the DRC government stalled the dialogue, fueling the escalation of fighting in eastern DRC. "The withdrawal of the East African Community Regional Force (EACRF) further slowed down the negotiations and this led to the resurgence of the fighting in the area," said a statement by his spokesperson Kanze Dena.
Kenyatta also pointed to a shift in political attention in the DRC toward the December 2023 national elections, which coincided with the planned 4th Intra-Congolese Dialogue Conference in June last year. "This shift resulted in the slowing down of the Nairobi Peace Process.
Unfortunately, at the same time, a political impasse resulted in the withdrawal of Kenyan forces from the EACRF," he explained.
