Former President Uhuru Kenyatta has been appointed to a panel of eminent African leaders to mediate the escalating conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Kenyatta will work alongside former Presidents Sahle-Work Zewde (Ethiopia), Olusegun Obasanjo (Nigeria), Catherine Samba-Panza (Central African Republic), and Kgalema Motlanthe (South Africa) to broker peace in the region.
The decision was made during the second virtual joint summit of Heads of State and Government, co-chaired by East African Community (EAC) Chairperson President William Ruto and Southern African Development Community (SADC) Chairperson President Emmerson Mnangagwa of Zimbabwe. "The Joint Summit directed the co-chairs to convene a briefing session with the panel of facilitators within the next seven days.
The briefing should be done jointly by SADC, EAC, and the AU," read part of the official communiqué. As violence escalates in eastern DRC, regional leaders have intensified diplomatic efforts to restore stability. "The summit resolved to expedite the peace process by appointing an expanded panel of five facilitators," President Ruto said. "The Joint Summit reaffirmed its commitment to sustainable peace and emphasized the importance of regional cooperation." The first summit, held in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, on February 8, appointed Kenyatta, Obasanjo, and former Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn as joint facilitators of the merged Nairobi and Luanda peace processes.
