Former Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, who recently met AFC/M23 leaders, was received by Rwanda’s Foreign Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe for discussions on efforts to advance peace in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
Kenyatta travelled to Rwanda after holding consultations with AFC/M23’s political and military leadership in Goma as part of his work with the African Union panel involved in the eastern DRC peace process.
Rwanda’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation said Nduhungirehe received Kenyatta together with other senior government officials.
“Foreign Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe together with other senior government officials received H.E. Uhuru Kenyatta, former President of the Republic of Kenya and a member of the African Union Panel of Facilitators for the peace process in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo,” the ministry said.
Among the Rwandan officials at the meeting were Maj Gen (Rtd) Jack Nziza, Deputy Commissioner General of the Rwanda Demobilisation and Reintegration Commission, and Brig Gen Patrick Karuretwa, Rwanda Defence Force spokesperson and Director General for International Military Cooperation.
The discussions centred on the work of the AU facilitators and ongoing efforts to move forward the African-led process seeking a peaceful settlement to the conflict in eastern DRC.
Kenyatta is one of five former African leaders serving on the AU Panel of Facilitators. The others are former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, former Botswana President Mokgweetsi Masisi, former Central African Republic President Catherine Samba-Panza and former Ethiopian President Sahle-Work Zewde. The AU has tasked the panel with supporting mediation and engaging parties involved in the conflict.
Before travelling to Rwanda, Kenyatta had met AFC/M23 leaders as part of consultations on security and peace in eastern DRC.
Those engagements form part of wider African Union efforts to maintain contact with the different parties and support dialogue as diplomatic initiatives continue in the region.
The AU has said the facilitators should work with its designated mediator, Togo’s President Faure Gnassingbé, while coordinating the African-led process with other initiatives including the Washington and Doha tracks.
Kenyatta’s consultations with AFC/M23 and Rwandan officials therefore formed part of the panel’s continuing engagement with parties and governments connected to efforts to find a lasting solution to the conflict in eastern DRC.
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