Heads of State of the East African Community met at a high level meeting, which was hosted by President Uhuru Kenyatta

By NANGAYI GUYSON

Kampala, Uganda - The leaders of East African countries on Monday agreed to send regional troops to Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo and demanded an immediate cessation of hostilities.

The declaration was made by the Kenyan President at the conclusion of a meeting of the seven East African Community (EAC) members on Monday in Nairobi, Kenya, focused on the security situation in this extremely uneasy region.

In a statement, he stated that the regional force should work with the DRC army and administrative authorities to try to stabilize and maintain peace in the country.

The Kenyan president said, "The heads of state asked for an urgent implementation of a cease-fire and for the cessation of hostilities to commence immediately.

Numerous armed organizations, the most of which are a result of two regional wars that took place a quarter century ago, blight the mineral-rich DRC's east.

Antagonism between the DRC and Rwanda has returned as a result of the recent uptick in tension in the east. Kinshasa accuses Rwanda of being to blame for the upsurge of the March 23 Movement (M23) rebellion, which is responsible for the deaths of at least 26 Congolese soldiers in an attack in January.

Kinshasa charges Kigali with aiding this primarily Tutsi uprising, which Kigali refutes.

The M23 was defeated in 2013, but returned to fighting in late 2021, accusing the Congolese government of breaking a deal to demobilize and rehabilitate its fighters.

The conference was attended by the presidents of Burundi, South Sudan, Uganda, and Tanzania's ambassador to Nairobi in addition to Kenya's Uhuru Kenyatta and the Congo's Felix Tshisekedi and Rwanda's Paul Kagame.

During the summit, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni posted on Twitter, "Problems affecting the area like the crisis in Congo require a joint approach by all regional members of the East African Community."

The Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebels, who are charged with massacring tens of thousands of civilians in eastern Congo and launching raids in Uganda, are being fought by Congolese forces with the assistance of Museveni's troops.

The United States listed this group, which has Ugandan roots, as one of the "terrorist groups" connected to the Islamic State's jihadists last March.

Despite Kinshasa's indication that it would not accept Rwanda's participation, the Kenyan president called for the deployment of a regional army in the eastern DRC after the M23 took Bunagana, a border station between the DRC and Uganda, last week.

The DRC joined the EAC in 2022, and Rwanda is a member of it. The presence of Rwanda in the regional force was not immediately obvious, and neither the size nor the date of the force's launch were mentioned in the statement from the Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta.

The DRC-Uganda border post that the M23 seized on June 13 has since reopened, according to an announcement made on Monday.

Since the large influx of Rwandan Hutus suspected of massacring Tutsis during the 1994 genocide nearly 30 years ago in eastern DRC, relations between the DRC and Rwanda have been strained.

Thousands of families have been impacted by the turmoil and bloodshed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the humanitarian situation has gotten worse as a result.

People have suffered very terrible repercussions as a result of violent battles between groups: many have been killed, injured, or traumatized; villages and farmland have been torched; and there has been a significant amount of population relocation.

First Congo War

DRC has had always faces hostilities from its neighbors because of its rich minerals and a country Like Uganda is facing charges by UN for invading DR Congo.

the First Congo War (1996–1997), sometimes known as Africa's First World War, was a civil war and international military conflict that mostly erupted in Zaire (the modern Democratic Republic of Congo).

The dispute came to a head with a foreign invasion that installed rebel leader Laurent-Désiré Kabila in Mobutu Sese Seko's stead.

Later, Kabila's shaky government ran afoul of his friends, paving the way for the Second Congo War, which lasted from 1998 to 2003.

Dr Congo which was then known Zaire was a failing state by 1996 after years of internal strife, a dictatorship, and economic decline.

The Rwandan genocide, which had crossed its boundaries, as well as persistent regional disputes and resentments unsolved since the Congo War had all contributed to the destabilization of the country's eastern regions.

Second Congo War

In February this year, the Democratic Republic of Congo was awarded $325 million by a U.N. court as compensation for harm done to people, property, and resources during Uganda's invasion of the DRC's Ituri region in the late 1990s, during the Second Congo War.

The EAC was established in 2000 with the purpose of facilitating international trade by removing tariffs among its member nations.

In 2010, it created a common market.

East African Community (EAC) leaders on Monday ratified the formation of a regional military force whose mandate is to secure peace in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). 

Presidents Yoweri Museveni (Uganda), Paul Kagame (Rwanda), Evariste Ndayishimiye (Burundi), Salva Kiir Mayardit (South Sudan) and Felix Tshisekedi (Democratic Republic of Congo) made the decision at State House in Nairobi with instructions to the force to deploy immediately.

President Samia Suluhu Hassan of Tanzania was represented at the meeting by the country's ambassador to Kenya, High Commissioner John Stephen Simbachawene.

“The Heads of State accepted and adopted the concept of operation, Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA), Rules of Engagement (ROE) and other legal and technical regulations to facilitate the operationalization of the Regional Force and its various operational arms,” a communique issued after the meeting by the presidency in Kenya read in part.

The communique detailed that the regional force will be deployed particularly in the North and South Kivu areas of the DRC as well as in Ituri province, which are in urgent need of peace and stability.

Also in attendance at the meeting were the chiefs of defense forces of all seven countries of the East African Community Partner States.

The heads of state instructed that the regional force should work in cooperation with the military and administrative forces of the DRC and also cooperate in the implementation of the disarmament and demobilization process.

They also called for an immediate cease-fire and cessation of hostilities in the volatile areas of the DRC, including the withdrawal of forces from recently taken positions.

“In doing so, the political process should be intensified by all parties in order to allow the citizens of the DRC to feel safe and secure and be able to pick up and continue their respective social, cultural and economic activities,” the dispatch stated.

Tshisekedi and Kagame met for the first time in Nairobi on Monday since Kinshasa accused Kigali of supporting the M23 rebels, who are wreaking havoc in eastern DRC. Rwanda has denied any support for the rebels.

The security situation in the DRC has led to a humanitarian crisis, forcing aid workers to suspend humanitarian activities due to insecurity.

The DRC has been plagued by violence for decades as several rebel groups fight against each other or against the country’s military and UN forces for territorial control.

According to the UN, exploitation of natural resources continues to be a root cause and driver of conflict, with most armed groups having set aside their political demands and becoming involved in mineral trafficking.

More than 5 million people have been uprooted by insecurity and violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the last two years, with nearly 2 million displaced in North Kivu province alone, according to UN estimates.​​​​​​​ - Andrew Wasike, Anadolu Agency

NAIROBI, Kenya, Jun 22 – Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha is now calling for the inspection of degree academic qualifications for all Kenyans following complaints of fake degree certificates.

Magoha who was speaking during a school inspection tour in Migori stated that should he be given the mandate, he would ensure that matter is looked into to avert shortcuts in gaining academic qualifications.

“What’s is the problem, in fact I don’t have powers but if I had the powers, I would say that because of all this noise everybody’s degree should now be checked,” he said.

“So that we check if there is a problem because it is becoming a big issue. You can’t have a degree in six months or two years. The minimum is prescribed according to hours and units,” Magoha said.

The Education Boss further pointed out that the verification of academic qualifications should not be politicised arguing that is not a matter to be decided by the courts.

Magoha asserted that the issue of academic credentials verification should be only done by the Commission for University Education (CUE).

“This noise you are hearing is political and not professional at all. It is important to allow CUE to do its work. Unfortunately, when it comes to IEBC and they say you can’t go, then it becomes an issue. Remove politics from it “he said.

His statement comes in the midst of a tussle between United Democratic Alliance (UDA) gubernatorial candidate Johnson Sakaja and CUE over the authenticity of his academic qualifications. 

Meanwhile, Magoha assured that the government is looking into the preparedness of private schools to roll out the Competency Based Curriculum (CBC) education in junior secondary school.

He maintained that there is no crisis in terms of transition to junior secondary school due to lack of infrastructure.

“There is so much toxic opinion, we are serving our children without prejudice. We shall continue to look at private schools and encourage them,” he said. By Irene Mwangi, Capital News