Strained Rwanda-DRC relations loom over EAC Summit in Arusha

Arusha. The East African Community (EAC) Summit slated for tomorrow may have an unexpected item on its agenda.

That is the increasingly deteriorating relations between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

This time around, it is about a threat by DRC lawmakers to boycott the coming sitting of the East African Legislative Assembly (Eala) in Kigali.

The Eala ordinary session is expected to convene in the Rwanda capital from today to December 7.

The two-week sitting will include a plenary which will be addressed by Rwandan leader President Paul Kagame next Wednesday.

Sources at EAC headquarters intimated to The Citizen yesterday that the DRC MPs have threatened not to travel to Kigali for the session.

They are reported to have expressed fears about their safety in Rwanda given the deteriorating relations between their country and Rwanda.

“Indeed, they have written to the Speaker on the matter,” said Eala Clerk Lumumba Obatre.

The lawmakers said they feared for their safety and security while in Rwanda, a country they described as “not friendly” to the DRC.

Mr Obatre said the House and EAC in general are aware of the threat and that efforts were underway to diffuse the standoff.

He hinted that the matter would be taken to the higher organs of the Community “for an amicable solution”.

He further said the Summit, the supreme organ of the Community, was best placed to seek a mechanism to resolve it.

However, Mr Obatre affirmed that the Eala session in Kigali would forge ahead given the existing rules and procedures.

“The session will take place. MPs from the DRC may not be in Kigali physically, but can participate virtually,” he explained.

Since the outbreak of Covid19, Eala amended its rules to allow for virtual and hybrid sessions due to the travel restrictions imposed.

Between early 2020 and mid 2021, Eala sittings were held virtually, later switching to hybrid before the ordinary sessions resumed last year. The Clerk declined to go into further details on the issue but said the regional leaders were aware of the icy relations between Rwanda and DRC.

The ties between the two neighbours in the Great Lakes Region went south after the re-emergence of M23, an armed group, allegedly supported by Rwanda in early 2022. The insurgents, who have occupied some territories in the North Kivu region, have occasionally clashed with the DRC government troops.

Efforts to bring peace in the restive region led to the deployment of the East African Regional Force (EARF) in late 2022.

M23, which Rwanda denied supporting, have repeatedly called for direct mediation talks with the Kinshasa government. The latter has snubbed the offer.

A few months ago, DRC President Felix Tshisekedi ordered the EARF to pull out of his country for apparent failure to guarantee peace in the troubled North Kivu Province.