They say good news always comes in pairs, and that was what Rwanda’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and her Congolese counterpart brought out of the Congolese town of Goma yesterday.

At least the people across the border now realize that there can be no peace in the region without taking the bull by the horns: addressing the real cause of insecurity in the Kivu which is the continued presence of the FDLR/ex-Far/ interahamwe militia.

For the past 14 years, they have been given a free run in the eastern parts of the country by successive Congolese governments.

They have exported their terror and yet, despite numerous efforts and agreements to put an end to their atrocities, the main player (DRC) who was supposed to put the last nail in FDLR’s coffin ,has always walked off the pitch half way through the game.

The historic agreement signed yesterday between the main victims of FDLR – Rwanda and the DRC – to pool their resources together to find a lasting solution to the mayhem, should be good news indeed, especially to the thousands of displaced people in the DRC.

The time has come to call a spade a spade and not a spoon. This is a chance for DRC to chart its destiny and join other nations on the road to prosperity, instead of getting bogged down by individuals who give it no added value save for the wails in its villages.

Is this the beginning of the end of the Interahamwe & co? Only time will tell.

The only prayer now on everyone’s lips is that this time around, the agreement will last longer than the time it takes the ink to dry and not suffer the same fate as previous agreements. The people deserve a peaceful Christmas, is that too much ask?

Ends