East African Community leaders will consider a report of the consultative meetings on partner states' relations, by the Chairperson of the Summit, South Sudan President Salva Kiir Mayardit, when they convene for an extraordinary meeting, on Friday, June 7. According to a related communique, EAC Heads of State will convene, virtually, for the 23rd extra-ordinary Summit of the EAC Heads of State. ALSO READ: Better relations good for Rwandans and Burundians In January, soon after Peter Mathuki, the then EAC Secretary General, wrapped up a visit to Juba, South Sudan, where he briefed President Kiir on inter-state relations in the regional bloc, it was announced that the latter was set to assign special envoys to support his efforts in addressing inter-state relations within a regional framework. The importance of addressing the root causes of insecurity in the region was on the agenda when Kiir traveled to Rwanda on February 22, for a working visit. ALSO READ: Kiir’s trip reaffirms commitment to EAC-led Nairobi process to avert deterioration of DR Congo crisis The next day, he was in Bujumbura where he met with his Burundian counterpart Evariste Ndayishimiye for discussions on the crisis in eastern DR Congo. The extra-ordinary EAC Summit chaired by President Kiir on Friday is also expected to consider: the proposed appointment of a new Secretary General; and the proposed appointment of a Judge to the First Instance Division of the East African Court of Justice (EACJ) from Kenya. ALSO READ: Together we stand, divided we fall “The Heads of State are also set to consider the report of the consultative meetings by the Chairperson of the Summit on Partner States' relations,” adds the EAC communique. In a statement issued by the EAC Secretariat, on January 12, Mathuki encouraged partner states “to deploy peaceful settlement of any disputes and restrain, strictly observing the spirit of our Treaty and particularly on peaceful co-existence and good neighbourliness.” Mathuki’s statement followed Burundi’s unilateral decision, on January 11, to close its borders with Rwanda, a development that Kigali regretted. ALSO READ: Rwanda and DR Congo will always be together; they are joined at the hip Burundi’s decision came less than a month after its President, Evariste Ndayishimiye, accused Rwanda of harbouring and supporting members of RED Tabara, a Burundian armed group blamed for an attack that killed 20 people on December 22, 2023, in Gatumba, western Burundi. The Rwandan government dismissed Ndayishimiye's claims on December 29, saying there was no truth whatsoever in his allegations. In a statement released on on January 11, the Government of Rwanda said the unfortunate decision will restrict the free movement of people and goods between the two countries and violates the principles of regional cooperation and integration of the East African Community. ALSO READ: Rwanda condemns ‘inflammatory’ comments by Burundi president On January 22, the government of Rwanda described as “inflammatory and un-African” comments made by Burundian President Evariste Ndayishimiye who blamed Rwanda for insecurity in the Great Lakes and called Rwandan youth “prisoners in the region.” While in DR Congo’s capital Kinshasa, on January 21, Ndayishimiye said Rwandans needed to “start putting pressure on [their leaders] because I believe that young Rwandans cannot accept being prisoners in the region.” Ndayishimiye, acting in his capacity as the African Union Champion for Youth, Peace and Security, in an event advertised under the banner of the continental organisation, “made several baseless and incendiary allegations aimed at inciting division among Rwandans, and further jeopardizing peace and security in the Great Lakes Region,” noted a statement released by the Office of Rwandan Government Spokesperson. Worsening security situation in eastern DR Congo ALSO READ: DR Congo’s Rwandophone question: What US govt, SA, Tanzanian leaders have said By and large, the worsening security situation in eastern DR Congo, especially an escalation in hostilities between a government-led coalition and the M23 rebels, has raised fears that the Great Lakes Region could be sunk into a wider conflict, if the conflict is not contained in time. Since early February, the M23 rebels have advanced towards Goma, the capital of eastern DR Congo’s North Kivu Province, raising fears that they might take control of the city of an estimated two million people. Calls have mounted – to no avail – for Kinshasa to agree to peace talks, or political dialogue, instead of pursuing a war path that could escalate the conflict which has entered its third year. ALSO READ: South Africa sends 2,900 troops to DR Congo despite censure by main opposition party One of the conflict's root causes is the unsolved issue of the persecution of Kinyarwanda-speaking communities, also called Rwandophones, in eastern DR Congo who are denied their rights to citizenship. Kinshasa continues to accuse Kigali of supporting the M23 rebels – allegations the former has dismissed, while noting that the conflict in eastern DR Congo is a result of internal problems including bad governance, and ethnic discrimination. Kigali also accuses Kinshasa of integrating the FDLR, a militia directly linked to the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda, into the Congolese national army, FARDC. By and large, the FDLR is at the heart of the insecurity affecting eastern DR Congo and the region. And, although officially denied by Kinshasa, the FARDC-FDLR alliance has been documented by Rwanda’s intelligence, which has revealed direct contacts between Congolese political and military authorities and the genocidal militia’s top leaders. ALSO READ: UN report pinpoints FDLR new hierarchy in DR Congo A new report by the UN Group of Experts highlights Kinshasa’s growing use of FDLR to fight M23 rebels, thereby escalating the conflict in eastern DR Congo. As revealed last year, a leaked Pentagon file on the security crisis in eastern DR Congo indicated that the National Intelligence Agency’s (ANR) Deputy Provincial Director in South Kivu Province, Kwalezitome Lilungi Dodo, supports the use of militias “to overthrow” the Rwandan government. ALSO READ: FDLR integration into DR Congo army must be addressed – Kagame During a mini-Summit – meant to address root causes of the ongoing insecurity in DR Congo – hosted by President João Lourenço of Angola at the African Union Headquarters, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on February 16, President Paul Kagame reiterated the need to address the issue of integration of the genocidal militia into the Congolese army. No military solution to problems, disagreements in the African family Despite denial of the cooperation with the genocidal militia, the Congolese armed forces in November 2023 ordered its soldiers to end ties with members of the terrorist group. ALSO READ: Belgian lawyer on why genocide ideology doesn’t dissolve three decades after dispersion of genocidaires The US-sanctioned terrorist group has, for long, been spreading hate and violence against Congolese Tutsi communities. Bernard Maingain, a Belgian lawyer who has, for years, condemned the anti-Tutsi hate speeches in eastern DR Congo, in December 2022, explained that the plan to complete the extermination of the Tutsi was never lost sight of by the Rwandan genocidaires who managed to stay in the country and mingle with the Congolese population, spreading their genocide ideology. It is under the impulse of these people, Maingain said, that genocide ideology is propagated while in Europe their relays speak of human rights being flouted. In February, African Union Commission (AUC) Chairperson Amb Moussa Faki Mahamat called upon regional leaders, particularly those of DR Congo and Rwanda, to prioritize dialogue in the framework of the two African mechanisms led by President João Lourenço of Angola and Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya, with the goal of agreeing, in a collaborative and fraternal spirit, on a reasonable pathway to settle political differences, whatever their nature. A February 21 AU statement said: “The integrity, security, sovereignty, and stability of all states in the region must necessarily be assured, and the lives of the civilian population completely protected. “The Chairperson of the Commission repeats forcefully that there will not be any military solution to problems and disagreements within the African family.” The Chairperson of the African Union Commission also called upon “all foreign powers to completely abstain from all interference in the internal affairs of all African countries,” notably those of the Great Lakes Region.
