The Secretariat of the East African Community (EAC), has urged citizens of member states and the international community to back the efforts of the regional force that is deployed in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. The force, known as the East African Community Regional Force (EACRF), started deploying in the restive region towards the end of last year with a specific mandate of facilitating the implementation of the regional-led peace efforts in DR Congo. Currently, at least for countries; Kenya, Uganda, Burundi and South Sudan have contributed contingents to the force and according to the EAC Secretariat, the force has so far overseen the withdrawal of armed groups who have handed over to them territories the latter previously controlled. What the statement probably did not say is that almost all these territories surrendered to them were previously occupied by M23, one of the plethora of armed groups fighting in the eastern DR Congo. M23 willfully surrendered the territories under their control in the spirit of showing good faith to the peace effort that was initiated by regional leaders both under the Nairobi and Luanda peace processes all aimed at pacifying DR Congo. However, we have only seen posturing on the part of the Kinshasa government, when it came to implementing the next steps of the peace efforts whose roadmap was agreed on and adopted by regional heads of state. ALSO READ: DR Congo: Of an EAC force commander’s exit and mismatched expectations After M23 withdrew from their positions as directed by regional leaders, the next step was for the warring parties – in this case armed groups including M23 and the government in Kinshasa – to proceed with a political process that will see them get a lasting solution to the security challenges that have prevailed for nearly three decades. But the Kinshasa government has instead turned around and stated that they will negotiate with other armed groups but not M23, whom they brand a terrorist group. They have also taken it further to imagine that they can revise the mandate of EACRF, demanding that the latter should engage in fighting the M23. When the regional force refused, the Kinshasa government resorted to intimidating the officers of the force. The result was the resignation of the Force Commander, a Kenyan general who threw in the towel last week. It is therefore important that the EAC Secretariat demand good faith from Kinshasa because they themselves have for unknown reasons, emerged as the major stumbling block to the peace efforts that the region has worked so hard to achieve.
