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Ranga Mataire, Group Political Editor

BESIDES agreeing to have a joint SADC/EAC (East African Community) Heads of State and Government Summit on the way forward in bringing peace to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the recent SADC Extraordinary Summit of Heads of State and Government held in Harare on January 31 2025 also called for the revival of the Luanda Process.

But what is the Luanda process, which SADC reiterated its support in bringing “diplomatic efforts to secure a peaceful resolution to the conflict in the Eastern DRC?”

The Luanda Peace Process led to the Luanda Peace Deal on September 6, 2002. At the time, the deal was between the DRC and Uganda and was mediated by the then President of Angola, Jose Eduardo dos Santos. The peace deal was meant to bring ceasefire and normalisation of relations between Uganda and the DRC governments. It was signed in Luanda between then DRC President Joseph Kabila and Ugandan President, Yoweri Museveni.

The Luanda Peace Deal became the standard or model for peace accords in Africa and is viewed favourably by outside entities, such as the United Nations and the European Union. 

Background

The Luanda Peace Deal was meant to bring ceasefire and normalise relations between Uganda and DRC. Uganda accused DRC of hosting ADF, a rebel unity that had been attacking western Uganda from the 1990s into 2000s. DRC on the other had accused Uganda of using the pretext of fighting ADF by plundering its valuable natural resources.

The genesis of instability in the Congo and broadly in the Great Lakes region, dates back to colonial times when DRC was under the control of Belgium, Rwanda under Germans/Belgium, Uganda under Britain. The colonial powers parcelled the territories without regard to existing African social and political settings. Families and whole tribes were separated and when independence came, the new African rulers decided to stick with the colonial boundaries.

In mapping out the Luanda Peace Deal, President Eduardo dos Santos was conscious of the fact that Uganda and DRC were brotherly countries whose relationship predates colonial conquest. 

Thus Article One of the Agreement on Withdrawal of Ugandan troops specifically states that: “The Government of Uganda commit itself to the continued withdrawal of its forces from the DRC in accordance with the Implementation Plan.” The Luanda Peace deal was hailed by regional and international experts as a ground-breaking deal that attempted to bring peace and security between two contending parties.

Fast forward to 2022, almost three decades after the 1994 Rwanda genocide and after what former United States Secretary of State Madeleine Albright described the Congo as being at the heart of Africa’s “first world war”, the Great Lakes region seem to have come full circle with the same neighbourly protagonists- Rwanda, Uganda and the DRC once again entangled in an attrition conflict.

Once again, SADC, the regional bloc, had to intervene in line with its Defence Mutual Pact, which outlines a commitment to collective self-defence and regional peace and security. 

It states that any armed attack against one member is considered a threat to regional peace. This is the rationale behind the deployment of SADC’s Mission in DRC (SAMIDRC), which was deployed on December 15, 2023. The decision to deploy the force was made in May 2023 at the Extraordinary Summit of Heads of State and Government in Windhoek, Namibia.

Revival of the Luanda Road Map

The Luanda Peace Process was established as part of the 2022 Luanda Roadmap aimed at calming tensions between Rwanda and the DRC. On November 23, 2022, a Mini-Summit of Heads of States and Governments on Peace and Security in Eastern DRC was held in Luanda, Angola to address the conflict and insecurity in the eastern region of the DRC.

The Mini-Summit was attended by the EAC chairperson- Burundian President Evariste Ndayishumiye, DRC President Felix Tshisekedi, Rwandan Minister of Foreign Affairs and Affairs of Rwanda- Vincent Biruta who was representing President Kagame and former Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta who is the Facilitator appointed by the EAC for the implementation of the Nairobi process as well as a representative of the African Union and the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR)

President Félix Tshisekedi

Escalation of fighting from October 2023 between M223 and the Armed Forces of the DRC (FARDC) temporarily stalled the peace process. This time the DRC claimed that the Rwanda Defence Force (RDF) was fighting alongside the M23 rebels while Rwanda accused the DRC of harbouring and supporting the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR)- A Hutu rebel movement whose composition include former Rwandan Army forces who fled to eastern Congo following the genocide.

The peace process was revived in early 2024 under the Angolan President Joao Lourenco’s mediation, and on July 30, 2024, a permanent ceasefire was agreed between the two countries. 

The Rubavu Agreement

The ceasefire was followed by meetings between the Rwandan and DRC foreign ministers that looked at the core triggers of the recurrent conflict. Another productive meeting between the two countries’ intelligence service heads was held in Rubavu, Rwanda, on August 29 and 30 whose agreement revolves around: neutralising the FDLR, withdrawal of Rwanda forces from the DRC territory and possibly involving Rwanda’s forces in the military operation against the FDLR. 

An ad hoc mechanism composed of three Rwandan, three Congolese and 18 Angolan military officers led by Angolan Lieutenant-General Joao Nassone was set up. Disagreements remain on how to implement the Rubavu agreement, as the DRC insists that the neutralisation of the FDLR accompanies the withdrawal of Rwandan Forces.  

Despite the recent escalation of violence instigated by M23, both the EAC and the SADC still believe the Luanda Peace Deal is the best foot forward in bringing lasting peace to the DRC.

Angolan President Lourenco, is highly regarded by both Rwanda and DRC. It is not surprising that the EAC chose him to mediate given the fact that he is the African Union Champion of Peace and Reconciliation in Africa and is designated to maintain dialogue between the DRC and Rwanda.

Both SADC and EAC are keen on reviving the Luanda Peace Process, which in November last year managed to facilitate the signing of a peace deal between DRC and Rwanda. The Angola-brokered peace deal brought fragile truce that stabilised the situation until the recent incursions of the M23, which took over Goma in a development that has led to deaths of both civilians and military personal and displaced thousands of people.

Way Forward

The way forward in bringing lasting peace in the DRC lie in the Communique released by the recent SADC Extraordinary Summit of Heads of State and Government held in Harare on January 31, 2025.

The summit reiterated its support to the diplomatic efforts to secure peaceful resolution to the conflict in the eastern DRC through the Luanda Process, led by President Joao Lourenco of Angola and the African Champion for Peace and Reconciliation in Africa and the Nairobi Process, led by former Kenyan President, Uhuru Kenyatta.

The summit also called for the immediate dispatch of Defence Ministers, Chiefs of Defence and Troop Contributing Countries to DRC to ensure that the SAMIDRC troops are safe and ensure immediate repatriation of the deceased troops and those injured.

More fundamental was the call by the summit to have a joint SADC and EAC summit and mandated the SADC Organ Troika on Politics, Defence and Security Co-operation, to engage all state and non-state parties to the conflict on a ceasefire process to protect lives and facilitate a smooth flow of humanitarian support to people and communities affected by the armed conflict.

It is now left to the Secretariats of both SADC and EAC to work out the logistics in terms of dates and venue for the joint summit of the two regional blocs. Given the urgency of the matter, it won’t be long before such a meeting is convened.