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Fungi Kwaramba, Harare Bureau

PRESIDENT Mnangagwa will lead a delegation of the Southern African Development Community to Tanzania later this week for an Extraordinary joint meeting with the East African Community (EAC) bloc in an effort to thrash out a peaceful resolution to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) conflict.

This follows a decision made by the Extraordinary SADC Summit that was held in Harare last week for a joint summit with the EAC, which is currently chaired by Kenyan President, William Ruto.

DRC, a member of both SADC and the EAC, accuses Rwanda, which is a member of the latter grouping, of backing the M23 and other rebel groups that have left death and destruction in eastern DRC.

The Extraordinary joint summit has been spawned by growing hostilities in eastern DRC that have killed thousands, with millions fleeing their homes.

Deputy Chief Secretary in the Office of the President and Cabinet (Presidential Communications), Mr George Charamba, who is also the Presidential Spokesperson, said the President will lead a double Troika, plus the Troops Contributing countries to the joint Summit that he will co-chair with President Ruto.

“The President has a very important foreign affairs fixture in the form of the situation in DRC. 

There is a joint Summit of SADC and the East African Community that will be held in Tanzania later this week, which has taken an extraordinary decision to invite all parties in the DRC conflict to a meeting. 

The President is an important interlocutor in the crisis, considering that he has built a strong relationship with both the DRC President Felix Tshisekedi and President Paul Kagame,” said Mr Charamba.

President Félix Tshisekedi

The SADC Double Troika comprises the SADC chairman, outgoing chairman and incoming and the Chairperson of the Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Co-operation.

Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan, is the current chairperson of the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Co-operation.

The SADC Mission in the DRC (SAMIDRC), which was deployed on December 15, 2023 to support the Government of the DRC in restoring peace and security in eastern DRC,comprises forces from the Republics of Malawi, South Africa and the United Republic of Tanzania.

In the aftermath of summits that were held separately by SADC and the EAC, the United Nations Security Council’s strident criticism of the rebel groups in eastern DRC and their sponsoring countries, a wide conflagration in the Greater Lakes region has seemingly been averted after the M23 and other rebel groups declared a ceasefire, ostensibly on humanitarian grounds.

The coalition of rebels, which recently intensified clashes in eastern Congo, claimed control over Goma, the capital of North Kivu province.

Clashes between government forces and rebel groups have left an estimated 900 civilians dead, displacing tens of thousands more.

The recent fighting in eastern DRC, which has been dogged by conflict for more than 30 years since the 1994 Rwandan genocide, has also claimed 16 soldiers from the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) and Malawi, who form part of the SADC Mission in the DRC (SAMIDRC).

As rebel forces gained the upper hand on the battlefield, capturing much of Goma, the largest city in eastern Congo, South Africa responded with a stern diplomatic warning. The South African government stated that any further attacks on its troops would be regarded as a “declaration of war.”

In a swift rebuttal, Rwanda’s President Kagame accused South Africa of acting as part of a “belligerent force.” 

He claimed that South African troops were engaged in “offensive combat operations” to support the Congolese government in its fight against its own citizens.

Resultantly, tensions were high before last week’s SADC Summit in Harare, which mandated its 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.

The Summit also urged Political and Diplomatic leaders who are parties to the conflict to engage in a co-ordinated effort of dialogue, including supporting the Luanda Process, Monusco and others, to restore peace and security in eastern DRC.

SADC leaders also reaffirmed their commitment to the DRC’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and long-term stability, pledging ongoing support for its development and security.

Last week, the African Union’s Peace and Security Council (PSC) at its 1256th Emergency Ministerial meeting on the Recent Developments in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), condemned the DRC conflict and called for adherence to the Luanda Process.

Under the Luanda Process, Angolan President João Manuel Gonçalves Lourenço has tried to broker peace between DRC President Tshisekedi and his Rwandan counterpart, Kagame. 

Such talks have, however, remained elusive, amid escalatory rhetoric and trading of accusations between the two leaders.

Thus, the summit, which will be held in Tanzania, offers a platform for both President Tshisekedi and President Kagame to meet directly with mediation from SADC and the EAC.