DR Congo President Tshisekedi back in Nairobi for talks on regional security

DR Congo President Felix Tshisekedi and Kenyan Foreign Affairs CS Raychelle Omamo.

DR Congo President Felix Tshisekedi is received by Kenya's Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Raychelle Omamo in Nairobi on April 20, 2022. PHOTO | COURTESY | KENYA'S MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS

What you need to know:

  • He was last in Nairobi early this month for the signing of the treaty for the accession of the DRC into the East African Community together with Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, who is the current EAC chairman.
  • During the early April visit, he also attended the mini-summit on regional security that brought together the two leaders and President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda and President Paul Kagame of Rwanda.

DR Congo President Félix Tshisekedi arrived in Nairobi late Wednesday evening two weeks after his last trip to the city.

He was last in Nairobi early this month for the signing of the treaty for the accession of the DRC into the East African Community together with Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, who is the current EAC chairman.

During the early April visit, he also attended the mini-summit on regional security that brought together the two leaders and President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda and President Paul Kagame of Rwanda.

DR Congo President Felix Tshisekedi and Kenyan Foreign Affairs CS Raychelle Omamo.

DR Congo President Felix Tshisekedi and Kenya's Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Raychelle Omamo in Nairobi on April 20, 2022. PHOTO | COURTESY | KENYA'S MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS

According to the Congolese president's communication office, “during their last quadripartite meeting which took place early April at State House in Nairobi, the four heads of state had made a commitment to meet again in a fortnight to continue their discussions…on the thorny issue of insecurity in the region, particularly in the eastern border provinces of the DRC.”

Tshisekedi's communication office says that five heads of state will take part in the mini-summit which should “lead to a commitment by the member states.”

Some of the issues that could be discussed are the resurgence of the M23 rebellion and other local and foreign armed groups that are still hiding in eastern DRC and continue to destabilise the region.