Ruto chairs Congo peace facilitators as Kinshasa, M23 ready for talks on Apr 9

DRC police butembo

Congolese police officers patrol Butembo  town in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo on April 1, 2025. 

Photo credit: Reuters

President William Ruto on Tuesday presided over the first meeting of newly appointed mediators for the Nairobi-Luanda peace initiative, which seeks to resolve the protracted conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

The virtual meeting brought together the Kenyan leader and four former African heads of state Uhuru Kenyatta (Kenya), Olusegun Obasanjo (Nigeria), Sahle-Work Zewde (Ethiopia), and Catherine Samba-Panza (Central African Republic). South African's Kgalema Motlanthe did not attend the session.