President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has attributed the insecurity in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to the presence of illegal guns in a largely ungoverned region since independence.
Museveni was addressing leaders of the East African Community (EAC) during the EAC Nairobi peace and security conference to find lasting security solution in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. During the 3rd Inter-Congolese dialogue that was held in Nairobi- Kenya, President Museveni informed fellow EAC leaders that many illegal guns still in the hands of foreign and local armed groups are an impediment to lasting peace in the eastern part of DRC .
“The main problem are the illegal guns in Congo. These illegal guns have been there almost continuously since Congo’s independence. He listed some of the armed groups to include the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) the Entarahamwe of Rwanda and other groups from Burundi and Angola plus the internal Congolese groups such as the Kodeko, M23, Maimai among others .
“The political means to solve this problem should start with dialogue. The dialogue should be preceded by a ceasefire where there’s active fighting and disengagement of forces. The peaceful solution should be the outcome of dialogue,” he said.
“These armed groups causing insecurity can be defeated if we harmonise efforts. If any Congolese group doesn’t respect the formula reached after the dialogues, the combined resources of East Africa will be brought down on them. No force can defy the combined efforts of east Africa,” Museveni added.
The President commended the efforts made by Operation Shujaa in the Eastern DRC which has been going on for almost a year now conducted by the combined forces of Congo and Uganda.
“These efforts in North Kivu and Ituri, have shown that we have the capacity to deal with these groups in spite of the difficult terrain, the forests and so on. If the Congolese government agrees, they can invite visitors and visit where we are operating and see what can be achieved,” H.E Museveni added.
However, according to the President the victim communities and the refugees who reside in the areas that have been occupied by terrorists for all this time should not be left out in efforts to pacify the region.
He said the Congolese communities such as the Bakonjos-banande of Uganda and Congo, the Bahema-banyoro, the Alurs, Lugbaras and Kakwas in Congo and some parts of West Nile in Uganda, the Bamba, the Banyarwanda of Kinyarwanda speaking people in Congo, Rwanda and Uganda are the same and know each other.
“Those people have been suffering and should be consulted because their land has been occupied by these terrorists for all this time. This is not fair. Here in Uganda, we have got 480,000 refugees from Congo. Now hosting well over 1.6 million refugees- Uganda now is the richest country in refugees in Africa and is number 4 in the whole world in the wealth of refugees, something he said “is not fair and not necessary.”
President Félix Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo of DR Congo who also addressed the dialogue virtually said his country is committed to support the efforts of the EAC member states to end insecurity.
“The time to change the narrative of DRC having protracted insecurity is now! We are committed to the EAC- Led Nairobi Process and long for peace so we can rebuild the great Democratic Republic of Congo,” he said.
The President of the Republic of Burundi who is the current Chairperson of the East African Community, H.E Evariste Ndahishimiye called upon the EAC leaders to step up efforts to bring peace in the region.
“We are cognizant of the high expectations the region & international community has in this process. I am appealing to all Partners to commit to supporting initiatives aimed at promoting peace and consolidating stability in the region,” he said.
The lead facilitator of the EAC – led Nairobi Peace Process, Mr. Uhuru Kenyatta said ; “No effort should be spared in restoring peace and security in Eastern DRC. Kwa wana-DRC, Amani itatoka kwenye nyinyi wenyewe! Tuungane!”
The President of Kenya H.E William Ruto said the pursuit of peace is an inevitable precondition for the prosperity of East Africa and re-affirmed Kenya’s commitment in supporting the restoration of peace in Eastern DRC.
The President of Rwanda H.E Paul Kagame who also attended virtually welcomed the swift response in seeking to restore peace in Eastern DRC, saying Rwanda is committed to the process of addressing the root cause of insecurity in Eastern Congo once and for all.
Others who addressed the dialogue included EAC Secretary General Dr Peter Mutuku Mathuki,, representatives from the government of the United Republic of Tanzania & Republic of South Sudan; observers from the African Union, United Nations, and invited members of the Diplomatic Corps.
The Special Envoy of the UN Secretary General to the Great Lakes region, H.E Huang Xia was also physically in attendance.
