Former President Uhuru Kenyatta has condemned an opposition group which made bold statements undermining the Democracy in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Uhuru lamented that their statement threatens to undermine the peace brokered in the region.
The former Head of State expressed shock while warning that such political statements can derail a recently brokered peace deal.
“Former President Uhuru Kenyatta, the Facilitator of the East African Community (EAC) led Nairobi Peace process, watched with shock and dismay at the developments of last Friday, the 15th of December 2023 in Nairobi, where individuals claiming to be pursuing the interest of greater peace and stability in the DRC initiated yet another political and military Alliance to challenge the legitimate political status quo in the DRC,” Uhuru statement read in part.
“The Facilitator repudiates these developments and in particular their military character, and the accompanying politically charged and provocative rhetoric. President (Rtd) Kenyatta restates his support for the US brokered ceasefire and continues to seek its indefinite extension in order to facilitate the peace building process, put an end to the senseless killing and suffering of the people of the eastern DRC, and set the stage for a resumption of the Nairobi peace process, and the brokering of a lasting peace in the troubled region of the eastern DRC,”it added.
The statement issued in Nairobi forcing DRC to recall its ambassador. Addressing the diplomatic tiff, President William Ruto disclosed that DRC wanted him to order arrest of the opposition politicians.
On Friday, Congolese politicians and groups including the M23 rebels who have seized eastern Congo, and Corneille Nangaa, a former Congo election commission chief, launched the Congo River Alliance in Nairobi.
Speaking at the launch, Nangaa, sanctioned by the US for corruption and obstructing the 2018 election, said the alliance would bring together various Congolese armed groups, militias and social and political organizations.
Speaking on the matter, President Ruto said that following the new developments in Nairobi, some officers in DRC complained why Kenya allowed the group to issue a statement.
As the Head of State, Ruto said Kenya was a democratic nation, hence no one needs permission of the government to issue a statement.
He emphasised that his government cannot arrest anyone for simply issuing a statement.
“DRC wanted to know if we could arrest the people who released the statement but we said we cannot. We only arrest criminals and deal with them but not issuing statement.”
