By Our Reporter
President William Ruto will, this evening, co-chair yet another crisis meeting attended by leaders across the East African Community (EAC) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) over the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
According to a statement by the SADC secretariat on Sunday, March 23, President Ruto will co-chair the virtual meeting with Zimbabwean President Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa.
A statement by the EAC also confirmed the meeting, noting that the heads of state will deliberate on the report presented during the joint EAC-SADC Ministerial Meeting held on March 17 in Harare, Zimbabwe.
“The Heads of State and Government of the East African Community (EAC) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) will convene their second joint Summit on 24 March 2025 to address the critical security situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC),” part of the statement read.
“The virtual joint Summit will be co-chaired by His Excellency Dr William Samoei Ruto, President of the Republic of Kenya and Chairperson of the EAC, and His Excellency Dr Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa, President of the Republic of Zimbabwe and Chairperson of SADC.”
Also representing the SADC team will be its Troika member states, Angola and Madagascar, who will send their former chair and incoming chair, respectively. Other unnamed members will also be present.
Tanzania’s chair, Malawi’s incoming chair, and Zambia’s former chairperson will also attend the meeting.
Additional participants include the Republic of South Africa, whose troops are currently assisting in addressing the crisis in Congo, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
This will mark the second time President William Ruto will meet African leaders to discuss the crisis in DRC after he convened another emergency meeting in late January.
“Consequently, and having consulted with the Heads of State of the region on this dire situation, we will be convening an extraordinary EAC Summit within the next 48 hours to deliberate on this crisis and chart a way forward,” Ruto said in a press release on January 26.
Furthermore, he confirmed that the Presidents of DRC and Rwanda had confirmed the attendance noting, “I thank both President Tsishekedi and President Kagame for their confirmed participation in this summit.”
However, Tshisekedi skipped the meeting, citing scheduling reasons as communicated by his spokesperson, Tina Salama on January 29.
Have An Advert Or Article You Want Us To Publish? Email: swiftnewsug@gmail.com
