Former President Uhuru Kenyatta has been chosen alongside two other former presidents to lead joint peace talks in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Their appointments followed a meeting of joint summit of the Heads of State and Government of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the East African Community (EAC) on Monday 24th February 2025.
According to President Ruto’s statement on X, former President of Nigeria Olusegun Obasanjo and the former Prime Minister of Ethiopia Hailemariam Desalegn were also appointed to lead the peace talks.
The three will oversee the EAC-SADC peace process which has merged the Luanda and Nairobi processes in Eastern DRC.
The Nairobi Peace Process which was launched in April 2022 under the EAC was aimed at ending hostilities in eastern DRC by facilitating dialogue between the Congolese government and various armed groups including the M23 rebels.
The process led by Uhuru initially made progress with ceasefires brokered and commitments made towards disarmament.
However, the initiative struggled to maintain momentum leading to its eventual collapse.
The peace talks are currently taking place as the human toll in conflict continues to rise.
Over 450,000 individuals have been displaced with approximately 90 camps destroyed.
