By Dickson Bandera
Five former African presidents have been appointed to lead a new African Union-backed DRC peace process, uniting regional efforts to end decades of violence in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
The move follows a high-level Joint EAC-SADC Summit held in Nairobi, Kenya, on August 1, co-chaired by Kenyan President William Ruto, who chairs the East African Community (EAC), and Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who chairs the Southern African Development Community (SADC).
At the Nairobi meeting, leaders adopted key documents, including a framework to merge the Nairobi and Luanda Processes, clear terms of reference for the new Panel of Facilitators, and a design for an inclusive mediation process.
They also resolved to consolidate the EAC, SADC, and African Union technical secretariats under a single Joint Secretariat led by the African Union Commission (AUC) in Addis Ababa. This new structure will streamline coordination, resource mobilisation and humanitarian support for communities affected by the DRC conflict.
The Panel of Facilitators is made up of H.E. Olusegun Obasanjo (Nigeria), H.E. Uhuru Kenyatta (Kenya), H.E. Catherine Samba-Panza (Central African Republic), H.E. Sahle-Work Zewde (Ethiopia), and H.E. Dr. Mokgweetsi Masisi (Botswana). The five leaders are tasked with merging parallel African peace efforts into a single, coordinated roadmap to help resolve the long-running insecurity in the DRC’s troubled east.
The eastern DRC has suffered from armed militias, ethnic conflict, and illegal mineral exploitation for decades, with millions displaced despite various peace initiatives.
Point 4 of the official communiqué recalls the decisions of the 1st Joint EAC–SADC Summit in Dar es Salaam in February and the 2nd virtual Summit in March 2025, as well as the 1261st AU Peace and Security Council meeting and UN Security Council Resolution 2773 (2025), all of which stress the need for a unified African-led solution.
A virtual extra-ordinary Joint EAC-SADC Summit will be convened within seven days to ratify these steps and communicate the outcomes to all African Union Member States. Stakeholders are being urged to align with the African Union’s unified peace plan to strengthen regional ownership and secure lasting peace for the DRC.
The appointment of these five respected African statespersons signals Africa’s determination to find a lasting solution to one of the continent’s most complex and enduring conflicts.
