EAC, Sadc leaders double down on diplomacy in Congo crisis

Others are former South African president Kgalema Motlanthe, Central African Republic’s Catherine Samba-Panza and Ethiopia’s Sahle-Work Zewde.

The summit said the appointment of the panel of facilitators took “into account gender, regional and language inclusivity”.

The summit was co-chaired by President William Ruto of Kenya, chair of the EAC, and Zimbabwe’s Emmerson Mnangagwa, chair of Sadc.

Earlier, President Ruto had issued a statement “appointing” Kenyatta, Obasanjo and former Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn.

But it later emerged that there had been no consensus on the appointment, despite Ruto issuing what he had called a ‘joint statement’ with President Mnangangwa. However, it emerged that Sadc leaders had concerns about the role of the former Ethiopian prime minister and the fact that the team did not include a woman.

Unconditional ceasefire

The joint summit also called for the withdrawal of all foreign troops, including the Congolese army, from eastern Congo and an unconditional ceasefire.

“Since our last summit our ministers have convened, whose outcomes are tabled before us today. We are, however, deeply concerned that the implementation of our decisions is not proceeding with the urgency it deserves,” said Mnangagwa.

“This is despite the fact that the security in the eastern DRC remains fragile with supply routes, including Bukavu and Goma airports remaining closed. The humanitarian situation in eastern DRC remains dire.”

A joint meeting of EAC and Sadc held on March 17, 2025, in Harare, Zimbabwe, called for ceasefire, again, and the re-opening of Goma airport which is currently under the mandate of M23 rebels. These leaders had made the same call on February 7 and 8.

President Mnangagwa ruled out military intervention and called on a section of the DRC army to withdraw to allow for a peaceful resolution of the crisis.

“Your excellences have consistently acknowledged that the military interventions on their own are not in absolute panacea to the security challenges befitting our sister country,” said Mnangagwa.

“It is important that we provide the impetus to the peace process in line with our decisions. The establishment of a political framework is a crucial enabler for the implementation of critical outstanding outcomes of our previous meetings. There is therefore a need to initiate diplomatic and political engagement to facilitate the withdrawal of some DRC troops.”

This stance was significant given that both the Sadc and the EAC had at various times deployed troops in the Congo, but had ultimately failed to achieve a solution.

The EAC was forced to pull out its troops in December 2023, accused by Kinshasa of refusing to fire on the M23. Sadc decided last week to disengage after its troops suffered embarrassing losses, including being unable to leave after the M23 closed major airports in eastern Congo.

Mnangagwa said armed groups continue to pose a threat to the sovereignty of DRC and stability of the two regional blocs.

“There is a need for us to accelerate the intervention of our joint interventions to arrest this worrisome development. We continue to call for immediate and unconditional ceasefire cessation of hostilities,” he added.

Critical briefing

The meeting also directed Ruto and Mnangagwa to convene a critical briefing in seven days with the facilitators.

“The joint summit directed the co-chairs to convene a briefing session with the panel of facilitators within the next seven days; the briefing should be done jointly by Sadc, EAC, and the African Union,” reads the communiqué issued after Monday’s virtual meeting.

Attendees included Presidents Félix Tshisekedi of the DRC, Paul Kagame of Rwanda, Yoweri Museveni (Uganda), Samia Suluhu Hassan (Tanzania), Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa, Evariste Ndayishimiye (Burundi), among others, signalling broad regional consensus.

This was the second joint EAC-Sadc summit since February, when leaders met in Dar es Salaam to address the DRC crisis.