Ruto To Meet Uhuru In Person In Nairobi: Here's Why
President Ruto will open the Third Inter-Congolese Consultations of the Nairobi Peace Process.
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President William Ruto and his predecessor, Uhuru Kenyatta, will meet face-to-face on Monday, November 28 for the first time since the inauguration ceremony on Tuesday, September 13.
The two will meet at Safari Park hotel along Thika Road in Nairobi, according to a press statement sent to newsrooms.
President Ruto will open the Third Inter-Congolese Consultations of the Nairobi Peace Process.
"H.E William Ruto, President of the Republic of Kenya will officially open the function. H.E Felix Tshisekedi, President of the Democratic Republic of Congo will virtually address the event. The opening session will be officiated by H.E Evariste Ndayishimiye, President of the Republic of Burundi and the Chairperson of the East African Community Summit, and H.E. (Rtd) Uhuru Kenyatta, Facilitator of the East African Community (EAC)- led Nairobi Peace Process. In attendance, as observers, will be the African Union, United Nations, and invited members of the Diplomatic Corps in Kenya," part of the statement read.
The consultations come after the Inaugural Inter-Congolese Peace Consultation (Nairobi I) which was staged in April 2022.
Nairobi III comes after the official visit of Uhuru, the EAC Facilitator of the Nairobi Peace Process, to Bujumbura on November 4, 2022, where he met with President Ndayishimiye and the Chairperson of the East African Community Summit and to Kinshasa and Goma, DRC.
He then attended the Mini-Summit (Luanda II) on Peace and Security in the Eastern Region of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in Luanda, Angola on November 23, 2022, chaired by H.E João Lourenco, President of the Republic of Angola.
Uhuru was appointed by President William Ruto as the peace envoy to Ethiopia and the Great Lakes Region and was tasked with resolving conflicts in DRC and Ethiopia.
Since then, Kenya's fourth president has been successful in his first international assignment as envoy in Pretoria, South Africa where he, alongside other delegates, secured a truce between Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and the leadership of Tigray, ending a civil war in the neighbouring country that lasted two years.
In terms of the conflicts in DRC, the former Kenyan Head of State on Friday, November 18 called Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame who committed to assisting him to negotiate with M23 leaders for an urgent ceasefire and withdrawal from captured territories.
Kagame and Uhuru also both agreed on the need to implement and adopt the recommendations of the EAC Chiefs of Defence (CDFs).
Particularly highlighted was the need for the regional force to immediately take over and secure recently captured areas by the M23 in the north Kivu region and ensure peace, stability and safety for civilians are restored in the area.
The discussions between Uhuru and Kagame were viewed to be a key highlight in ending the conflict.
The former president further briefed Kagame on his last visit to Goma and Kinshasa, where he interacted with Internally displaced persons (IDP) and opinion shapers.
Uhuru then reached out to United Nations (UN) secretary general, Antonio Guterres where he appealed to the UN to enhance humanitarian assistance to internally displaced persons in Ituri, South Kivu and North Kivu provinces of the eastern DRC.
He also initiated talks with President Ndayishimiye of Burundi and the EAC chairperson, President Tshisekedi, to provide an update on his conversations with President Kagame and Guterres, to which both were agreeable on the need for hostilities to end and the enhancement of humanitarian efforts in the regions.
Former Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta arrives in Kinshasa. /DRC PRESIDENCY
