Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi boycotted the June 7 EAC Heads of State Summit and did not even send a representative.

The 23rd Extra-Ordinary Summit of EAC Heads of State Chaired by President Salva Kiir of South Sudan - as current EAC Summit Chairperson- was attended by the Presidents of Rwanda, Somalia, Uganda, and Tanzania, while the Kenyan and Burundian presidents had high-level representatives.

Top of the agenda of the Heads of State Summit, among other issues, was to endorse the bloc’s new Secretary General, Veronica Mueni Nduva from Kenya, who replaced her compatriot Peter Mathuki.

The conspicuous absence of Tshisekedi, and his failure to send a representative was seen as an act of disrespect even as he expressed his displeasure with EAC leaders regarding their “unwelcome” advice for a peaceful settlement of the security crisis in the east of his country.

Some analysts linked Tshisekedi’s  boycott of the EAC Summit to President William Ruto’s interview in May, with French publication Jeune Afrique, where he pointed out that if M23 rebels are Congolese, as Kinshasa admitted in an earlier Heads of State meeting, then how does the question of M23 become Rwanda’s problem?

“As Heads of State, in a meeting, we asked; M23, the people in there, are they Rwandese or they are Congolese? And DRC said, these are Congolese. End of question...So, if these are Congolese, how does it become a Rwanda problem? How does it become a Kagame problem?,” the Kenyan president told Jeune Afrique.

However, President Ruto's interview cannot be taken in isolation of other grievances that Tshisekedi has held against the regional bloc’s stand on how the crisis in eastern DRC can be resolved.

When DRC formally joined the East African Community, in mid 2022, regional leaders unanimously agreed to help the new member to tackle the security crisis that has prevailed for decades.

The EAC Summit held on July 22, 2022, in Arusha, Tanzania, directed to expeditiously deploy a joint East African Community Regional Force (EACRF) to DRC to restore peace and security. EACRF’s mission was to effect a ceasefire, monitor it and allow political processes to take place to resolve outstanding issues.

Tshisekedi’s expectation was different when he accepted to host EACRF.  He hoped that the regional force would help his weak army to fight and expel the M23 rebels out of his country. When he did not see his plan working, he started to harass the EACRF commander saying that the force had failed its mandate.

While attending an EAC Summit in Bujumbura, in April 2023, Tshisekedi broke with protocol to confront and humiliate the then EACRF Commander, Maj Gen Jeff Nyagah, in the presence of the latter's commander in chief, President Ruto.

Despite the fact that the presence of EACRF in eastern DRC made significant efforts to ensure calm, Tshisekedi refused to extend its mandate and eventually replaced the EAC regional force with a force from the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

The southern African bloc's troops had agreed to, despite EACRF's peaceful effort, militarily engage the M23 rebels.

Ever since Tshisekedi expelled EACRF, he has never been comfortable meeting with the EAC leaders. The EAC member states committed their own resources to help a neighbor who turned out ungrateful.

The advice of the EAC leaders to Tshisekedi has been of engaging in talks with M23 rebels to find a peaceful solution that addresses the root cause of the conflict. Tshisekedi rejected the advice and opted for a full scale war with the rebels.

SADC forces joined hands with DRC forces (FARC) and their coalition comprising European mercenaries, and an armed genocidal terror group from Rwanda known by its acronym, FDLR, whose founders committed the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda.

The Congolese government coalition also has Burundian forces, and several local militias including Wazalendo, all fighting against M23 rebels. 

The presence of SADC forces gave confidence to Tshisekedi that he can end the crisis through military means hence abandoning taking the EAC advice of peaceful negotiations.

Ironically, ever since SADC forces joined the FARDC coalition against M23 rebels, they have registered no military gains worth mentioning. Instead, M23 rebels seized more territory, captured ammunition including armored vehicles and destroyed others.

Hundreds of SADC soldiers have been killed in battle, bringing South African politician Julius Malema’s fears to pass. When SADC troops landed in DRC, the politician warned that, “Cyril Ramaphosa wants to kill our soldiers in DRC," as they are not properly trained, and they’re sent to be killed.

Infact, for SADC forces to join hands with illegal mercenaries and criminal militia groups linked to genocide and other gross human rights violations tainted the image of SADC. 

SADC’s approach to ending the security crisis in DRC by use of force is in contrast with the EAC position that calls for a peaceful settlement of the conflict.

It is difficult to see DRC contributing to the peace, security as well as development of the EAC when Tshisekedi is uncomfortable with the EAC leaders to the extent of boycotting key decision making meetings. 

Tshisekedi cannot have it both ways. He cannot have his cake and eat it too. To belong to EAC and yet be the only one to boycott key meetings regarding the bloc is one thing. He has also rejected the advice by his peers.

Instead of keeping on playing hide and seek within EAC, it would serve Tshisekedi’s interests better to take a bold decision and withdraw from the EAC. Unfortunately, should it come to that, DRC and its people will lose out on the benefits regional integration.