Kenyan President William Ruto has urged the Democratic Republic of Congo to find its own solution to the ongoing tensions in the eastern region of the country rather than falsely blaming and accusing Rwanda of being behind the violence in their territories.
Speaking to French media outlet Jeune Afrique, President Ruto urged the DR Congo and President Felix Tshisekedi to deal with the main root cause of the war in the east perpetrated by the M23 rebel fighters who were of Congolese and not Rwandan origin, as they confirmed during a meeting of heads of state.
“As heads of state, during a meeting, we asked: the M23, are the members of this group Rwandans or Congolese? And the DRC told us: ‘They are Congolese.’ End of the debate. If they are Congolese, how does it become a problem for Rwanda? How does this become a problem for Kagame?” Ruto pressed on the sidelines of the Africa CEO Forum 2024 held on May 16 and 17 in Kigali.
President Ruto went on to add that the security crisis in eastern DRC and the current tensions between Tshisekedi and Kagame needed “a Congolese solution” to be settled.
War in the east has persisted and escalated recently following the resurgence of the M23 fighters who have seized a number of territories in North Kivu Province in their rebellion against Tshisekedi’s regime for its governance of illegalities, indiscriminate and incompetence.