Story by Oleen Ndori, Foreign Desk Editor
AFRICAN Union-brokered summit to discuss the conflict in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is on the cards after the appointment of facilitators at the last joint virtual meeting of SADC and the EAC.
The appointment of facilitators during the March joint SADC-EAC Meeting was a stepping stone towards the African Union-facilitated summit aimed at ending the conflict in the DRC.
One of the facilitators and former President of Nigerian His Excellency Olusegun Obasanjo met with SADC Chairperson President Emmerson Mnangagwa at State House in Harare this Friday to deliberate on the way forward.
“I went to DRC for the first time on October 5 1960 as a young military officer. The problem that was there in 1950 is still there today. After 65 years, it cannot go on. Our leaders have now decided there must be an end to this. There are outsiders who want to help also. And we say, yes, come. We do not mind you helping us, whether from the east or from the west, from the south or from the north. Come and help us. But please, let’s have as many cooks as want to be in this soup that we are making. Let there be a chief chef. And that chief chef must be from our own regional and sub-regional organisation. And then we carry the rest of them along with us. And we believe we can achieve a frequent solution for African problems,” he said.
The crisis in the DRC has left over seven, million people displaced with all regional blocs calling for an end to the conflict.
In March this year, SADC withdrew its mission to the DRC calling for a phased withdrawal of the troops.
Joint meetings between SADC and EAC have re-affirmed commitment to ending the conflict in the DRC.
