In pictures: Uhuru, Ruto meet ahead of DRC crisis talks

President William Ruto welcomes former President Uhuru Kenyatta for the joint EAC-SADC meeting on DRC peace process at State House, Nairobi. [PCS]

Former President Uhuru Kenyatta is among dignitaries at State House, Nairobi, today for a high-level meeting convened to address the security crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Kenyatta is attending in his capacity as one of five eminent facilitators appointed by the joint summit of EAC and SADC in February 2025 to help broker peace between the DRC government and M23 rebels, who have seized large parts of the mineral-rich eastern region.

Panel of Facilitators for the DRC Peace Process including former President Uhuru Kenyatta arrive at State House, Nairobi pic.twitter.com/hopvjpmRbk — The Standard Digital (@StandardKenya) August 1, 2025

The other AU-appointed peace facilitators include former presidents President Olusegun Obasanjo (Nigeria), South Africa’s Kgalema Motlanthe, the Central African Republic’s Catherine Samba-Panza, and Ethiopia’s Sahle-Work Zewde. 

African Union (AU) Commission chairperson Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, EAC Secretary General Veronica Nduva, former Presidents Catherine Samba-Panza (CAR), Sahle-Work Zewde (Ethiopia), and Eric Kabetswe Masisi (Botswana) are also in attendance.

Ruto received both his predecessor and Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa. 

EAC-SADC Co Chairs Presidents William Ruto and Emmerson Mnangagwa (Zimbabwe) for the EAC-SADC meeting on DRC peace process at State House. Nairobi, on August 1, 2025. [PCS]

He and Mnangagwa are co-chairing the summit as current chairpersons of the East African Community (EAC) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC), respectively.

The EAC-SADC initiative is an Africa-led process aimed at restoring peace and stability in the DRC and complements ongoing mediation efforts by the United States and Qatar.

President Ruto and Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa at State House, Nairobi ahead of joint EAC-SADC meeting on DRC crisis. [PCS]

On June 27, Rwanda and the DRC signed a peace agreement in Washington, DC, to ease tensions and end cross-border hostilities.

The DRC has accused Rwanda of supporting rebel groups and facilitating mineral smuggling from its territory.