The East African Community (EAC) Heads of State have agreed that President Félix Tshisekedi must engage in direct dialogue with his armed opponents as part of efforts to resolve the crisis in eastern DRC. They also called for an urgent summit with SADC to coordinate a lasting solution to the escalating conflict.
However, President Paul Kagame openly questioned whether the EAC had the capacity or willingness to resolve the situation, criticizing the bloc’s lack of unified action. Speaking at the 24th Extra-Ordinary Summit of EAC Heads of State, Kagame challenged his counterparts on whether they had truly been paying attention to the worsening crisis.
“Let me start with some questions that might help guide our discussions. When all of this started, did none of us see it? But let me speak for myself: I saw everything from the beginning.”
He pointed out that while leaders acknowledged the gravity of the crisis, no real effort had been made to take meaningful action. Kagame questioned: “What did you do when this problem started? What are you doing now? And what do you plan to do, given how things are now?”
The Rwandan leader dismissed the EAC’s effectiveness, asking whether it even served a purpose if it could not resolve a crisis involving one of its own. “Is the EAC even real? Does it serve any purpose if we claim to exist as a regional bloc but cannot come together to resolve a crisis?” He noted the irony of Tshisekedi rejecting EAC-led mediation in favor of SADC, only for the SADC process to stall. “SADC got involved, but even now, the process is moving at a snail’s pace,” Kagame said.
He warned against diplomatic niceties with no real impact. “Even if all of us were doing everything right, nothing is going to come out of it until those mainly concerned are also part of it, participating and contributing to the success of the process through which they are getting the support.”
His frustration was further evident as he referenced recent cross-border attacks from DRC into Rwanda. “The other day, two or three days ago, we lost people, there was a lot of shelling from eastern Congo, from Goma, killed a dozen people and injured hundreds. We will definitely take care of that, there is no question about it.”
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni reinforced the need for dialogue. “We agreed that Tshisekedi should engage in dialogue with his armed opponents. Additionally, the EAC should convene an urgent summit with SADC to seek a lasting solution to this situation.”
Meanwhile, Kagame’s remarks exposed the dysfunction within the EAC, where member states claim to be working together yet lack a shared vision. “I think that even among ourselves in this region, we likely have different views on the nature of the problem, and that has prevented us from sitting down to either agree on a way forward or acknowledge our disagreements.”
Rather than a united approach, each country is acting independently, guided by its own interpretation of the crisis and its own interests. Kagame noted that some regional players benefit from instability in DRC, making them reluctant to resolve the situation.
Tshisekedi’s absence from the summit further reinforced Kagame’s argument that those most affected by the crisis are not actively participating in finding a solution.
The summit highlighted deep divisions within EAC leadership, the ineffectiveness of mediation efforts, and the complexity of the DRC conflict. Kagame’s sharp remarks signaled growing impatience with regional and international players who continue to ignore the realities on the ground.
