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Ruto push for truce amid regional diplomatic tensions
01st August, 2025 03:57 PM
Amid a turbulent regional backdrop marked by growing tensions between Kenya and Tanzania, and South Sudan’s formal withdrawal from the Tumaini peace process, President William Ruto has made a strong call for renewed diplomatic engagement and unity in the face of escalating insecurity and fractured peace efforts in the Great Lakes region.
Speaking on Friday, August 1, 2025, at State House, Nairobi, during a high-level joint East African Community (EAC) and Southern African Development Community (SADC) meeting, Ruto called on regional leaders and facilitators to commit to a unified, Africa-led peace strategy focused on the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
“This joint meeting is about bringing our panel of facilitators into a coherent and focused mandate to help chart a peaceful path for the eastern DRC. This region has suffered for decades. Our people deserve lasting peace, and that can only be achieved through dialogue, not division,” Ruto said.
“Let me sincerely appreciate your excellencies for accepting the responsibility of attending this joint meeting.”
Tumaini peace process collapses
Ruto’s appeal comes just hours after South Sudan formally declared the Tumaini peace process, previously seen as a key component in easing the DRC’s eastern conflict, “dead.”
The EAC Secretariat confirmed that Juba has recalled its envoys, citing a lack of coordination and what it described as process fatigue.
The collapse of Tumaini now places added pressure on the newly merged Nairobi-Luanda peace track, a consolidation of African Union-led and EAC-led initiatives. Ruto emphasised the importance of this merger.
“We agreed through the African Union summit that the Nairobi and Luanda tracks must converge into one Africa-led, comprehensive peace process. We need a political solution to these decades-long conflicts,” he said.
Meanwhile, diplomatic relations between Kenya and Tanzania remain strained. Tensions have reportedly intensified over trade disputes, immigration controls, and differing positions on security cooperation in the DRC.
Still, President Ruto sought to ease tensions and extend an olive branch.
Regional roadmap for peace
The meeting included senior envoys and peace facilitators drawn from the EAC, SADC, and the African Union. According to Ruto, their role is to guide the development of a peace framework, including formal terms of reference and a mediation roadmap.
“These documents will guide us forward as we formally launch the interventions by our panel of facilitators. Their wisdom, experience, and leadership are vital in navigating the complex conflict that has plagued eastern DRC,” he remarked.
President Ruto also lauded recent international diplomatic engagements, particularly from Washington and Doha, which he said have contributed to structured commitments by the primary parties in the DRC conflict.
“We are encouraged by the extra-regional diplomatic momentum. The milestones from the Washington and Doha initiatives should inspire our continental processes,” he said.
Ruto confirmed that EAC-SADC working teams will soon finalise proposals on inclusive mediation design and cross-border cooperation strategies. A formal launch of the unified peace initiative is expected in the coming weeks, depending on consensus within the African Union and alignment from all parties.
The president reiterated Kenya’s commitment to diplomacy and peace-building.
“It is our collective duty, guided by African solutions to African problems, to silence the guns in our region. Our people, especially in eastern DRC, have waited long enough,” he asserted.
