By Faridah N Kulumba
Africa-Press – Uganda. The president of the Republic of Uganda H.E Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, The President of South Africa met with his South African counterpart Cyril Ramaphosa in Uganda to regional security and stability, including the situation in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The meeting took place at State House Entebbe this week on the 16th and was attended by Uganda’s Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba and other officers. Decades of conflicts in Eastern DR Congo between myriad rival armed groups over land and resources have killed hundreds of thousands of people and displaced more than 7 million.Fighting in DR Congo renewed in intensity since the M23 rebel group picked up arms again in 2021 after being dormant for nearly a decade. Escalating violence in the DR Congo’s restive northeastern region forced the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to sanction the leaders of six armed groups fighting in the country,
Sanctions
In February this year, the UN committee imposed an arms embargo, travel ban, and asset freeze on two leaders of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), one leader from the Twirwaneho armed group, and one from the National Coalition of the People for the Sovereignty of Congo (CNPSC) rebels. The military spokesperson for the M23 Tutsi-led rebels and a leader with the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), founded by Hutus who fled Rwanda after taking part in the 1994 genocide of more than 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus were also added on the list.
South Africa to DR Congo
South Africa maintains troops in DR Congo which have thwarted M23 rebels’ multiple attempts to seize strategic towns in eastern DRC including Sake and Goma. South Africa was deployed in DR Congo on 15th December 2023, and they have lost four of their soldiers in the conflicts. According to President Ramaphosa’s statement that was released in February, the country is supposed to send 2,900 troops as part of its contribution to the Southern African Development Community (SADC) force deployed to tackle armed groups in Eastern DR Congo. The one-year deployment will cover the period between December 15, 2023, and December 15, 2024, and will cost around 2 billion rand (USD 105.75 million). The 16-member state SADC approved the Eastern Congo mission in May last year to help DRC, the world’s top supplier of cobalt and Africa’s top copper producer, address instability and deteriorating security in its restive eastern region.
Why is Uganda involved in the DR Congo issues
This is not the first time President Museveni has met with another country’s leader to discuss conflicts in the Dr Congo, in February this year he had a meeting with former Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta met in to discuss the regional mandate alongside recent developments in the Eastern DR Congo. The relationship between Uganda and the DR Congo government appears to have been warm since 2021 the two nations signed the Status of Forces Agreement, which has allowed the rebel group in the jungles of Eastern DRC.Uganda first went to DR Congo in 1996 to support rebel groups fighting against the government of former President of Congo Joseph Desire Mobutu Sese Seko claiming that Congolese armed groups allied to his government were a threat to Uganda’s security. After Mobutu was overthrown by his son Laurent Desire Kabira, the new president found himself in conflicts with his former allies, Uganda and Rwanda, whom he accused of supporting a planned coup. Kabira decided to expel all foreign forces including Uganda. In 1999, DR Congo petitioned the International Court of Justice (ICJ) accusing Uganda’s armed forces of destroying properties, lives, and natural resources when it invaded the country in 1998. DR Congo had asked for compensation of USD11bn but the judges dismissed several parts of the claim and decided on a far lower amount.
Museveni’s view on DR Congo crisis
In 2023, President Museveni received a special message from Congolese counterpart, Felix Tshisekedi Tshilombo which was delivered by a delegation led by the DR Congo Senior Minister of Works Alexis Gisaro Muvunyi, Maj. Gen Ntumba Frank Buamunda, the Congolese Special Presidential Adviser on Military Affairs, and Lt. Gen. Rwibasira Obed Rumba, Chief of Staff in charge of Operations. Tshisekedi’s message was requesting Museveni for advice on how to solve the crisis in his country. President Museveni advised Tshisekedi to have a political dialogue with the March 23 Movement (M23) to end the crisis in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). According to Museveni, the M23 movement is a political problem that can be solved by discussion because the rebels are not asking for big demands to end the conflict. In December 2023, the Ugandan army completed the total withdrawal from the war-torn province of North Kivu, eastern DR Congo. This followed the DR Congo government declining to renew the mandate of East African Community Regional Force (EACRF) troops that were in the province under a peacekeeping mission that expired on December 8, 2023.
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