hadhwanaag
Kenya's President William Ruto has appointed his
predecessor, former President Uhuru Kenyatta, as a peace envoy to the
Democratic Republic of Congo and Ethiopia.
As president, Kenyatta was previously involved in
peace efforts in both countries, which are dealing with resurgent rebels and
ongoing war. While Kenyatta's new role as peace envoy has been welcomed,
analysts say mediation in the DRC and Ethiopia will be no small challenge.
Ruto said Kenyatta accepted the task and will be
working on behalf of Kenya.
Kenneth Ombongi, a senior lecturer at the University
of Nairobi, said continuity is vital in finding a peaceful solution to a
conflict.
"[Kenyatta] comes into it with some level of
continuity which is important for dealing with delicate issues that touch on
peace, reconciliation, and also post-conflict development… that’s extremely
important,” Ombongi said. "He comes with a very clear memory of what has been
going on and what the development has been.”
In April, Kenyatta hosted DRC President Felix
Tshisekedi and some rebel groups operating in the east of the country for peace
talks. East African Community leaders subsequently agreed to deploy regional
troops to the eastern DRC in a bid to restore normalcy in the region.
In November last year, Kenyatta visited Ethiopia to
work on peace efforts and bring together the government and rebel group Tigray
People’s Liberation Front in the country's north.
Professor Chacha Nyaigotti Chacha, an expert in
diplomacy and international relations, said Kenya stands to benefit from the
peace efforts it’s undertaking in the region.
"This is a national, regional and international
assignment and it's important that assignment is undertaken because when these
countries neighboring Kenya in the East Africa Community region, as well as the
Horn region, when they are peaceful, then Kenya is also peaceful and Kenya can,
for example, derive a lot of gains especially as far as trade, communication
and transport are concerned,” Chacha said.
Ombongi said Kenyatta will likely get a cool
reception from countries that didn’t like his foreign policy when he was
president, especially Ethiopia.
"The relationship between Addis Ababa and Nairobi
has been what we describe in archaic language –ish –ish, he said. "So he will
face certain challenges but of course, there is a possibility that his status
as a senior statesman can very easily actually work to his advantage.”
Calls for peace in the DRC and Ethiopia have grown,
but the warring factions have yet to agree on the issues to be discussed or who
will chair the peace process.
Chacha said Kenyatta will deal with rigid warring
sides that are not afraid to walk out of the peace process and continue with
the armed conflict.
"The challenges he will face are going to be
challenges of the groupings in these countries that there is an antagonistic
grouping of some who are belligerent,” he said. "They usually agree to talk but
sometimes they don’t fulfill their commitment to ensuring that they can return
to the peaceful coexistence in their countries."
The U.S. government and the European Union have
welcomed the appointment of Kenyatta and said they are ready to support the
efforts to bring lasting peace to the two countries.
VOA
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