EAC–SADC Virtual Summit: New Hope for Peace in Eastern Congo
African leaders unite under AU to centralize peace efforts in eastern DRC. The EAC–SADC virtual summit launches joint mediation and calls out past failures.
Published:
August 14, 2025 at 6:38:33 AM
Modified:
August 14, 2025 at 6:38:33 AM
The East African Community (EAC) and Southern African Development Community (SADC) convened a virtual summit on Wednesday, August 13, 2025, at the AU offices in Kinshasa. This summit marked a major follow-up to the August 1st Nairobi summit, which officially merged all regional mediation initiatives into one centralized peace mechanism under the African Union.
The virtual summit was a direct result of the Nairobi–Luanda peace roadmap, co-chaired by Kenya’s President William Ruto (EAC Chair) and Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa (SADC Chair), with strong support from the African Union. The goal: to end the persistent crisis in eastern DRC by bringing together regional efforts into a unified African platform.
Participating leaders included President Félix Tshisekedi (DRC), President Hakainde Hichilema (Zambia), President Paul Kagame (Rwanda), President William Ruto (Kenya), and President Mnangagwa (Zimbabwe). Their Vice-Presidents represented Uganda and Burundi, while Angola, Madagascar, and Somalia sent their foreign ministers.
The African Union is now centralizing all inter-regional mediation through a shared framework between EAC and SADC,” said an AU official at the Kinshasa summit site.
A major highlight of the summit was the appointment of a Group of Five Facilitators, with former Botswana President Mokgweetsi Eric Masisi officially joining as a co-facilitator. This team will steer the new African-led peace process in eastern DRC, sidelining foreign-led mediation previously dominated by Qatar and elements close to the Trump administration.
The new African mechanism is intended to deliver peace with African guarantees and regional legitimacy, giving the continent full control over one of its most urgent security crises.
Despite previous troop deployments by EAC and SADC in eastern Congo, both missions failed to stop Rwanda-backed M23 rebels. Observers say these “military embarrassments” should finally prompt African leaders to take a firm stance against Paul Kagame’s covert aggression in Congo.
South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa previously called Rwanda’s army in the DRC “a militia,” openly denouncing their illegal operations.
The summit stopped short of direct condemnation, but calls are growing for the AU to hold Kagame accountable for undermining peace across the region.
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