African Liberation Day: Kenyan ambassador reflects on Africa’s gains, challenges and opportunities

 

African Liberation Day: Kenyan ambassador reflects on Africa's gains, challenges and opportunities

Across Africa and in communities worldwide, Africans from all walks of life are gathering today to mark 61 years since the formation of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) in 1963, now known as the African Union (AU). This significant event marked a major step towards African independence and unity.

Celebrated as African Liberation Day, or Africa Day, the annual May 25th festivities signify the progress made by African nations in throwing off colonial rule and achieving self-determination.

In Rwanda, the celebrations are being spearheaded by the Pan African Movement Rwanda Chapter with the aim of taking stock of the continent's gains, challenges, and future prospects.

Kenya's High Commissioner to Rwanda, Janet Mwawasi Oben, is among the envoys in the country who have been actively involved in the organization's events leading to the celebrations today, including a soccer tournament organized to celebrate Africa Liberation Day at Kicukiro on Sunday, May 19.

'M23 is a Congolese problem' - President Ruto weighs in on Rwanda-DRC conflict.

Kenyan President William Ruto says that the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) holds the key to resolving the conflict in the eastern part of the country, where the Congolese army is fighting the M23 militia, whose members accuse the government of marginalization and persecution.

In a recent interview with the French newspaper Jeune Afrique, the Kenyan Head of State weighed in on the conflict that has, in recent years, negatively impacted the relations between the DRC and Rwanda due to claims that the latter backs M23 rebels.

President Ruto maintained that the conflict was not about Rwanda and the DRC or about Presidents Felix Tshisekedi and Paul Kagame but about Congolese citizens and their government.

“As heads of state, in a meeting, we asked M23 if the people in there are Rwandese or Congolese? And the DRC said these are Congolese, end of question. So if these are Congolese, how does it become a Rwanda problem, how does it become a Kagame problem? Since it is settled that M23 are Congolese, it's a Congolese problem, and we need a Congolese solution,” President Ruto stated.

He emphasized the need for Tshisekedi's administration to embrace dialogue with M23 to resolve the underlying issues.

This, he said, includes involving M23 groups in the Nairobi and Luanda peace processes. He insisted that the military is not a solution to the conflict in eastern DRC.

President Kagame assures security for migrants from the UK

President of the Republic of Rwanda, Paul Kagame, has dismissed concerns regarding whether Rwanda will provide adequate security for migrants coming from the United Kingdom as baseless.

In a discussion organized by the Global Security Forum on May 21, 2024, President Kagame stated that the international community recognizes Rwanda's safety, having successfully maintained it for Rwandans.

He said, "The UK knows it, Europe knows it, America knows it, Rwanda is safe. Being safe does not depend on whether someone likes us or not. It is something we have determined for ourselves and provided for our country."

The President continued, "What is lacking is the level of development our people have reached where we want, and it also concerns other people coming here; whether they are migrants or others, wherever they come from and whether they are treated as they wish or as we wish.”

President Kagame explained that since 2018, Rwanda has been temporarily hosting migrants, highlighting that the UK based its request for cooperation on how Rwanda has managed this issue.

"Since 2018, hundreds of thousands of people have been brought by planes from Libya. I think that's what the UK saw, that there is a good way to solve this problem that has been a burden for them and for all of Europe. They asked us if we could expand this program to address the problem they have, and we agreed because we already had a good relationship and development cooperation," he stated.

The President elaborated that Rwanda and the UK have discussed how to implement this program, with Rwanda expressing the challenge of capacity to care for them, which led to the addition of a provision to support Rwanda in its development.

He added, "The debates that have arisen in the UK, Europe, or elsewhere, whether Rwanda is safe, are baseless for us. We know who we are, we know what we have, we know we can provide security and governance to everyone , what we lack are the means to help these people progress. When people debate whether Rwanda is safe, it becomes politicized."

The program between Rwanda and the UK is based on an

 agreement signed by both countries' governments in April 2022, updated in December 2023. It is expected that, barring any changes, the first group of migrants will be sent to Kigali in July 2024.

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