KDF soldiers serving under East African Community Regional Force (EACRF) on patrol at Kibati in DR Congo in this picture taken on April 18, 2023.
The Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) says it left the peace mission in war-torn Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to save its image from the complex security situation.
The KDF, which was part of the East African Community Regional Force (EACRF), left the DRC in December 2023 after the expiry and non-renewal of its mandate.
On Thursday, the KDF told the Senate Committee on Defence and Foreign Relations that the peacekeeping mission had been pushed out by a number of actors who did not want peace because they benefited from the massive resources in eastern DRC.
Appearing before the committee alongside Defence Cabinet Secretary Soipan Tuiya, the KDF told senators that the problem in the DRC was leadership, the Congolese people who did not want peace and a number of interested actors.
Vice Chief of Defence Forces Lt-Gen John Omenda told senators that the DRC issue is very complex and the KDF was deployed to DRC to solve the problem but people there did not want a solution.
“We were hounded out yet we did not have any interest in the Congo but only to provide peace. Why die for people who do not want peace?" Lt-Gen Omenda said.
He added: “We had to get out and save our image. We did not want to be involved in murky waters and we pray for them.”
Lt-Gen Omenda told the Isiolo Senator Fatuma Dulo-led committee that there are a lot of players who are benefiting from the massive resources and they don’t want a security solution.
He said the problem in the DRC is the leadership and the Congolese citizens who do not want unity within themselves.
“There were local, regional and international issues. Some nations without Gold or other minerals are exporting large amounts of the resources,” he said in response to a question from Garrisa Senator Abdukadir Haji.
“They get the Gold from the DRC and they do not want peace and security in the Eastern DRC.”
Ms Soipan and Lt-Gen Omenda appeared before the Senate committee meeting whose agenda was to explore areas of collaboration and cooperation with the Ministry of Defence.
Kenya pulled out its last troops which were part of the four-nation EACRF from the war-torn eastern DRC with the last team departing Congo soil on December 21, 2023.
EACRF's then commander Maj-Gen Aphaxard Kiugu announced that the contingents from four countries had sufficiently addressed the conflict and helped to restore partial calm in the region.
The conflict was occasioned by the notorious armed group March 23 Movement (M23) capturing areas bordering Rwanda and Uganda, prompting the East African Community heads of state from Kenya, Burundi, Uganda and South Sudan to approve the deployment of their troops in November 2022.
Kenya's troops were the first to be deployed and managed to calm threats in Goma, the capital of the eastern region of North Kivu, where there was a huge penetration of the M23 rebels.
The Burundi team followed in March 2023 and took positions in Mubambiro and later moved to Kirolirwe, Kitchanga and Mweso.
Later in April 2023, Uganda's troops arrived in Congo's soil and pitched camp at Bunagana and later in Chengerero, Kiwanja and Mabenga.
South Sudan's team was deployed on the same day as Uganda's contingent and joined the KDF who both extended deployments into Tongo and Mulimbi.
EACRF started scaling down its troops from Congo ahead of the December 8, 2023 expiry and non-renewal of its mandate.
The EACRF mission was taken over by the Southern African Development Community (SADC).
The East African troops had the role of protecting civilian lives in their area of operations and denying armed groups the freedom to commit atrocities.
The DRC's peace efforts remain a complex matter with multiple internal and external interests threatening any positive progress.
