The diplomat who told DP Ruto off
Francine Muyumba (centre) when she called on President Uhuru Kenyatta at State House, Nairobi, in 2016, in her capacity as President of Pan African Youth Union.
What you need to know:
- Congolese Francine Muyumba is currently the President of DRC Senate’s Foreign Relations Committee.
- She recently took Deputy President William Ruto head-on for saying the country is a good market for Kenyan dairy farmers since they do not have a single cow.
Congolese Francine Muyumba is an exemplary youthful leader in the African continent.
Between 2014 and 2019, she was the President of the Pan African Youth Union, the official youth body of the African Union Commission, spearheading youth development activities across Africa.
She resigned in April 2019, upon her election to Senate to represent Haut-Katanga, one of the 21 provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
In a statement following her election on March 15, 2019, she said she would use her new position to foster her country’s diplomatic relations.
She is currently the President of the Senate’s Foreign Relations Committee. Well, she is playing out her role well.
She recently took Deputy President William Ruto head-on for saying the country is a good market for Kenyan dairy farmers since they do not have a single cow.
Dr Ruto has since apologised for the remark saying he regrets “any misunderstanding that may have arisen on account of my speech and take this opportunity to assure the government and the people of DRC of my profound admiration and high regard.”
But this was not without Ms Muyumba playing out diplomacy.
Arrogant statement
“We are very shocked…(at) the contemptuous, disrespectful(and) arrogant remarks made by the Deputy President of Kenya, Dr William Ruto against our country the Democratic Republic of the Congo in particular and as a people of Congo in general. These remarks are unacceptable. We, therefore, call on Dr Ruto to kindly withdraw his statement. Kenyan and Congolese people are a friendly people,” she said in a video message posted on her Twitter account on Wednesday.
“As a region, we need to strengthen regional integration and economic development,” she emphasised.
Soon after DP Ruto’s apology, she tweeted: “There were no any misunderstanding, the Deputy President of Kenya Dr William Ruto made a clear arrogant statement toward DRC, he must be humble and clearly apologise to the DRC in particular and the Congolese people at large.”
