Former President Uhuru reads Riot Act to organisers of DRC peace talks
The facilitator of the East Africa Community (EAC)-led Nairobi peace process, former President Uhuru Kenyatta has read the riot act to the organisers of the meeting.
This is after it emerged that participants would receive less allowances than had been planned before they left their homes in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
A visibly angry Mr Kenyatta called out the organisers without mention of their names for delaying the closure of the meeting which he extended to Tuesday to allow room for the funds to be availed as planned prior.
"My intention that we finish the meeting well and I know that is what you also want. So I ask that we postpone today's meeting to tomorrow and I assure you that the planners of this event do not assume that peace is something to toy around with. Be here tomorrow, if not, I shall stand and ask the whole world to deny them funds if they cannot plan things effectively," he said.
He added, "Let us meet again at 10am and attend to the issues that have cropped up before closing the meeting. Maybe they (organisers) have done this thinking that my influence waned but they shall realise that it hasn't."
He warned the organisers that failure to release the funds as earlier planned will have consequences.
"Let them sleep wherever they are but bring the funds that had been rightly allocated to the participants of this process tomorrow. I know we have adequate funds because I was amongst those that were sourcing for the funds," he said.
The week-long event began Monday last week bringing together over 50 armed groups, victims of atrocities taking place in Eastern DRC, civil society, special interest grouos and government officials in Nairobi.
On Wednesday, the participants engaged the facilitator in focus group discussions where they each shared their grievances and proposals for a peaceful DRC.
The meeting was to end on Saturday but was pushed to Monday to allow room for adequate discussions into the matters arising.
The outcome of the discussions will inform the speed at which the East Africa Community Regional Force (EACRF) will engage the armed groups fighting in Eastern Congo in combat.
