Closing of Congo peace talks in Nairobi postponed as rebels storm out

By Andrew Wasike

NAIROBI, Kenya (AA) – The closing ceremony of weeklong East African Community (EAC) led peace talks in Nairobi, Kenya was postponed Monday due to poor planning.

Delegates that include representatives from major rebel groups and survivors of the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) walked out of the meeting minutes after it began over unpaid allowances.

Former Kenyan President and EAC Peace Facilitator Uhuru Kenyatta postponed the closing of the peace talks to Tuesday, strongly reprimanding the organizers of the summit.

“I would like to postpone this meeting and ask that we meet here tomorrow. We know we have enough funds, and I know because I was among the people who sourced the funds to help in bringing peace to the DRC,” Kenyatta said.

“To the organizers: Peace is not something to toy around with. Tomorrow the organizers are to bring the funds that had been rightly allocated to the participants of this process,” he added, vowing that all the issues will be addressed by 10 a.m. Tuesday.

The Inter-Congolese peace talks involved consultations among armed groups in eastern DRC, local community leaders, civil society and other relevant stakeholders, with the aim of finding sustainable solutions to the security situation.