Amid growing tensions with Rwanda, Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi is counting on Kenya to lead a peace initiative and a regional force that is supposed to be deployed to eastern Congo. For now, however, there are no signs that deployment is imminent.
Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, who has taken the lead on the DRC peace issue, is already bidding farewell as he awaits the election of his successor. The contest pits veteran politician Raila Odinga against Deputy President William Ruto, neither of whom has discussed foreign policy much during their campaigns, and their stance on the deployment remains unclear.
The only time the DRC got a mention on the campaign trail was in February when Ruto, in describing the vast market potential of the country of 90 million people, said it was made up of singers who don’t own any cows. The remarks triggered uproar from his competitors as well as
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