President William Ruto on sunday explained why there is tension between Kenya and DRC. The Kenya-DRC diplokatic tension saw the two countries recall their ambassadors back home.
Speaking during the state of the nation discussion that happened in Statehouse on Sunday, the President said that DRC requested an action to be taken against congolese individuals in Kenya who had released statements. According to the President, we are a free speech state and that couldn’t happen.
“DRC wanted to know if we could arrest the people who released the statement but we said we cannot. We only arrest criminals and deal with them but not issuing statement. Statements are issued almost every day against me but I never arrested anyone. That is undemocratic. That is not how Kenya is…we are different.”
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This led to the presumption that Kenya is in support of the DRC Rebel Alliance that was launched. On Friday, Congolese politicians and groups including the M23 rebels who have seized eastern Congo, and Corneille Nangaa, a former Congo election commission chief, launched the Congo River Alliance in Nairobi.
Speaking at the launch, Nangaa, sanctioned by the US for corruption and obstructing the 2018 election, said the alliance would bring together various Congolese armed groups, militias and social and political organizations.
However, DRC complained as to why Kenya and the President is allowing rebels to issue statements in the country without informing the government of the day. This led to Kenya-DRC diplomatic tension that led to the withdrawal of ambassadors with each country recalling their own.
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However, the President said that we are a democratic nation and free speech is one of our pillars of democracy. Therefore, DRCs request to arrest rebels for just issuing a statement couldn’t happen. As it stands, the Kemya-DRC tension continues as both countries hold their ground.