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African leaders warn against interference in DRC

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Leaders from Southern Africa and the Great Lakes region have warned against any external interference into the political situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where recent elections are being contested, causing tension.

At a meeting at the African Unions headquarters in Ethiopia, on Thursday, leaders say the DRC should be allowed to solve its political issues through legal means.

South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa and his delegation travelled to Ethiopia for this crucial meeting. Joining them are leaders from neighbouring countries to the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The meeting’s focus has been on the December 30th elections in the DRC and how the results of the ballot are now being contested.

Leaders have pledged to assist the DRC to maintain peace. “This meeting at the appropriate time should be an opportunity for us to exchange views in all responsibility towards the Congolese people and its government and this situation which is very sensitive,” says Chairperson of AU Commission Mahammat Moussa Faki.

 Candidate Fekix Fayulu is using legal means to address complaints that the vote-counting was flawed.

South Africa says the court must be respected. “It has nothing to do with who won who did not win. It has to do with the actual running of the election and we leave everything else to the Constitutional Court, but importantly we are urging everybody to leave everything else to the Constitutional Court especially the international community,” says Minister of International Relations Lindiwe Nonceba Sisulu.

Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame says that Africa must work together and take charge of the affairs of the DRC. He also warned against foreign interference in the matter.

“When we not come together like this to find solutions to our problems, the continent’s problems it is one way of inviting the outsiders , people outside of our continent to meddle and be the ones to get busy with us trying to find solutions for us , so one way of preventing that I thought was to have this meeting.”

The DRC’s President Joseph Kabila, had been invited to this meeting, but chose to remain at home to monitor the situation and instead sent a delegation to represent him.

A report by the United Nations shows that nearly 900 people have been killed in the DRC since December and the African Union is concerned over tensions escalating further.

The date of this meeting is also symbolic, it falls on the 50th anniversary of the assassination of Patrice Lumumba, the DRC’s first legally elected prime minister and acts as a reminder to the African continent, that a combined effort is needed to ensure a peaceful transition of power in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which it has not seen since independence in 1960.

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