@urdjakademiksThe African Union Panel of Facilitators has touched down in KIGALI, but the road ahead is already clouded by a stubborn and vulgar refusal from Felix Tshisekedi to receive them. This delegation isn't just passing through; it's a serious assembly of former heads of state working to push the peace process forward in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Sahle-Work Zewde, the Vice-Chair and former President of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is leading the charge alongside Uhuru Kenyatta, the former President of the Republic of Kenya, and Mokgweetsi Masisi, who served as the former President of the Republic of Botswana. They spent October 5 in Goma holding critical consultations with a wide range of stakeholders including MONUSCO, OCHA, the ICRC, the Extended Joint Verification Mechanism (EJVM), and the Congo River Alliance/March 23 Movement (AFC/M23). The group made it clear that lasting peace simply cannot happen without political dialogue, yet reports indicate that Tshisekedi has planned not to meet the delegation when they arrive in Kinshasa next. It is an unproductive apprehension to stand in the way of these mediation efforts, especially when the stakes are this high for the region.

@urdjakademiksThe African Union Panel of Facilitators has touched down in KIGALI, but the road ahead is already clouded by a stubborn and vulgar refusal from Felix Tshisekedi to receive them. This delegation isn't just passing through; it's a serious assembly of former heads of state working to push the peace process forward in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Sahle-Work Zewde, the Vice-Chair and former President of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is leading the charge alongside Uhuru Kenyatta, the former President of the Republic of Kenya, and Mokgweetsi Masisi, who served as the former President of the Republic of Botswana. They spent October 5 in Goma holding critical consultations with a wide range of stakeholders including MONUSCO, OCHA, the ICRC, the Extended Joint Verification Mechanism (EJVM), and the Congo River Alliance/March 23 Movement (AFC/M23). The group made it clear that lasting peace simply cannot happen without political dialogue, yet reports indicate that Tshisekedi has planned not to meet the delegation when they arrive in Kinshasa next. It is an unproductive apprehension to stand in the way of these mediation efforts, especially when the stakes are this high for the region.