Defence Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale has pleaded with his Congolese counterpart Jean Pierre Bemba Gombo to extend the East African Community Regional Force (EACRF) troops mandate beyond the September deadline.
This he said will consolidate the gains made by the sacrifice of the force.
Duale who spoke in Goma, also met Kenyan troops in Congo.
He expressed his gratitude for the relative calm in the country but acknowledged there’s an enormous task ahead.
Duale affirmed that, as an anchor state in the region, Kenya continues to promote shared aspirations towards achieving peace, stability and prosperity in our region.
During the substantive engagements, he received a comprehensive brief of the security situation in DRC and the various milestones achieved by EACRF where Kenya alongside other partners deployed troops last year.
To strengthen the bilateral bond, the CS noted that the two countries signed a Defence Cooperation Agreement in April 2021.
This led to the establishment of Kenya Military Assistance Training Team (KMATT) to enhance the military capacity of the Armed Forces of DRC (FARDC) and the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF).
He explained the initial batch of the Infantry Brigade of KMATT deployed to the DRC in February 2023 successfully completed 13 weeks of rigorous training in June setting the stage for the second batch whose selection is underway.
“I implored the troops to enhance the Protection of Civilians, especially women and children who are the most vulnerable and urged the troops to support humanitarian aid,” he said.
Afterwards, the CS visited EACRF headquarters to familiarise himself with the day to day operations of the Force as they work round the clock to protect the civilians in the Eastern part of DRC.
Also present during the tour of duty was the North Kivu Governor Lt Gen Ndima Ngoma Constant, the Vice Chief of the Kenya Defence Forces (VCDF) Lt Gen Jonah Mwangi, EACRF Force Commander Major General Muthuri Kiugu and other senior military officers from the two countries.
