FEBRUARY 2025
Kenya and the Democratic
Republic of the Congo
Where Is the Security Partnership?
By Mvemba Phezo Dizolele and Nick Elebe
Introduction
The rapprochement between Kenya and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), which culminated
in the DRC joining the East African Community (EAC) on March 29, 2022, promised several advantages
and benets for the two countries.
i
The DRC’s addition to the EAC more than doubled the area of the
regional economic community, expanding it from the Indian Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean. Not only was
it anticipated that the DRC, a market of more than 100 million people, would provide new opportunities
for Kenyan businesses and investors, but the other EAC members also saw the DRC as a new frontier for
their own businesses. The DRC’s political leadership touted EAC membership as a game changer, not
only economically but also in terms of security, given the protracted conict aecting the DRC’s eastern
provinces, with devastating consequences for the economy and the welfare of its population.
The appointment of former Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta as the EAC’s special envoy to the Great
Lakes Region, coupled with the deployment of the East African Community Regional Force (EACRF), led
by Kenya, to the eastern DRC in November 2022, raised expectations and hopes among the Congolese that
these troops would defeat the rebel armed groups, end the conict, and bring about peace. Kenyatta’s
leadership during Kenya’s chairmanship of the EAC arguably played a pivotal role in bringing the DRC into
the EAC. His commitment to the initiative was seen as a guarantee of Kenya’s sustained engagement.
It did not take long, however, for hope to dissipate. First, tensions between Kenyatta and his successor
William Ruto, driven by domestic politics, reduced the level of support Kenya aorded Kenyatta
i The eld research for this report was conducted in the fall of 2024, when the Rwandan-backed M23 ghters were still outside of Goma. Goma fell
to M23 on January 27, 2025, and the ghters have expanded their operations to South Kivu province and laid siege to the provincial capital city of
Bukavu. These developments would certainly aect the public attitudes and sentiments the authors heard during their eld research and impact
Kenya’s and the EAC’s standing in the DRC.
