At the instigation of the United States, the presidents of the DRC, Félix Tshisekedi, and Rwanda, Paul Kagame, have just ratified the agreement signed in June and given substance to the regional economic integration framework adopted in early November.

Angolan President João Lourenço, Burundian President Evariste Ndayishimiye, Kenyan President William Ruto, Ugandan Vice President Jessica Alupo, former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, former Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, and other African officials were present as witnesses to this meeting. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, opinions are divided between those who believe that this will not solve the problem and those who believe that these commitments should be given a chance.

“It seems clear to me that President Félix Tshisekedi is not pursuing peace, but rather his third term in office, using all means to ensure American protection. Paul Kagame, for his part, is only defending his country’s economic interests, while Donald Trump is seeking to amass billions in order to preserve his personal financial power and that of the American people, aware that this is his last term in office. America does not want peace in the DRC,” believes Daniel Louis Mpela, an executive member of the opposition political party ECIDE.

Others speak of Congo’s capitulation with the signing of this agreement. This is the case for Christian Mutaba, a Congolese political analyst. “This is not a peace agreement. It is a capitulation disguised as diplomacy. Goma (January 2025) and Bukavu (February 2025) have fallen into the hands of the M23.

Twenty-three years after Sun City and Pretoria, we are seeing the same thing all over again. History is repeating itself, and it is still the Congo that is bleeding,” he says.

Comments on the peace agreement are all over the place, but to sum up the essentials, “Some people are focusing on the Congolese president not opening the document during the photo shoot, the number of people in the delegations, or the gestures and attitudes of the two participating presidents. But in the end, what really matters is the implementation of the agreement. The rest is of little importance.”

These agreements were ratified while fighting between the FARDC and AFC/M23 combatants continued for the fourth consecutive day in several areas of South Kivu, notably in Kaziba, Kamanyola, Lubarika, and Rurambo.

Written by Akilimali Chomachoma