Uhuru Kenyatta Holds Meeting With UN Envoy Amid Questions Over His Whereabouts

The whereabouts of Kenya’s former president, Uhuru Kenyatta, were hinted at by a United Nations (UN) official who revealed they had a meeting. Huang Xia, the UN Special Envoy for the Great Lakes region, engaged Uhuru in a virtual setting on Monday, September 30....CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE

Huang is expected to brief the United Nations Security Council on the goings-on of the Great Lakes, including the implementation of the 2013 Peace, Security, and Cooperation Framework (PSC-F) for the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

The envoy, perhaps to enrich his presentation, engaged Uhuru, who, in his capacity as the facilitator of the EAC-led Nairobi Peace Process, gave insights on the progress of the process toward peace in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Uhuru was tasked with being the facilitator of the Nairobi Process, which is aimed at stabilising the Eastern DRC in the face of the push and pull between the Kinshasa government and the M23 rebels.

Huang also sought to understand the former president’s thoughts on the possibility of a partnership between the East African Community (EAC) and the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) to achieve peace in the regions.

ICGLR sanctioned the Luanda Process aimed at easing the tensions between Rwanda and the DRC. While the DRC accuses Rwanda of siding with the M23 rebels, Rwanda accuses the DRC of supporting the remnants of the perpetrators of the 1994 genocide.

Huang will brief the Security Council on the progress of the Great Lakes region peace on October 8. “Our exchange focused on the next steps of the Nairobi Process as well as the way forward to ensure a closer coordination between the Nairobi and Luanda Processes,” said Huang.

This is Uhuru’s first official engagement to be publicised of late, as he now seems to prefer a low profile. In recent days, some quarters had questioned the whereabouts of the former president.

But even as he keeps his profile under wraps, Uhuru is still involved in high-level engagements and activities. In September, it emerged that the former president is involved in former prime minister Raila Odinga’s efforts to become the next African Union Commission (AUC) chairperson.

Uhuru is leveraging his networks across Africa to help Raila win the post. Ambassador Elkana Odembo, who is in the top brass of Raila’s campaign secretariat, revealed Uhuru had already deployed his efforts to enhance the chances of the former prime minister in taking home the elusive seat

Odembo said the former president has been reaching out to his former colleagues across the continent to rally behind Raila.

Raila is facing three other candidates; Djibouti’s Foreign Affairs Minister Mahamoud Ali Youssouf, Madagascar’s Foreign Minister Richard Randriamandrato and former Mauritius Foreign Minister Anil Gayan.

The Kenyan candidate will need support either by consensus or at least a two-thirds majority vote by member states represented by their heads…CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ARTICLES>>>