Brian Mayodi
President William Ruto has urged foreign leaders to accept that the DRC’s natural riches are the property of its people.
Speaking at the 20th Extra-Ordinary Summit of EAC Heads of State in Bujumbura, Ruto asserted that the world owed it to the Congo to respect the sovereignty over its natural resources.
“It is time for the world to recognise the obvious: the resources of the DRC belong to the people of the DRC, and that global demand for these resources must enhance their well-being and not inflict misery on them,” he said.
The president emphasised the connection between the industrial revolution in the West and slavery and colonialism in Africa.
He claimed that the West’s propensity for profiting from war and human suffering was a thing of the past.
Ruto also urged leaders of the East African Community to address the current turmoil in the DRC immediately.
As a follow-up to Nairobi-III, he requested that the Nairobi-IV of the Inter-Congolese Consultations be called immediately.
“There is a role for concerted multilateral collective action on this matter and we must not waste this opportunity,” he said.
The host, President Évariste Ndayishimiye of Burundi, presided over the summit.
Presidents Samia Suluhu of Tanzania, Félix Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Paul Kagame of Rwanda, Yoweri Museveni of Uganda, and a delegate of Salva Kiir of South Sudan were there.
