Entebbe, Uganda: President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni Wednesday assumed the chairmanship of the Regional Oversight Mechanism (ROM) for the Peace, Security, and Cooperation (PSC) Framework for the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Great Lakes Region, calling for stronger political will among regional leaders and minimal foreign interference.
The transition occurred during the 12th high-level ROM summit held May 28, at State House Entebbe, where Burundian President Évariste Ndayishimiye handed over the instruments of power to President Museveni, who will steer the regional peace process for the next two years.
In his acceptance speech, President Museveni emphasized the need for African-led solutions and regional ownership in resolving persistent insecurity in eastern DRC and surrounding areas.
“Because we know what the problem is, and it can be solved, but we must have the political will, and foreigners should limit their involvement, because foreigners are the ones who carelessly embolden the mistake,” Museveni said. “Then the mistake makers think that we don’t care about these internal groups. We don’t care about the region. What is important is our support.”
The PSC Framework, established in 2013 under the auspices of the UN, AU, ICGLR, and SADC, was designed to address the root causes of instability in eastern Congo and promote regional cooperation.
Museveni said the key to resolving the regional conflicts lies not in complexity, but in ideological clarity and strategic alignment.
“There’s nothing we don’t know about all these countries: Rwanda, Burundi, Eastern Congo, Tanzania, and Kenya. These are our people. In my opinion, these problems are easy to solve. They are not difficult. What is difficult are the three mistakes: philosophy, ideology, and strategy,” he said.
He also cited historical foreign meddling in African conflicts, tracing today’s instability in the DRC to policies of identity politics and external influence dating back to the regimes of Mobutu Sese Seko and Juvenal Habyarimana.
“The Mobutu army was defeated in Rwanda, and together with Habyarimana, they fled to Goma. We appealed to Mobutu to disarm them. He wouldn’t listen because he thinks the internal forces don’t matter. We, the neighbors, don’t matter. What matters are the foreigners who are supporting them,” Museveni explained.
Outgoing chair President Ndayishimiye congratulated President Museveni on his new role and pledged Burundi’s continued support toward peace efforts in the region.
The high-level summit was attended by heads of state and representatives from PSC Framework signatory countries, including Uganda, Angola, Burundi, Congo-Brazzaville, DRC, Kenya, Rwanda, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, and Zambia.
Also in attendance were representatives from the African Union, United Nations, International Conference on the Great Lakes Region, and international observers from partner institutions.
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