Known as the chosen peace broker whenever relations between East African Community (EAC) leaders develop cracks, the president of Angola, Joao Lourenco, will today, swear-in for his second term, extending his towering role in the Great Lakes region. 

At the swearing-in ceremony today in Luanda, President Yoweri Museveni, will be represented by the Minister for ICT and National Guidance, Dr Chris Baryomunsi. 

“I arrived in Luanda, Angola to represent President Museveni at the inauguration ceremony of President Lourenco…we congratulate the Angolans for exercising their democratic rights and the Government of Uganda looks forward to strengthening our bilateral relations,” Baryomunsi said. 

Lourenco was elected President on August 24. 

The ruling party, Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), in power since Angola's independence in 1975, won with 51.17% of the vote against 43.95% for the main opposition party, the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA). 

"MPLA`s victory means a government that assumes its political commitments with courage and responsibility, an executive that is not afraid to break with the powers in place and to make the necessary changes,” Lourenço said shortly after he was declared winner of the polls, which saw the ruling party retain an absolute majority in parliament with 124 seats out of 220.  

Within EAC, a regional bloc of Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Lourenço, who is also the chairperson of the International Conference of Great Lakes Region (ICGLR), has played a key role of chairing peace talks between President Museveni and the President of Rwanda, Paul Kagame, when Rwanda closed its border with Uganda in February 2019. 

A series of face-to-face talks between Museveni and Kagame were held in Luanda under the chairmanship of Lourenco to resolve the impasse.  

This year when tension developed between Rwanda and DRC, the Angola leader again stepped in as the chief mediator.  

Lourenco chaired face-to-face talks between Kagame and President Felix Tshisekedi of DRC.  

The Angolan leader said the talks aimed at reducing the tension between the two East African countries.