Museveni, Kagame, Ramaphosa discuss DRC

DRC TALKS

ADDIS ABABA - Several African leaders, including President Yoweri Museveni and his Rwandan counterpart, Paul Kagame, on Thursday attended a high level summit in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa to discuss the post-election situation in Democratic Republic of Congo.

The summit was chaired by Rwandan President, Paul Kagame, who doubles as the African Union chairperson.

Kagame and Museveni from the East African Community bloc were joined by 16 other Heads-of State from the Southern African Development Community (SADC), Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and the Great Lakes Region.

African Union officials on Thursday said the leaders convened to, among other things, forge a way forward for the post-DRC election that saw opposition candidate, Felix Tshisekedi, win the hotly contested vote.

Museveni arrived in Ethiopia Thursday evening.

"I arrived in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, this afternoon to attend the Africa Union Heads of State High level Consultation meeting on the situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo," Museveni said Thursday, shortly after touching down at Bole International Airport in Addis Ababa.

The President of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa, also attended the DRC summit.

"The summit will discussed a number of issues and assessed the current political situation in the DRC following the general election," Ramaphosa said.

Martin Fayulu, another opposition leader in the race, has since challenged Tshisekedi's win in court while President Joseph Kabila's anointed candidate, Emmanuel Ramazani Shadary conceded defeat.

Other opposition actors are also rooting for a re-count of the presidential vote in DRC.

To solve the emerging fall-out from the post-election crisis, diplomatic sources say, African Union leaders are looking at a negotiated Government of national unity in the DRC.

On arrival in Ethiopia, Museveni was received by the Ethiopian Minister of Science and Education, Dr. Herut Woldermariam, the Minister of Labour and Social Affairs, Dr. Ergogie Tesfaye and the Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Patrick Mugoya.