AU Commission Boss Faki Ordered Out of DR Congo Crisis Summit: Report
According to media reports, the incident caused a diplomatic embarrassment when Faki, upon realizing the mix-up, refused to return despite being invited back.
Dar es Salaam – The African Union Commission chairman, Moussa Faki, was abruptly asked to leave a closed-door session of the high-stakes East African Community (EAC) and Southern African Development Community (SADC) summit on the DR Congo crisis in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, today.
According to media reports, the incident caused a diplomatic embarrassment when Faki, upon realizing the mix-up, refused to return despite being invited back.
Keep Reading
The summit, which opened with speeches from Kenya’s President William Ruto and Zimbabwe’s Emmerson Mnangagwa—chairs of EAC and SADC, respectively—descended into confusion when the Master of Ceremony instructed Faki to exit just before private deliberations began.
“The Chairperson was asked to leave the room by the MC, and he left,” Kenyan Foreign Policy journalist Mwangi Maina reported, citing a senior diplomatic source at the meeting.
“It is unclear who issued the instruction to the MC to have the Chairperson leave.”
Shortly after, organizers attempted to correct the mistake, sending a message re-inviting Faki to rejoin the session, but he declined.
Mr Faki had been invited in his capacity as the AU Commission Chair and a guarantor of both the Luanda and Nairobi peace processes.
Earlier, he had participated in the summit’s opening ceremony and the traditional family photo alongside regional leaders.
His abrupt exclusion comes amid growing tensions in the region over the escalating conflict in eastern DR Congo.
The summit, aimed at coordinating regional responses, is being attended in person by leaders such as Rwanda’s Paul Kagame and Uganda’s Yoweri Museveni, while DR Congo’s President Félix Tshisekedi is participating virtually.
His Prime Minister, Judith Suminwa, is representing him on the ground. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa is also absent, though his Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola is present, with reports indicating that Ramaphosa is en route.
Burundi President Évariste Ndayishimiye, who has troops fighting in DR Congo, snubbed the summit and instead travelled 11,300km to the US for a prayerbreakfast.
The DR Congo crisis, fueled by the resurgence of the M23 rebel group and strained relations between Kinshasa and Kigali, remains a focal point of the summit.
Mr Faki’s unexpected ejection raises questions about AU’s role in mediating the conflict and whether his absence from the closed-door discussions will affect regional efforts to address the crisis.
