SW News: Kenyan President Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta has appealed to different armed groups in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to bring an end to hostilities by laying down their weapons and working with President Felix Tshisekedi in bolstering peace and stability in the country.

The Kenyan head of state made this appeal in a pre-recorded video during a virtual Inter-Congolese Peace Dialogue hosted by Kenya. His approach emphasized and urged choosing measures that would result in peace, a secure Congo so that the fruits of prosperity can be enjoyed.

Representatives of over 30 armed groups are taking part in the negotiations held in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya. The majority of them have accepted the request of the two Heads of State to lay down their arms. While a few of them have asked for some more time to weigh themselves with the conditions laid down, they have expressed willingness to tread the path of peace and take part in nation-building.

Highlighting the importance of peace and security the Kenyan president said, “The historical call to be our brothers' keepers is a bell that has been tolling and to which Kenya always keeps responding. We will not relent in your pursuit of peace for prosperity. This is why we reached out to you, our brothers, our sisters of the DRC".

Kenyatta thanked his counterpart President Tshisekedi of Congo and the armed groups in the country for taking note of Kenya's solidarity call for the promotion of peace.

Separately, Tshisekedi praised the armed groups for entering into dialogue with his government and urged them to accept the process of disarmament and demobilization.

Kenya itself is battling its own demon in the form of Al-Shabab, an Islamist insurgent group based in Somalia. It began in the early 2000s to establish an Islamic state in the country in the Horn of Africa. This group is capable of carrying out deadly attacks across East Africa, despite suffering setbacks in recent years due to a pan-African military operation.