Questions surround President Ruto s security plans after he reshuffles the top military jobs for the second time in two months, Regarded as sure-footed on politics and diplomacy, President William Samoei Ruto s management of security policy in a troubled region has been prompting questions about where he wants to take Kenya s armed forces. The concerns are prompted by Ruto s latest military reshuffle on 2 May. It confirmed the appointment of Lieutenant General Charles Muriu Kahariri as Commander of the Kenya Defence Force but was accompanied be a slew of other senior military changes – the second reordering of top level securocrats in two months.
Although his country sits on a cornucopia of critical minerals, President Tshisekedi has failed to draw in heavyweight investors
, More deals between Washington and Kinshasa to secure supplies of critical minerals are being negotiated as both sides try to improve relations and avoid regulatory snafus – on both sides. Against this backdrop, Kinshasa s state mining company Gécamines has signed a one-year contract worth $925,000 with Mercury, a K Street lobby shop in Washington DC. It could also add to diplomatic pressure to end the brutal proxy war in mineral-rich eastern Congo.
Ramping up its international role, the African Union is still struggling to respond to the continent s conflicts, Joining the G20 and signing a new cooperation deal on peacekeeping missions with the UN, the African Union is expanding its footprint in the international system. But its summit in Addis Ababa on 17-18 February showcased its political contradictions and its lack of strategic independence. It is far from self-funding and many member states are still in heavy arrears of levies owed to the AU headquarters.
Its abundance of critical minerals encouraged outsiders to ignore election abuses but Congo s governance crisis holds up everything, Félix Tshisekedi s second presidential mandate is assured, and he has politically vanquished his domestic opposition after the 20 December elections. But his rhetoric on the campaign trail has made war more likely in the eastern provinces, at a time when the UN mission is leaving and his administration cannot stop the Teke-Yaka conflict nearer to Kinshasa in the west. Climate change makes life more dangerous for the Congolese – roads have also collapsed in recent weeks in Kananga, the capital of Kasai, because of heavy rain – but the President s attention is elsewhere.
Despite allegations of election fraud, the President s win is being recognised internationally, President Félix Tshisekedi looks set to have a stronger majority in parliament despite widespread opposition anger about the conduct of December s elections.