‘We didn’t know M23 would be here’ – Lamola

Lamola

Cape Town – Minister of International Relations Ronald Lamola has denied knowing that M23 rebels would attend the Thabo Mbeki Foundation’s African Peace and Security Dialogue in Magaliesburg, where he was a keynote speaker.

Africa Report reported on Friday that several months after fierce fighting in Goma between M23 rebels and peacekeepers claimed the lives of 14 South African soldiers and numerous rebels, an M23 delegation has arrived in South Africa for peace talks.

Spokesperson Lawrence Kanyuka, making his first trip to the country since the deadly clashes involving his group, the Congo River Alliance/M23, stressed that his mission was one of peace, the report said.

According to The Citizen, the conference drew dignitaries from across the continent, but the DRC government boycotted, and nationals protested outside due to M23’s presence.

M23 spokesperson Lawrence Kanyuka thanked Mbeki for the invitation while criticising the DRC government for declining.

“It is dreadful. Awful. To have a president of a country deny an invitation for peace is really appalling. As a Congolese, I can only apologise to his excellency Thabo Mbeki and his foundation,” the report quoted him as saying while citing SABC News.

Lamola said his department did not screen the guest list but stressed the importance of dialogue in resolving Africa’s conflicts, urging for “African solutions to African problems” and greater beneficiation of the continent’s critical minerals.

“We were not aware that there were members of the M23 rebels. For us, the dialogue is part of information sharing and a way of trying to find solutions to the continent’s political conflicts,” Lamola told City Press.

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