President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has assumed the chairmanship of the Regional Oversight Mechanism (ROM) of the Peace, Security, and Cooperation (PSC) Framework for the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Great Lakes Region.
The handover took place during the 12th high-level ROM summit at State House Entebbe, where President Évariste Ndayishimiye of Burundi officially passed on the leadership.
In his address, President Museveni emphasized the need for regional political will and reduced foreign interference in resolving the conflicts affecting the region. “We know what the problem is, and it can be solved.
The PSC Framework, established in 2013 by the UN, African Union, ICGLR, and SADC, promotes a collective regional approach to tackling instability in eastern DRC. Museveni noted that the region understands its challenges and has the capacity to resolve them, stressing those issues of philosophy, ideology, and strategy is at the heart of the problem.
President Museveni attributed the prolonged instability in eastern DRC to identity-based politics, often fueled by foreign actors since the days of Mobutu Sese Seko and Juvenal Habyarimana. He cited historical examples where regional leaders’ advice was ignored in favor of foreign influence, which has continued to undermine local solutions.
The summit was attended by heads of state and representatives from the 13 signatory countries of the PSC Framework, along with guarantor institutions—the African Union, United Nations, and ICGLR—and regional partners. President Ndayishimiye congratulated Museveni and pledged full support during his tenure as chair of the ROM.
