Nairobi — The National Assembly committee on Defense and has recommended the approval of 903 troops from Kenya Defense Forces to be deployed the troubled Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
In its report tabled before the house by the committee Chair Nelson Koech, the committee observed that the deployment of the troops aligned with the country interest economically due to bilateral trade between the two countries.
"Kenya will also be in a position to secure its vital interests including Kenyan businesses like Banks operating in the DRC, numerous Kenyan business people in the DRC, bilateral trade with the DRC, and utilization of the Mombasa port by the DRC among others," the report stated.
The Defense Committee indicated that Kenya had received a lot of goodwill in the quest to restore stability in the nation among the six countries that have deployed their troops to the war torn nation.
With the country not having a shared border with DRC,the locals perceived Kenya to be the neutral arbiter in the ongoing peace stability quest.
"The Kenyan Contingent (KENCON) had a lot of goodwill from residents of Eastern DRC due to the fact that Kenya doesn't share a border with the DRC and therefore had no direct vested interests in the Great Lakes Conflict Ecosystem," the report read.
Defense Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale had requested for approval of the deployment of Kenya Defence Forces to DRC it in the context of the East Africa Community (EAC) Legal framework on Peace and Security.
The Kenya Defense Forces (KDF) operation in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) will cost Sh7.2 billion according to revelation made by the Vice-Chief of Defense Forces Francis Ogolla who was appearing before the National Assembly Defense committee on Monday.
"We are sending troops to the Democratic Republic of Congo for a period of 6 months but in military we plan things for a period of time and thus we have planned for a one year period which will cost us 7.2 billion shillings," said Ogolla.
Taxpayers will have to fund the peace repatriation process in the war torn country as the deployment of forces is anchored on an agreement reached by East Africa Head of States on 8th April, 2022.
According to Ogolla, the African Union (AU) peace Security Council committed to support the implementation of this program and the funding will be done by multilateral organizations.
The National Security Council had on July 7 during the campaigns approved the sending of the security consignment and since the National Assembly had gone on a sina-dae, there was no house to approve the cause.
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Kenya is expected to send the troops to the troubled nation which is faced with a major security challenge in the eastern part.
Armed groups in eastern DRC have stepped up attacks, reviving ancient animosities and unleashing a surge in tension with neighboring Rwanda.
Leaders of the East African Community (EAC) agreed in April to establish a joint force to help restore security in the region.
The Kenyan troops, who will be part of the East African Community (EAC) force were deployed on Wednesday, at a ceremony presided over by President William Ruto and Chief of the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) Robert Kibochi.
"I have had extensive consultations with EAC leaders and we have all agreed that it is our collective responsibility to keep our region and the continent safe. In that extensive consultation, I have come to the conclusion that it is necessary and urgent to make this deployment."
The troops will join a regional force that includes soldiers from Burundi, Uganda and South Sudan.
The African Union officials last week appealed for an end to the growing violence in the DRC, a day after rebels made further progress there and Kinshasa expelled Rwanda's ambassador.
In their statement, the AU officials called for an immediate ceasefire.
