The East African Community has said it welcomed Maj Gen Alphaxard Kiugu, a Kenyan officer who was appointed as new commander of its regional force deployed in eastern DR Congo.

The EAC Secretariat announced it was notified of Gen Kiugu's appointment by the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF). Kiugu replaced Maj Gen Jeff Nyagah, who was "re-assigned" to other national duties, the EAC said.

In an April 29 letter to the EAC secretary general, the KDF said Gen Nyagah "made tremendous progress in stabilizing eastern DR Congo under very difficult conditions."

The Government of the Republic of #Kenya has appointed Major General Alphaxard Kiugu as the new Force Commander of East African Community Regional Force #EACRF.Major General Alphaxard Kiugu replaces Maj Gen Jeff Nyagah who has since been re-assigned other national duties. pic.twitter.com/5fOrodKxZW-- East African Community (@jumuiya) May 1, 2023

As reported earlier, a purportedly leaked resignation letter by Gen Nyagah indicated that he had been forced to step down on April 27 due to 'an aggravated threat' to his safety in DR Congo. He alleged there was "a systematic plan to frustrate efforts" of the regional force.

The EAC and the Kenyan army have since said the purportedly leaked letter was fake.

Since December 2022, the regional force had occupied regions of eastern DR Congo's North Kivu province which were vacated by the M23 rebels, in compliance with the Luanda agreement signed in the Angolan capital in November 2022.

The regional force has troops from Kenya, Uganda, Burundi and South Sudan.

Despite its gains in securing the withdrawal of the M23 rebel group, the regional force has faced mounting pressure from Congolese politicians and civil society, who want it to fight the rebels.