Felix Tshisekedi could have shot himself in the foot by hastily expelling regional force

The hastily taken decision by the President of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Felix Tshisekedi to expel the East African Regional Forces from the restive eastern part of his country, could come back to bite Tshisekedi hard.

The eastern region of North Kivu has since August been the epicenter of deadly fighting between government troops and March 23^rd Movement (M23) which Felix Tshisekedi’s government allegedly claims it’s backed by neighboring Rwanda.

DRC is a member of the seven-nation East African Community without including recent entrant Somalia, and the earlier act of letting in the regional force demonstrated unity of leaders in the EAC to work in unison to end conflicts.

The setback is that bwana Felix Tshisekedi was thinking indifferent, maybe because of the upcoming election in Kinshasha that could oust him from office, thus playing anti-regional forces sentiments to arouse his political base.

Over the years instability in eastern DRC has been a concern of her neighbors, due to hundreds of militias and foreign fighters roaming the vast region of eastern DRC.

The decision by Felix Tshisekedi to refuse to renew the mandate of the EAC regional forces which ends on December 8^th is baffling as it puts regional security at risk.

The East African region does not need demagogues and self-centered leaders, who only think of staying in power without guaranteeing the security of their citizens and the region.