On Congo crisis, Ruto’s banana skin 

Ruto EAC chair

President William Ruto addresses the EAC Heads of State Summit in Arusha. 

Photo credit: Pool

By the time leaders of the East African Community gather at a virtual table on Wednesday to discuss the crisis in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, President William Ruto will probably have known the mood.

As chairman of the East African Community Heads of State Summit, Ruto already knows Kinshasa’s scorn for the bloc – skipping important meetings and its politicians speaking ill of the eight-member community it joined in 2023.