{"id":119944,"date":"2025-08-18T18:10:20","date_gmt":"2025-08-18T18:10:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/index.php\/2025\/08\/18\/mfa-moves-to-calm-kinshasa-over-goma-consul-general-nomination\/"},"modified":"2025-08-18T18:10:20","modified_gmt":"2025-08-18T18:10:20","slug":"mfa-moves-to-calm-kinshasa-over-goma-consul-general-nomination","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/mfa-moves-to-calm-kinshasa-over-goma-consul-general-nomination\/","title":{"rendered":"MFA moves to calm Kinshasa over Goma Consul-General nomination"},"content":{"rendered":"

NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug 18 \u2014 Kenya has moved to clarify the nomination of a Consul-General to Goma, following formal concerns raised by the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), saying the process remains subject to parliamentary approval and subsequent diplomatic clearance.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In a statement issued on Monday, Prime Cabinet Secretary and Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi said the President\u2019s nominations of envoys, including the Goma posting, do not amount to final appointments until Parliament approves them and the host nation grants clearance.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe presidential nomination does not in itself constitute a diplomatic posting,\u201d the ministry clarified while responding to concerns on Judy Kiaria Nkumiri\u2019s nomination to the post. <\/p>\n

\u201cOnce the nominee receives parliamentary approval, Kenya shall formally request for Agr\u00e9ment or acceptance by the applicable host states, including the DRC. In the case of Goma, the process will further require issuance of an Exequatur by the Government of DRC before Kenya\u2019s Consul-General may assume official duties.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kinshasa had earlier accused Nairobi of failing to consult, stressing that under international law, a host nation\u2019s consent is mandatory before any consul can assume office.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe DRC recalls that, according to international law and diplomatic procedures, the appointment of a head of a consular post requires prior agreement from the Congolese authorities and an exequatur from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Democratic Republic of the Congo,\u201d the Congolese Foreign Ministry said in its August 16 protest note.<\/p>\n

\nRuto reassigns Orina to Ireland in Foreign Service shake-up<\/a>\n<\/div>\n

The Congolese government also cautioned against public announcements regarding a consular office in Goma, a conflict hotspot under partial control of M23 rebels, saying such moves risked \u201cthe appearance of legitimizing the ongoing illegal occupation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mudavadi confirmed he had since spoken with his Congolese counterpart, Th\u00e9r\u00e8se Kayikwamba Wagner, to clarify Kenya\u2019s position and reaffirm Nairobi\u2019s respect for diplomatic procedure and DRC\u2019s sovereignty.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe objective of the recent re-alignment in Kenya\u2019s Foreign Service is to optimize performance and enhance service delivery\u2026 It is not driven by adverse geopolitics nor intended to undermine ongoing regional peace efforts or the territorial integrity and sovereignty of any state,\u201d Mudavadi said.<\/p>\n

Kenya and the DRC have shared diplomatic relations since 1963, with Kenya opening a mission in Kinshasa in 1968. <\/p>\n

The DRC has maintained a consulate in Mombasa since September 2023, while Kenya inaugurated its consulate in Goma in March 2022.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug 18 \u2014 Kenya has moved to clarify the nomination of a Consul-General to Goma, following formal concerns raised by the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), saying the process remains subject to parliamentary approval and subsequent diplomatic clearance. In a statement issued on Monday, Prime Cabinet Secretary and Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Musalia […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-119944","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119944","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=119944"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119944\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=119944"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=119944"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=119944"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}