PS Njogu speaks on Kenyan female truck driver held in DRC

Diaspora Affairs Principal Secretary Roseline Njogu now says the government is working to ensure the release of a Kenyan female truck driver kidnapped in DR Congo.

Njogu who was responding to a social media user who had raised concerns over continued silence by the government over the matter noted that necessary action was being undertaken to secure her release.

“We are well seized and appropriate action is being taken,” she wrote.

In a post, a user identified as Juma G had alleged that despite calls to have the government intervene, no action had been taken seven days later.

“Wanza Munyao, a Kenyan citizen and truck driver, was kidnapped on August 27, 2024 and is being held by the FDLR…So far, calls on the Kenyan government to intervene have fallen on deaf ears!,” she said.

Former UDA chairman and Parliamentary Service Commissioner Johnson Muthama had raised a similar concerns urging the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to lead diplomatic efforts to have her freed.

Munyao is said to have been captured by members of the FDRL, Kinshasa’s armed rebel group on August 27.

According to a statement from Alliance Fleuve Congo (AFC), a politico-military movement operating in Eastern DRC, Munyao was abducted at Kiseguro at 12 pm within the Binza grouping.

“AFC draws the attention of both the National and International Community to the ongoing violations of the ceasefire by the coalition forces of the Kinshasa regime, mainly the FARDC, FDLR, Mercenaries, Mai-Mai/Wazalendo Militias, the National Defense Forces of Burundi, SADC Forces and MONUSCO,” the statement reads in part.

AFC is associated with several non-governmental armed groups, including the March 23 Movement/Congolese Revolutionary Army (M23/ARC).

“I am asking Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi who also serves as the Cabinet Secretary for Foreign Affairs, to urgently secure the release of Grace Wanza Munyao,” Muthama said.

AFC also highlighted the broader security issues in the region, including ongoing ceasefire violations and threats to local agriculture due to such kidnappings.

According to the organisation, the same FDRL continues to threaten local agricultural activities through kidnappings and looting, thereby spreading terror and insecurity.

It has, however, expressed its commitment to protecting and defending the rights of its “compatriots” against these terrorist acts.