Kabila fails to attend SADC summit

DRC President Laurent-Desire Kabila failed to show up at the 14-nation Southern African Development Community (SADC) summit in Windhoek, Namibia which began on Sunday, news organisations reported. ‘The Namibian’ daily quoted DRC’s Foreign Minister Yerodia Abdoulaye Ndombasi as saying Kabila was “busy”. He also said it was a shame to call the Lusaka accord a ceasefire agreement. “The fire never ceased,” Yerodia said, vowing that his government’s troops would continue to attack the rebels until they backed off to their positions when the agreement was signed a year ago. He also launched a scathing attack on the inter-Congolese dialogue facilitator Ketumile Masire saying “for us, he is finished”. “If he enters here, I go out,” he added. “For him to speak is provocation, he complicates things.” Meanwhile, Zambian President Frederick Chiluba said he believed Kabila “will avail himself of an opportunity that will put things back on track”. Chiluba, who brokered the Lusaka peace accord, added: “If he doesn’t come [to Windhoek], perhaps we will decide I must travel to go and see him, or we make other arrangements for other heads of state. This is a critical question for all of us.”