Can Togo’s mediation still deliver peace in eastern DRC after Tshisekedi’s latest letter to Gnassingbé?

Can a single written message revive a stalled peace process? That is the question hanging over eastern Democratic Republic of Congo after President Félix-Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo dispatched yet another official letter to Togolese leader Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé, the African Union mediator tasked with untangling one of the continent’s most stubborn conflicts.

On Tuesday, 29 September, Gnassingbé received Floribert Anzuluni, the DRC’s minister of regional integration, at a formal audience in Lomé. Anzuluni arrived carrying a written communication from Tshisekedi — a message described as “special” and tied directly to the peace process in eastern DRC, where Gnassingbé is deeply involved as the AU’s chosen mediator.

What Tshisekedi’s envoys told Gnassingbé in Lomé

“We were sent to the President of the Council, Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé, to deliver a special message from the President of the Democratic Republic of Congo,” Anzuluni said after the meeting, confirming that the letter focused on the peace process in the east of the country.

Beyond handing over the written message, the Congolese delegation used the audience to brief the Togolese head of state on progress made by Kinshasa’s authorities on demobilising armed movements — a step they see as essential to consolidating peace in a region that has seen fresh rumours of war since late 2021.

Why Gnassingbé’s mediation matters more than ever

Since April 2025, Gnassingbé has led an African Union mediation mission for resolving the security crisis in eastern DRC and the wider Great Lakes region, taking over from Angolan mediators. His mandate carries enormous expectations: securing a durable ceasefire and achieving long-term stabilisation in a region that has frustrated peacemakers for months.

Those efforts unfold alongside separate diplomatic tracks — one in Doha under Qatari mediation and another in Washington under American auspices — yet the cycle of violence in eastern DRC persists, raising the stakes for Togo’s role.

The question that won’t go away

With each new letter from Kinshasa, the same dilemma resurfaces: can written diplomacy translate into real security for civilians caught in the crossfire? The answer will determine whether Gnassingbé’s AU mission becomes a turning point or just another chapter in a long history of stalled peace initiatives.

By Claire Mvondo — Security and State Policy Expert