"The long-term local and regional benefits of peace and stability, as well as strategic Kenyan investments in the Democratic Republic of Congo, outweigh the costs," Nelson Koech, MP for Belgut and chairman of the National Assembly Committee on Defence and Foreign Relations, told the local media. "Through this deployment, Kenya will also secure its vital interests including Kenyan businesses like banks operating in the DRC, numerous Kenyan businesspeople in the country, bilateral trade with the DRC, and utilization of the Mombasa port by the DRC, among others."
"In Somalia's case, the priority was to crush the Al-Shabaab infrastructure to incapacitate their ability to attack Kenya. In DRC, the mandate of the KDF is simple. We move in to facilitate ongoing regional stabilization efforts to create room for dialogue," Koech explained.