The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on Wednesday, September 6 waived Visa requirements for Kenyan citizens travelling to the country.
In a circular on Wednesday, all heads of airlines including Kenya national carrier, DRC’s Ministry of Interior, Security and Customary Affairs were directed to order Kenyan citizens to be exempted from entry visas.
“The Directorate General for Migration brings to your awareness that from 1 September 2023, nationals from the Republic of Kenya are exempt from entry visas to the Democratic Republic of Congo,” the circular read.
The move makes the DR Congo to be the first Country to heed Kenya’s President William Ruto clarion call on abolishing visa requirements.
Earlier, President William Ruto while addressing the African Climate Summit told African Heads of State and global leaders that his government is keen on abolishing visa requirements for African nationals.
“We are having a conversation as Kenyans because it is unfair to ask anybody coming home for visa,” Ruto stated.
During diplomatic meetings, Ruto has been using the opportunity to waive visa requirements for travelers seeking to come to Kenya.President Ruto has so far abolished visa requirements for Senegal, Comoros, Eritrea and Djibouti nationals among others who intend to travel to Kenya.
Additionally, Ruto has further waived visa requirements for Indonesian national after meeting president Joko Widodo at State House, Nairobi.
At the same time, Ruto has asked African Countries to follow suit by removing travel restrictions for Kenyans travelling to their country.
Kenya’s Ministry of Interior through the State Department of Immigration had waived visa requirements for DRC citizens on September 1, 2023.
This followed President William Ruto’s promise on July 29 to remove DRC from Category 2 to Category 1 of the visa regulation.
Additionally, this new policy of lifting visa requirements for DRC is a way of accommodating DRC’s admission as the seventh East African Community member and allowing free movement of people within the member states.
With a population of over 100 million people, DRC has been tagged the riche country in the world with mineral resources making Kenya nationals to explore opportunities for investment and trade,