Nairobi, Nov. 20 -- President Felix Tshisekedi broke the jinx in DR Congo politics by becoming the first president to come to power in a peaceful transition. He is however under no illusion that next year's election is an easy task for a country that has been dogged by political and civil disarray for decades.

Yet he is promising to do everything possible to bring security to the eastern provinces of the country currently hit by violence by both local and foreign actors and the last thing he needs is an escalation of violence and fighting between the government forces and the dominant rebel group M23. He is therefore seeking to exploit all the goodwill to get out of the war, and earn the accolades of having brought peace.

He also faces ...