Mgwebi appointed new commander of DRC peacekeeping mission

By

Darell Maurice

The South African General Derrick Mgwebi has been appointed head of MONUSCO, the United Nations’ Stabilisation Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo, taking charge of 20,000 military personnel.

The announcement was made by the UN Secretary General on 29 December confirming that Mgwebi succeeded General Carlos Alberto dos Santos Cruz, whose two year term ended in December.

It should be noted that the South African General “displays national and international military experience of over 35 years,” according to the UN statement.

Derrick Mgwebi, aged 59, led the UN mission in Burundi between 2004 and 2006. He is currently head of the joint operations of the South African Defence Forces, after including Director of Special Forces and one official of the infantry of his country.

As a reminder: MONUSCO, whose mission is mainly focused on the protection of civilian populations, has been present in the DRC for fifteen years. However, the mandate of the peacekeepers has been considerably strengthened over the years. Since 2013, their mission is to neutralize the various national and foreign armed groups that roam the east and are allowed to do this to resort to force offensively.

Darell Maurice

Darell Maurice is a Journalist based in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s capital city Kinshasa and works for Canal7kintv. He also blogs here.