Claims that Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda have isolated Tanzania and Burundi on matters of the East African Community were yesterday brought before the East African Court of Justice (EACJ).
The matter has been taken by three East African nationals, who filed a petition against the actions of the three EAC partner states of holding ‘illegal’ regional trading bloc meetings in absence of Tanzania and Burundi.
The nationals include Ally Msangi, David Mataka and John Adam Bwenda, who lodged the petition through senior advocate, Jimmy Obed of the Dar es Salaam-based Jimmy Obed Advocates Company.
The three citizens are asking the regional court to issue a ‘stop-order’ on matters that were agreed among Uganda, Kenya and Rwanda in their meetings.
In their petition they said the agreements by the three states were against the protocol governing the formation of EAC.
In another note, the petitioners asked EACJ to warn the three partner states against jeopardizing the trading bloc.
One of the petitioners, Jimmy Obeid said the petition was meant to press the court to issue a statement in an effort to ensure the EAC protocol was respected by all partner states.
Obeid pointed fingers at Rwanda, Uganda and Kenya for breaching the EAC Protocol by holding a meeting between June 24 and 25, this year in Entebbe, Uganda.
Other meetings were held on August 28, this year in Mombasa, Kenya and another one in Kigali, Rwanda.
“Those meetings were against the EAC protocol, as the three states were discussing some of the issues which are within the EAC framework,” the petitioner said, citing some of the sections which have been violated as 71(F), 71(D) and article 12; 3 (3)c, article 6 (a), (b), (d) and (f) and article 8 (1) c and 8 (3)c.
“As citizens of East Africa we, have the right to ask the court to work on our petitions and issue an order that will inhibit implementation of what agreed in those ‘illegal’ meetings by those three states.”
EAC Secretary General, Attorneys General of Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda are required to respond to the petitions.
Source:The Guardian
UM– USEKE.RW
