Posted in Profiles

Hon. Christophe Bazivamo
Deputy Secretary General

Hon. Christophe Bazivamo is the current EAC Deputy Secretary General in charge of Productive and Social Sectors.

Prior to his appointment as Deputy Secretary General, Hon. Bazivamo was a Member of the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA).  Between 2009 and 2011, Hon. Bazivamo held various Ministerial positions in the Republic of Rwanda, including Minister for Lands, Environment, Forestry, Water and Mines, Minister of Local Government and Minister for Agriculture and Animal Resources among others.

Hon. Bazivamo is an Agricultural Engineer in by profession and holds vast experience as a trainer.

He holds a Masters’ Degree in Social-Economics from the University of Goettingen in Germany.

Hon. Bazivamo worked with a number of NGOs before joining the Public Sector as a Governor and later on as the First Executive Secretary of the Rwandan National Electoral Commission (NEC) from where he was appointed a Minister.

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Dr. Anthony Luyirika Kafumbe
Counsel to the Community

Dr. Anthony Luyirika Kafumbe is the current Counsel to the East African Community. He is also an Ex–officio Member of the East African Legislative Assembly.

Prior to his current appointment he worked as a Principal Legal Officer with the EAC from July 2008; was a lecturer at Makerere University at the Faculty of Law and also served as Senior State Attorney in the Ministry of Justice in Kampala, Uganda.

His current work schedules as the principal legal advisor to the Community pursuant to Article 69 of the Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community (Treaty), involves pursuing legal protection of the Community’s interests at the East African Court of Justice and in Partner States’ Courts of law. He renders legal advice and facilitates the formulation and interpretation of laws for all the organs and institutions of the East African Community. Besides providing legal advice, he facilitates policy organ meetings and conducts legal research on international and national laws on matters relevant to the Community. Consistent with the foregoing, he also performs such other duties as are conferred upon him by the Treaty and the Council of Ministers.

Hon. Dr. Anthony Luyirika Kafumbe, attended Namilyango College in Uganda and now holds an LLB (Hons) (Makerere University, Uganda), DIP.LP (Law Development Centre, Uganda), DIP. W.L (University of Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe), DIP. ESHRW (University of Lund, Sweden), LLM (University of Pretoria, South Africa), MBA (Eastern and Southern African Management Institute, Arusha, Tanzania) and a PhD (University of Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom). His publications include a number of journal articles and a book chapter: Unsatisfactory Aspects of Women’s Rights to Property in Uganda and Proposals for Reforms in Self Determination and Women’s Rights in Muslim Societies (Brandeis University Press, Waltham, Massachusetts, USA, originally published in 2012) edited by Chitra Raghavan and James P.Levine

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Hon. Dr. Peter Mutuku Mathuki
Secretary General

Dr. Peter Mathuki is the Secretary General of the East African Community (EAC). He serves as the Principal Executive Officer of the Community and also as the Secretary to the Summit of the EAC Heads of State. He coordinates the EAC Council of Ministers meetings and also oversees all the Institutions of the EAC.

Dr. Mathuki is an ardent champion of the EAC regional integration. Since his assumption to office, he has provided strategic leadership and facilitation for new dimensions in the EAC Secretariat; through deepening and the expansion of the Community, with the recent admission of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and pursuing peace and security efforts in some troubled parts of the region.

He served as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the East African Business Council (EABC), (2018-2021). He was instrumental in driving and articulating the Private Sector priorities in EAC decision-making processes. Herein, he spearheaded many regional, continental and international high-level public-private dialogues which resulted in the resolution of bottlenecks hindering the growth of intra-EAC trade and investment.

Dr. Mathuki served as a Member of Parliament of the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA), (2012-2017) where he chaired the EALA Committee responsible for Good Governance, and served in the Committees of Accounts and Trade & Investment.

He worked at the European Union (EU) programs for Africa based in Asmara, Eritrea (2010-2012) and prior to that, he served as Director in charge of International Labour Standards (ILO) at the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU-Africa now ITUC-Africa) (2004-2008).

Dr. Mathuki has actively played a pivotal role in overseeing the coming into effect of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and championed the formation of the African Business Council, in a bid to reposition the EAC bloc to reap the benefits availed by the continental market. He was also instrumental in creating several regional platforms critical in the negotiation of the EAC Common Market Protocol and Regional economic issues since 2004 such as the East African Employers Association (EAEA) and the East African Trade Union Confederation (EATUC).

He sits on various boards across the region, including all boards of EAC Institutions. His career in global leadership has seen him establish strong global and private-sector networks including the diaspora community across the world.

Dr. Mathuki holds an MBA and PhD in Strategic Management & Regional Integration from the University of Nairobi, Kenya.

Contacts:
Secretary General
East African Community
EAC Close
Afrika Mashariki Road
P.O. Box 1096
Arusha, United Republic of Tanzania
Tel: +255 (0)27 216 2100
Fax: +255 (0)27 216 2190
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.; This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Twitter: @pmathuki

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Ms Vivienne Yeda Apopo
Director-General, East African Development Bank

Ms Vivienne Yeda Apopo is the current Director General of the East African Development Bank (EADB). She assumed the position in January 2009.

Ms Apopo is an experienced professional banker and international business lawyer with over 20 years practical and comprehensive development banking, finance and business experience in Africa. She has worked in the financial sector developing projects in banking and finance in several African countries and has experience in strategic management, business operations and project management.

She has a long track record and practical experience in devising financial solutions to support programmes and projects in the public and private sectors subject to tight deadlines and budget constraints.

Ms Apopo has negotiated and structured facilities for sovereign borrowers including governments, Central Banks and Regional Economic Communities, and undertaken a number of projects with private sector borrowers.

Prior to her employment at EADB, Ms Apopo worked for the African Development Bank, as the Resident Representative and Country Manager for Zambia. Prior to that, she served as Director of Legal Affairs at the EADB.

In May 2014, Vivienne Yeda Apopo was recognized for her work at EADB, when she was awarded the “African Banker of the Year Award”, by the annual African Banker Awards ceremony. In October 2014, she was named “Business Leader of the Year”, by the Africa-America Institute, in recognition of her contribution to development banking, finance and business in Africa for over 20 years.

Ms Apopo holds Master of Business Administration (MBA) and Master of Laws (LLM) degrees. She has also served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Central Bank of Kenya since March 2011.