Press Release

Minister urges UN Agency to pursue all perpetrators of 1994 Genocide in Rwanda

Posted in Press Release

East African Community Headquarters, Arusha, Tanzania, 3rd November, 2018: Tanzania’s Minister for Foreign Affairs and East African Community Cooperation, Amb. Dr. Augustine Mahiga, has urged the UN International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (IRMCT or Mechanism) to continue to track the last fugitives from justice of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda and to ensure the genocide does not happen again.

Amb. Mahiga said it was unfortunate that the genocide happened in Africa, adding that the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, the precursor to the Mechanism, was established in Arusha, Tanzania, to address the injustices occasioned by the genocide and ensure that it is not repeated.

Amb. Mahiga further called on the Mechanism to engage in capacity building in law, prosecution and related areas for national judiciaries and regional courts in Africa.

The Minister said that the Mechanism was a repository of information for all and a centre of excellence from which the world will continue to learn about genocide.

Amb. Mahiga was speaking at the IRMCT Grounds in Lakilaki, Arusha, during the 2nd Arusha International Organizations Open Day.

The Minister under whose docket EAC Affairs falls urged EAC Partner States to deepen cooperation in areas of good governance, human rights, democracy and social justice, adding that all protocols touching on these areas should be revisited and revitalized.

Amb. Mahiga said that issues of human rights were inseparable from the rule of law and democracy, and that this was the essence for the establishment by the African Union of the African Court for Human and Peoples Rights.

He said that there were many yawning gaps with regard to human rights in several African countries, adding that respect for human rights was a value that should be institutionalized, nurtured and passed on to future generations.

The Minister urged the media to actively carry out its role of popularizing and informing the people on what was happening in the society.

He said the government of Tanzania was cognizant of the various challenges facing the many international organizations in Arusha, adding that his Ministry would continue to work closely with them to resolve the outstanding administrative issues.

He described Arusha as the home of critical peace processes that had brought peace and stability to many countries in the region.

Speaking at the event, EAC Secretary General Amb. Liberat Mfumukeko said that the EAC would continue focusing on opening up markets to enhance trade and free movement of persons, improving the business climate to enable the development and competitiveness of the private sector and make the region an attractive investment destination, in order to spur economic growth and generate additional incomes for EAC citizens.

“Going forward, the Community has already mobilized more than US$2.5 billion in funding for various development projects in the Partner States, projects that will be implemented within the next three to five years in health, education, agriculture and other sectors,” said Amb. Mfumukeko.

In his remarks, Mr. Olufemi Elias, the Registrar of IRMCT and the host of the event, said that the diversity of the organizations that make up the international community in Arusha is what inspired international organizations to share a common objective to reinforce their connections with one another and even more importantly with the local community by offering insights into their mandates and functions in the spirit of partnership.

“As a concept, the International Organizations Open Day has generated a lot enthusiasm and excitement within participating organizations as well as the general public. This has inspired us as international organizations to increase interactions in order to bridge the gap between the international organizations and the local community,” said Mr. Olufemi.

-ENDS-

For more information, please contact:

Mr Owora Richard Othieno
Head, Corporate Communications and Public Affairs Department
EAC Secretariat
Arusha, Tanzania
Tel: +255 784 835021
Email: OOthieno [at] eachq.org

About the East African Community Secretariat:

The East African Community (EAC) is a regional intergovernmental organisation of five Partner States, comprising Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda, with its headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania. 

The EAC Secretariat is ISO 9001:2008 Certified

EALA swears in new Ex-Officio Member

Posted in Press Release

East African Legislative Assembly, Arusha, Tanzania: October 31st, 2018:The new Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs and East African Co-operation, United Republic of Tanzania, Hon Dr Damas Ndumbaro, this afternoon took Oath of Allegiance as an Ex-OfficioMember of the Assembly.

Hon Dr Ndumbaro was sworn in by the Clerk to the Assembly at a brief ceremony witnessed by the Speaker and Members of EALA in line with the Rule 5 of the Rules and Procedures of the Assembly. The Rule 5(4) of the Rules of Procedure says in part that: “No Member can sit or participate in the proceedings of the House until the Oath or Affirmation of Allegiance to the Treaty is taken”.

Rule 5(5) specifically states that “when a Member first attends to take his or her seat other than at the first Sitting of a new House, he or she shall be brought to the table by two Members and presented by them to the Speaker who shall then administer the Oath or Affirmation of Allegiance”.

Hon Dr Ndumbaro was ushered in to the House by EALA Members, Hon Simon Mbugua, Hon Pamela Massaay and Hon Dr Ngwaru Maghembe.  EALA Speaker, Rt Hon Ngoga Karoli Martin congratulated Hon Dr Ndumbaro upon his swearing in – as he assumes his ex-officio role in the regional August House.

Hon Dr Ndumbaro was appointed to Cabinet by H.E. John Pombe Joseph Magufuli in September 2018 replacing Hon Dr Susan A. Kolimba who was dropped. The new Deputy Minister will serve in the Foreign Affairs and EAC Co-operation ministry position under Amb Dr Augustine Mahiga.

Prior to the appointment as Deputy Minister for State, East African Affairs, Hon. Dr Ndumbaro was and still is Member of Parliament for Songea Urban Constituency in Ruvuma region, United Republic of Tanzania. Hon Dr Ndumbaro, a lawyer by training is an advocate of the High Court of Tanzania and Zanzibar. He is a registered Arbitrator at the Tanzania Institute of Arbitration.

Between 2016 and 2017, Hon Dr Ndumbaro was Dean of Faulty at the Open University of Tanzania. The new Deputy Minister also served as Senior Legal Counsel, Corporate Secretary and Deputy Managing Director at the Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority (TAZARA). His work career started at the Air Tanzania Holding Corporation where he was Legal Consultant for 3 years (2003-2006).

Hon Dr Ndumbaro holds a Doctor of Philosophy in Law obtained from the Open University of Tanzania, a Masters of Law and a Bachelor of Law, both obtained from the University of Dar es Salaam. ​

- ENDS -

For more information, please contact:

Bobi Odiko
Senior Public Relations Officer
East African Legislative Assembly
Arusha, Tanzania
Tel: +255-27-2508240
Fax: +255-27-2503103
Cell: +255-787-870945, +254-733-718036
Email: BOdiko [at] eachq.org
Web: www.eala.org

 

5th and Final Round of Inter-Burundi Dialogue comes to a Close

Posted in Press Release

East African Community Secretariat, Arusha, Tanzania, 29th October, 2018: The 5th and Final Round of the Inter-Burundi Dialogue bringing together political parties and political actors in the Burundian conflict came to a close today at the Ngurdoto Mountain Lodge in Arusha, Tanzania.

The five-day talks were not attended by the government of Burundi and the ruling CNDD-FDD party but their views were taken in through the Kayanza Roadmap of 2018.

Prior to the talks by the political parties and actors, there had been a three-day session between the Facilitator and the alternative voices in Burundi, namely civil society, women, youth and the media.

Speaking at the closing session of the Dialogue, the Facilitator to the talks, retired Tanzanian President Benjamin William Mkapa, said that he would recommend to the Mediator and the EAC Summit to keep in mind the situation in Burundi and to engage both the Government of Burundi and the opposition to agree on the remaining points of disagreement, so that preparations on the holding of free, fair and credible elections in 2020 could be undertaken.

H.E. Mkapa hailed the participants for their dedication to the Dialogue and for producing a good quality roadmap that he said would be useful in resolving the problem in Burundi.

He further thanked the participants for being able to organise themselves and work in one group irrespective of their political affiliations.

The Facilitator said that this would be the last session he would be presiding over as the EAC Facilitator.

“In this regard, I will submit the roadmap that you have developed, the Kayanza Roadmap 2013 and that of 2018, together with a full report of the Dialogue process to the Mediator and through the Mediator to the EAC Summit for reflection on the way forward,” he said.

President (rtd) Mkapa thanked the Government of Burundi, the ruling party, opposition political parties in Burundi and outside, key political actors, civil society organisations, women, youth, media, religious groups and the international community for participation in and support for the Dialogue that started in 2016.

“Also, I wish to thank the Special Envoys of the International Contact Group for their concerns and interactions. Special thanks go to EAC, the AU, UN, EU and others for their financial support so far,” he said.

 

NOTES TO EDITORS:

The Summit of EAC Heads of State in 2015 appointed Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni as the Mediator in the Burundian conflict. The Summit also appointed retired Tanzanian President Benjamin William Mkapa as the Facilitator to the Burundi Dialogue.

The Kayanza I Roadmap was a UN sponsored initiative that sought to tackle issues surrounding the 2015 general election. It brought together government and other stakeholders including the ruling party and opposition parties.

Kayanza II (2018) Roadmap is largely a roadmap by government and the ruling CNDD-FDD Party towards the 2020 election.

The internal and external opposition groups who not party to Kayanza II roadmap met in Entebbe, Uganda in September 2018 and came up with the Entebbe Roadmap to the 2020 election in Burundi.

It is these documents that the Facilitator wanted the participants in the 5th Dialogue to combine into a common roadmap to the 2020 election that the Facilitator will present to the Summit of EAC Heads of State.

-ENDS-

For more information, please contact:

Mr Owora Richard Othieno
Head, Corporate Communications and Public Affairs Department
EAC Secretariat
Arusha, Tanzania
Tel: +255 784 835021
Email: OOthieno [at] eachq.org

About the East African Community Secretariat:

The East African Community (EAC) is a regional intergovernmental organisation of five Partner States, comprising Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda, with its headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania. 

The EAC Secretariat is ISO 9001:2008 Certified

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Email: eac@eachq.org

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