Posted in Press Release
The First Instance Division on 3 November 2015 heard a matter against the Secretary-General of the East African Community for the alleged failure to take action in implementation of the EAC Council of Ministers’ directive to the two Partner States - United Republic of Tanzania and the Republic of Rwanda - to resolve the issue of the Rwandan citizens who were expelled from Tanzania in Kagera region in 2013.
The Applicant (East African Law Society) represented by Prof. Fredrick Sempebwa submitted that the Secretary-General’s failure to comply with the Council’s decision was a breach of the Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community. He further added that since the directive of the Council, the Secretary-General has done nothing to implement the decision which is a fundamental issue of the Treaty particularly Article 71 which provides the functions of the Secretariat.
Prof. Sempebwa again contended that the citizens who were expelled from Tanzania are citizens of a Partner State of the East African Community and therefore, infringes the Treaty because they are entitled to the right of residence and the right of establishment as well as other rights within the Treaty and the Common Market Protocol of the Community. He again said that it was the duty of the Secretary-General to carry out investigations and find out the truth of breach of the Treaty. He also sought remedies if the Court rules in favour of the Applicant.
Dr Anthony Kafumbe, Counsel to the Community, representing the Respondent submitted that, the matter is time barred because it occurred in August 2013, up to the time the case was filed to Court on 8th September 2015 which was beyond the two months time limit to file the case and it should have been filed within the provisions of Article 30(2) of the Treaty. He further stated that if the Secretary-General had failed to take action as alleged still the matter could have been filed to court within the time limit.
He also urged that the decision being contested about is a decision directed to the Partner States, that is the United Republic of Tanzania and the Republic of Rwanda but not directed to the Secretary-General. He again added that in Article 16 of the Treaty, Partner States have an obligation to implement directives of the Council, that so it does not require the Secretary-General once the directive is issued.
Dr Kafumbe said that the Secretary-General had convened meetings in September 2013 and January 2015 for the two Partner States but he is not updated on the progress between the two Partner States. He also emphasised that the matter is still before the Council of Ministers expecting to be deliberated on in the Council of Ministers meeting expected to sit late November 2015.
He therefore said that the Secretary-General as a correspondence has played his role as he was supposed to and he is not the right party to be brought before the Court while there is provision of Article 16, which gives mandate to the Partner States to implement the directives of the Council.
The matter came before a bench of the Judges of the First Instance Division composed of Honourable Lady Justice Monica Mugenyi (Principal Judge), Justice Isaac Lenaola (Deputy Principal Judge), Justice Dr Faustin Ntezilyayo, Justice Fakihi A. Jundu and Justice Audace Ngiye in open Court.
The Court will deliver its judgment on notice.
Posted in Press Release
In order to enhance the level of preparedness of both the Republic of Kenya and the United Republic of Tanzania in response to the possible emerging and re-emerging epidemic and pandemic threats of the Ebola Virus Disease and other communicable diseases, the East African Community Secretariat convened a regional (One Health approach) Table Top and Field Simulation Exercise at the Namanga border which concluded on Friday, 23rd October 2015.
The three-day workshop, which ran from 21st-23rd October 2015, brought together representatives from the EAC Partner States, National Ministries responsible for human health and animal health, the Ministry of EAC Affairs and representatives from border security agencies, immigration and customs officers. Representatives from the East Central and Southern Africa Health Community, Emergency Centre for Transboundary Animal Diseases of the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organisation (EACTAD-UNFAO), U.S. Agency for International Development and the EAC Secretariat were also present.
“There is high possibility for infectious diseases to spread out to many countries across the world if they are not properly controlled”, said Mr. Timothy Wesonga, EAC Senior Livestock and Fisheries Officer. “If an outbreak does happen in any of the East African Partner States, then it can also affect the rest of region and indeed the world. We have seen this in the case of the Ebola outbreak in West Africa which had reached as far as America, Spain, and to other parts of the world”, he said.
The participants also visited the Longido District headquarters, Longido District Hospital and Kajiado County Hospital. The main objective of the field visits was to conduct a situational analysis and to sensitise local authorities in both Longido District in Tanzania and Kajiado County in Kenya on the planned simulation exercises.
The 9th Ordinary Meeting of the EAC Sectoral Council of Ministers of Health which was held in Zanzibar, Tanzania from 14th to 17th April 2014 approved the institutionalisation of the One Health approach in order to prevent and control zoonotic diseases and other events of Public Health concern. All Partner States of the EAC are a hotspot where those drivers are found. Rift Valley Fever, Yellow Fever, Anthrax, Ebola and Marbug outbreaks are a few examples of re-emerging infectious diseases, which have struck a few Partner States of the EAC in the last decade causing public health threats and seriously damaging the economy.
Two field simulation exercises have already been conducted at the Kenya-Uganda border at Busia and the Tanzania-Burundi-Rwanda at Kagera river basin ecosystem (Muyinga) in April 2010 and August 2012 respectively.