Two EALA Members sworn in
EALA yesterday administered the Oath of Allegiance of the EAC Treaty to two new Members as the 2nd Meeting of the 4th Session of the 3rd Assembly commenced.
The Assembly swore in the re-appointed Minister for EAC Affairs in the Republic of Burundi, Hon. Leontine Nzeyimana as an ex-officio Member of the House and Hon. Dr Francois Xavier Kalinda, the new Member from Rwanda.
The Oath of Allegiance to the House was administered by the Clerk of EALA, Kenneth Madete before the EALA Speaker, Rt Hon. Daniel F. Kidega. Both legislators took the oath in accordance with Rule 5(4) of the Rules of Procedure of the Assembly. The Rules of Procedure say 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. Nzeyimana who was recently re-appointed Minister for EAC by President Pierre Nkurunziza following the elections in Republic of Burundi, was ushered into the House by Hon. Emerence Bucumi and Hon. Isabelle Ndahayo. She previously served in the same position.
Hon. Dr Francois Xavier Kalinda was escorted in by Hon. Valerie Nyirahabineza and Hon. Dr Odette Nyiramilimo. Hon. Dr Kalinda was elected by the Parliament of Rwanda to EALA on 15 September 2015, replacing Hon. Celestine Kabahizi who tendered in his resignation from the Assembly in June 2015.
The Legislator garnered 79 votes to beat his rival Pelagie Uwera, who got 12 votes, out of 91 lawmakers of both chambers of Parliament. Dr Kalinda assured Parliament that he would diligently take his expertise to EALA and work with colleagues in a bid to find solutions to the region’s problems.
Prior to his election, Hon. Dr Kalinda was the Dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of Rwanda. Hon. Dr Kalinda, 53, holds a Doctorate of Philosophy degree in Business Law obtained from the University of Strasbourg, France, in 2010. After graduating from the then National University of Rwanda in 1996, he pursued a Master of Law in Intellectual Property Rights at the University of Ottawa, in Canada, completing in 1999.