By Spy Uganda
The East African Community (EAC) Court has dismissed an appeal by the Government of Burundi challenging the election of Rwanda’s Martin Ngoga as the Speaker of the 4th East African Legislative Assembly (EALA).
In a 4 against 1 ruling, the appeal was dismissed with
costs.
The ruling came after the EAC Court held that the
Appeal was contrary to Art 35 (a) of the Treaty on appeals requiring such to be
based on .
The Burundi
appeal instead was held to have been
based on facts, thereby seeking to ask court to conduct the hearing de
novo.
The Appeal was dismissed with costs to the Intervenor
Hon Mukasa Fred Mbidde and respondent
EAC on
both the 1st instance and appellate court levels.
Court ruled that the Assembly conducted the election
of the Speaker in accordance with the Law .
The East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) is a
sub-organ of the larger East African Community, being the legislative arm of
the Community. Members are sworn into five-year terms.
EALA had its first sitting in Arusha, Tanzania on 29
November 2001. It had been founded the day before. The first Speaker of the
Assembly was Abdulrahman Kinana of Tanzania. The first Assembly, including
members from Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, was dissolved in 2006.
The second Assembly expanded as Rwanda and Burundi
joined the EAC in 2007. Abdirahim Abdi of Kenya was the Speaker of the second
Assembly. (https://www.christophechoo.com/)
Early
this year, EALA Legislators elected a temporary speaker to steer the assembly in
the absence of the substantive speaker Martin Ngoga.
Burundi’s representative Léontine Nzeyimana had been elected
amidst controversy between Rwanda and Burundi over the position of the speaker.
Léontine Nzeyimana had earlier contested against Ngoga, a
process Burundi and Tanzania boycotted culminating into a legal suit at the
East African Court of Appeal.
However, the EAC court ruling that Ngoga
is the rightful EALA Speaker has since thrown the Legislative Assembly into
disarray and political analysts contend that the diplomatic raw between
Rwanda and Burundi could deepen at the assembly following the ruling which
seems to have left Burundi with a bruised ego.
