Two weeks ago, members of the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) begun their session in Kigali, but they virtually failed to carry on with normal plenary business due to a simmering wrangle pertaining to the leadership of the legislative body.

None of the pertinent bills that were supposed to be discussed by the legislators ever came up to the floor, as the bickering between members deepened.

Commenting on the stalemate, yesterday, Edouard Munyamaliza, the president of the Rwanda Civil Society Platform, told Saturday Times that for the Community to be people-centred, there must be a strong and united parliament.

"It is unfortunate that the Assembly appears not that united and this brings about doubt whether it can play the role it should be playing. There could be problems hinged on its rules and procedures but moving forward, let the court now come in and sort this wrangle,” Munyamaliza said.

The wrangles that paralysed the August House stem from the widening rift between Speaker Margaret Zziwa and several members of the Assembly.

The Kigali session was also blighted by complaints over allegations of misconduct of one of the members.

"The lawmakers should also look at the commitment and examples set by the Heads of State to guide their course of action,” Munyamaliza said.

"EALA’s foundation should be built on clear rules and regulations; it is not about individual interests but collective interests. If the House is divided, it won’t even be able to look at issues of citizens.”

The Assembly, among others, failed to debate the EAC Cooperatives Bill, 2014, or to consider motions and questions brought before the House.

The EAC Cooperatives Bill, whose scrutiny was done by the Committee on Agriculture, Tourism and Wildlife, aims to provide a legal framework for cooperative societies in line with strengthening the role of private sector.

MP Judith Pareno (Kenya), the committee acting chairperson, said normal committee business went well throughout and quorum was always full.

The fallout

The deadlock in the plenary stems from a long-standing dispute pitting the majority of the Assembly members against Speaker Zziwa.

The fallout first came to the fore last year during the argument on rotational basis sittings by the regional Assembly.

Subsequently, some members moved to censure the Speaker, but the effort was thwarted at the eleventh hour.

They had accused her of dictatorial tendencies, nepotism and favoritism, intimidation of members and staff, among others, which they say has eroded their confidence and trust in her.

Before coming to Kigali, some had threatened boycott. Once in Kigali, however, they staged what appears to be sabotage.

No plenary sitting lasted more than 15 minutes; at most, as sessions adjourned prematurely.

On Thursday, over 30 MPs held a lengthy informal closed session to consult on a way forward. The Speaker was not invited.

Predicament acknowledged

Members who spoke to Saturday Times admitted that the current state of affairs is undesirable as they think that east Africans are being cheated, and MP Peter Mathuki (Kenya) said they are keen to look for a way forward.

"We are cognizant [of what people in the Community are thinking] and that is why we have agreed to sit down and talk to ourselves – we shall come up with a way forward. We do admit that there is a problem. Members were mindful and concerned of the situation east Africans are going through,” Mathuki said.

The lasting solution, he said, is in the sense that "we must uphold and protect the treaty we swore to when we were getting to the Assembly, and that’s why we are undertaking to sit down and find a solution.”

Mathuki’s message to east Africans is that people must understand that the Assembly and the organs of the community are young and therefore, "these are some of the tipping problems that we are going through as we strengthen the institutions.”

"Ultimately, we’ll come out stronger. I call for patience because we want to strengthen this institution. We don’t want to strengthen individuals but to strengthen this institution which is an important organ of the Community.”

New assembly? 

To come out of the impasse, MP Fred Mukasa Mbidde (Uganda) told this paper that there are only two possible courses of action.

Mbidde said: "Either the Assembly agrees to reconstitute itself into an organ that can do legislative business under the current leadership, or I am going to the East African Court of Justice for a declaration that the third Assembly is paralysed and unable to function.”

Mbidde said the Council of Ministers should prepare an appropriate procedure for the Summit under Article 150 [amendment of the Treaty establishing the EAC] for the dissolution of the third Assembly.

"A new Assembly should be constituted for the performance of the functions thereof under Article 49 [functions of the Assembly] of the Treaty,” Mbidde said.