The decision by Burundi to recall four of its nine representatives in the East African Legislative Assembly (Assembly) has stirred controversy with some saying that the move goes against the Treaty establishing the East African Community (EAC).

Early last week, The New Times established that the parliament of Burundi had weeks earlier  informed the EALA Speaker about its intention to cease membership of four members of the Burundi delegation.

The four include Jeremie Ngendakumana, a former member of the ruling National Council for the Defence of Democracy-Defence Forces of Democracy (CNDD-FDD) party, and  among those who in March opposed President Pierre Nkurunziza’s later successful bid for a third term.

Ngendakumana, who was CNDD-FDD party leader from 2007 to 2012, is among some 140 top party members who signed a petition calling on the Burundian President not to run for another term, early this year. He is also among 30 politicians expelled from the party in April.

The other EALA members who have also allegedly fallen out of favour with the political establishment in Bujumbura, are Dr  Martin Nduwimana, Frederic Ngenzebuhoro and Yves Nsabimana.

All the four have been asked to relinguish their EALA seats.

Nduwimana and Ngenzebuhoro were members of the opposition UPRONA political party. Nsabimana is from the opposition FRODEBU Nyakuri party.

As EALA members launched their two-week sitting in Kigali, yesterday, Speaker Daniel Kidega acknowledged he got a letter from Pascal Nyabenda, the Speaker of the Assembly of Burundi informing him that the four "are supposed to lose their seats in the House.”

 "The Assembly has been on recess but I immediately wrote to the concerned members to come to the Office of the Speaker so that we can discuss the matter. I also wrote to the Counsel to the Community (CTC) who has the final legal say on any issue of law related to the East African Community,” Kidega told journalists.

Kidega was last evening scheduled to meet with the four MPs.

"The CTC has just sent me his views on the matter, and I will eventually sit with the people with whom I manage this Assembly, that is the EALA Commission, and come up with a position that I will communicate to the parliament and the Government of the Republic of Burundi,” Kidega said, adding: "But, I must hasten to say that as Speaker of this Assembly, I took an oath to defend and protect the integrity of this House and I will do it to the letter.”

One of the affected lawmakers, Ngenzebuhoro, sits on the EALA Commission, the Assembly’s top decision making committee which manages the affairs of the Assembly and nominates members of other committees, among other things.

What EAC Treaty says

The most pertinent clause of the EAC Treaty regarding this matter is Article 52: Questions as to Membership of the Assembly.

It stipulates that any question that may arise whether any person is an elected member of the Assembly or whether any seat on the Assembly is vacant shall be determined by the institution of the Partner State that determines questions of the election of members of the National Assembly responsible for the election in question.

It also states that the National Assembly of the Partner States shall notify the Speaker of the Assembly of every determination made.

Ngendakumana, who was at the news conference, said "those in charge” of interpreting the Treaty need to consider things regarding how one gets a seat in the Assembly and how one loses the seat and then decide what should be done because what Bujumbura wishes for is contrary to the law.

"What we hear is that they say we lost membership of our party and this is the basis for being removed from the Assembly. But we are not in the Assembly to represent a political party. We are lawmakers of the East African Community,” Ngendakumana said.

"I was in the CDD-FDD political party and I used to lead it but when they noticed that we were not agreeing on some issues, they decided ‘let’s remove this person from the party,’ but this does not mean I cannot be a lawmaker of the Community. But let’s wait, the law will be read and interpreted appropriately to guide on the way forward.”

The quartet reportedly disinclined to travel back home ever since the political tide back home changed.

"I have not gone there for many days due to security concerns,” he added. "You’ve heard people die all the time so we decided to wait. This is not a problem that concerns me alone. People are dying there,” Ngendakumana said.

‘Not worried’

MP Dr Nduwimana, who was last in Rwanda in June as part of the goodwill mission comprising members of EALA’s Standing Committee on Regional Affairs and Conflict Resolution, to assess the status of Burundi refugees as the Assembly moved to seek appropriate intervention, is adamant he will retain his seat until 2017 when the mandate of the current EALA expires.

"My take is very simple,” Dr Nduwimana told The New Times. "We are members of EALA and we are protected by the Treaty and the Treaty is very clear on the conditions of each member and all aspects regarding the start and ending of our term.”

"We are not at all worried about that. We are very much protected. We are not only in EALA but are firm and I think that it was a mistake from our brother from the speakership of the National Assembly of Burundi. Maybe he has been very poorly advised. We can understand but it is a very big mistake. If Burundi has some issues with some parties, they better sort out those issues and not export those problems to the regional assembly.”

Earlier this month, the Committee on Regional Affairs and Conflict Resolution held a meeting in which MPs insisted on giving more attention to the Burundi situation during the Kigali sitting. A crucial EAC Summit initially scheduled for end this month is likely to be postponed to give more time for Tanzania which has just concluded presidential elections to get ready.

Last week, representatives of the Pan African lawyers Union and the East African Civil Society Organization Forum (EACSOF) paid the EALA Speaker a call to present a petition on Burundi to the Assembly.

They petitioned the Assembly to urgently undertake specific  actions within its mandate to contain the situation in Burundi.

Among others, they want EALA to recommend to the Summit of EAC Heads of State that, next year, Burundi should not assume the rotating Chairmanship of the EAC until it resolves the political, human rights and humanitarian crisis in the country.

Last Friday, the 12-nation International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) announced it pulled its headquarters out of Burundi after months of violence to ensure the "safety and security” of its staff. The ICGLR had been based in Burundi since 2007.