‘From its fruits shall a tree be known’, goes an ancient African proverb, which Jesus may have picked up growing up in Egypt.

In the same vein, African Union (AU) reforms led by President Paul Kagame are best appreciated in the prism of the just concluded elections.

These reforms mark another key milestone in the maturity of our continent, our institutions and our union. Established on 25 May 1963, AU’s predecessor - the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), was the culmination of the struggle of our forefathers to liberate Africa.

It was the materialisation of the 19th century ideological formation of the Pan-African Movement; an ideal to federate people of African origin, scattered on the four corners of the globe, a philosophy to bring all Africans together as one. For this we recall the founders and proponents of the PAM, W.E.B. Du Bois and Marcus Garvey, Black Nationalists of the Americas and the Caribbean.

The Pan African spirit led to a decisive stage in the struggle for independence throughout the continent in the 20th century, and for this we recall late Kwame Nkrumah, Haile Selassie, Gamal Abdel Nasser, Samora Machel and Robert Mugabe, freedom fighters who gave their life to liberate our continent. The story of liberation is captured in this piece.

Like every governance process, the continental body has come a long way. Once an encumbered and inefficient institution, the AU is now swift, transparent and consensual. President Kagame, whose report of reforms was wholly endorsed by the Assembly without any comments, is a man of consensus, which has prevailed lately in our body’s decision making. It is believed that President Kagame organises retreats with fellow heads of state to iron out issues that are to be tabled in the Assembly on the next day, address everyone’s concern so they can appear before the world as a united bloc.

Gone are the days where regional blocs campaigned against each other, when African delegates saw themselves as Francophone against Anglophone, the Monrovia group versus the Casablanca group, with western delegates sent to influence the vote to fit non-African agendas.

An elder once told me that emissaries of the US, France or Britain used to wait in the corridors to give directives to African leaders going into voting sessions. Elections frequently ended in deadlocks and deferred to another date, to give time to Heads of State to seek directives from their overseas benefactors. That too is gone. For possibly the first time, elections of the commission’s executive were conducted with typical consensus.

The reforms of the African Union are coming into fruition, bringing legitimacy, stability and, indeed prestige to the continental institution. The creation of the ‘Troika’, designating the Head of State who shall be the next Chairperson of the Union, working hand in hand with the incumbent and predecessor, enables ample preparation and institutional continuity. The next chairperson is appointed a year in advance; the 2022 AU Chair will be the president of Senegal.

The Bureau has also been expanded to include the Chairperson, three Vice Chairs and the outgoing Chair as Rapporteur. So, even outgoing chairs will now be invited to stay in the leadership to transfer institutional memory to their successors.

There were many first; happy firsts: Not only did the Chairperson of the commission Moussa Faki Mahamat ran unopposed, he was elected for a second term, an unprecedented advent since the creation of the African Union.

And instead of highlighting such a strong vote of confidence in his performance, Mussa Faki Mahamat chose to emphasize the Unity of the continent.

Noteworthy is the increasing presence of women at the helm of the continental body. After Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, the trailblazer and first female chairperson of the commission six years ago, a 50 percent female quota is now mandatory. Commissioners must be gender-balanced to include one man and one woman from each region, and given that the Chairperson was running unopposed, only female candidatures were received for the post of Vice-President.  

Three strong female candidates from East Africa competed, Advocate Hasna Barkat Daoud from Djibouti, Dr. Pamela Mbabazi from Uganda and Dr. Monique Nsanzabaganwa from Rwanda.

I have known Dr. Monique for many years and I had an opportunity to work with Dr. Pamela Mbabazi. All I can say is that Africa had been missing out on its brilliant daughters. That ends now! Obviously, when the Rwandan emerged victorious, her competitors took it gracefully and offered their congratulations and support; another first.

‘We are witnessing the end of an era’, a friend remarked, the Peace and Security Commissioner is not Algerian? I thought they occupied the position for life.’ Far from a jab on Algerians, the commentator was highlighting the fluidity of the new process with no preserves nor favours.

For the purpose of young ones: the African Union Commission (secretariat of the AU) started in Sirte, Libya, the birth village of late Muammar Gadhafi in 2002.  Ivorian Amara Essy served one year as interim and in 2003, upon the creation of the AU, late Malian President Alpha Omar Konare was elected and served one term, then Jean Ping followed and served one term followed by Dlamini Zuma who also served one term. Mussa Faki Mahamat is the first to serve two terms.

The reforms have given a professional approach to the process: Competence scores are assessed by an African consulting firm alongside a regional experts’ committee which filters candidates before their profiles are accepted and subsequently submitted to the Assembly. Although, as a Rwandan I have a bias on the outcome, to quote my politics’ professor, ‘the best elections are the ones that I win’, I must commend a professional process.

Once a bottleneck hindering reforms, the Permanent Representatives Committee (Ambassadors to the AU) has been won over to the reforms. As a result, most have been implemented, including the contentious ones, namely the Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA), the 0.2% levy on eligible imports to finance the African Union, and the electoral process.

Alas! it wasn’t all a bed of roses at the AU last month. President Kagame used firm words to express exasperation at the stalling last lap of his reforms, namely, the Judicial Organs, Pan-African Parliament and the commission’s structures, defining Regional Economic Communities (RECs). I suspect the president was hinting that he would like to get the process over with. With that in mind I believe that by the next AU Summit, we will be hearing of the phasing out of the reform committee as all will have been implemented.

I couldn’t end without congratulating, again, our sister Dr. Nsanzabaganwa Monique. Dear Monique, please bring them the best of Rwanda.

Below, the elected AU Commissioners: