The East African Court of Justice (EACJ) sitting in Arusha, Tanzania, on Friday, October 4, postponed the hearing of a case challenging DR Congo's admission to the East African Community (EAC) so as to allow the petitioner additional time to file responses.

Filed by Ugandan national Adam Kyomuhendo in 2020, the case challenges DR Congo’s eligibility to join the EAC, citing human rights violations.

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Kyomuhendo alleges that DR Congo failed to meet some requirements under the Treaty for the establishment of the EAC, mainly those related to human rights.

Specifically, he accuses the country of arbitrarily detaining Ugandan citizens including Samuel William Mugumya, Stephen Mugisha, Aggrey Kamukama, Joseph Kamugisha, Nathan Bright, and 35 others, in poor conditions across various detention facilities, including Ndolo Military Prison.

The case was lodged against the Attorneys General of six EAC partner states: Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan, as well as the Secretary General of the EAC.

It was brought before a bench of three judges of the First Instance Division who include, Justice Yohane Masara the Principal Judge, Richard Muhumuza, and Justice Leonard Gacuko.

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Its hearing was postponed after Kyomuhendo requested more time to respond to written submissions made by some of the defendant governments which filed their responses out of time, leading to the applicant’s failure to file his rejoinder on time before the session.

Lawyers representing the governments, alongside EAC Counsel to the Community Anthony Kafumbe, opposed the delay, arguing that the case has been pending since 2020 and urged the court to exercise its discretion to move the case forward.

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The case was filed to the EACJ on May 4, 2020 before DR Congo joined the EAC as the seventh member of the regional bloc, in March 2022.

The court granted Kyomuhendo two weeks to file his rejoinders and ordered that the matter would be determined based on submissions on record. A date for a judgment will be communicated to the parties, reads a statement from the EACJ.