The East African Community (EAC) is set to play a central role in the resolution of Kenyan political impasse.

This was said by the EAC Secretary General, Ambassador Juma Mwapachu in a statement that was released by the regional body’s secretariat last week.

"It is critical that the Kenyan political situation returns to normal without further delay," he said.

The intervention of the EAC in the Kenyan problem is in line with the UN and AU conventions which assign frontline role to regional mechanisms in the prevention, management and resolution of conflicts.

Mwapachu said the Kenyan situation had affected the regional integration process, and was having an impact on the capacity of the EAC to move forward.

Speaking to the British High Commissioner to Tanzania, Philip Parham last week, in Arusha, Tanzania, Mwapachu said EAC would get more deeply involved in the normalisation of the Kenyan situation, alongside the ongoing mediation process brokered by former UN secretary general Kofi Annan.

He commended the mediation process noting that the two were pursuing the solution in a restrained and responsible manner. Mwapachu said that of major interest to the EAC was to put a complete stop to the violence, and other disruptions, especially human rights violations and economic related disruptions.

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