New immigration law is pro-EAC

In the past week two striking developments happened and have left a smile on my face. One happened here while the other happened outside Rwanda. I will start with the latter. Our brothers in Kenya witnessed the swearing in ceremony of the ultra liberal lawyer, Dr. Willy Mutunga as the country’s first Chief Justice under the new constitution. Dr. Mutunga’s appointment was really a hot story since he is probably the only person at that level on the continent who also wears a shiny earring. True to his reputation, he appeared for his swearing in ceremony not wearing the old and colonial judicial robes and the scary white wig. Instead he wore an ordinary suit together with his deputy. It was actually interesting to see that the whole process of appointing Dr. Mutunga was aired live on Kenyan TVs for all to see. Many have predicted that his appointment is a clear sign that old days are out. There is hope that the judiciary will finally serve the people, and play its role in dealing with corruption cases more seriously. Dr. Mutunga is also a tech savvy fellow and just like our president, you can also find him on Facebook or follow him on Twitter. The bottom line here is that our Kenyan brothers seem to have abandoned the backward tendency of judging one by his appearance (earrings, dreadlocks or tattoos) instead of their capacity to perform. Back here in Rwanda the government released a new immigration law. The new law basically activates the country’s National Migration Policy that was designed to attract skilled labour, promote investment, tourism not forgetting national security. The law that came into effect on 20th June is also aimed at harmonising Rwanda’s laws with the East African Community (EAC) Protocol on free movement of people, labour and services. Such laws are what the region needs and I have always been advocating for this exact kind of thing. Consequently, the law allows citizens of the EAC the right to visit Rwanda for a period of up to six months without a visa. Those living close to the borders even got a better deal. They will be issued with free border passes to facilitate their movements across the border. Those travelling as a group can do so with one document instead of each member having to apply for one. Those travelling under emergency situations have also been catered for with a free document that allows them to travel across the border. More categories for Visas and residence permits have also been introduced. For example, a specific visitor’s pass for EAC nationals valid up to 6 months was introduced. The other sweet thing you may not know is that it is very possible to apply for most of these visas online as well as at Rwanda’s diplomatic missions. Instead of 10 people each applying for a Laissez – Passe at Rwf3000 each (30,000), they will now just apply for one collective document at only Rwf10, 000. And by the way there is also something interesting for those wishing to travel within the CEPGL region. The niceties embedded in this law are quite many and I am not going to exhaust them today. However generally, the fees for most travel documents have not reduced but instead new travel documents have been introduced all aimed at improving the movement of Rwandans and foreigners. What many people may not know is that for some time, our president has been talking about some of the things in this new law only that it had not become operational. Now it is real. The challenge is for the rest of the EAC members to follow suit, and enact EAC friendly laws instead of just talking about it, and then surprising us each time we face an immigration official. I am also happy that these wananchi-friendly laws are coming in place before the often much talked about single tourist visa for the EAC. I have always argued that governments should start with the citizens before they can think of making foreigners comfortable. It’s the logical thing to do in my view. It is also commendable to learn that the Directorate General of Immigration and Emigration has modernised its information systems to the point of even having a Facebook page and a twitter account on top of their official website. Step by step, East Africans are slowly moving towards that day when they are one people with common dreams and aspirations. Better immigration policies are one of the key channels towards that day. ssenyonga@gmail.com