Lack of shared values spells doom for EAC unity

By Charles Mugane Njonjo

Kenya: We are sometimes poor students of the lessons history teaches us. By the time the East African Community (EAC) collapsed in 1977 it had become clear that the political and economic philosophies of its member nations had become unsustainably divergent.

This held back countries like Kenya that had chosen to implement market-led economic policies while Tanzania placed considerably more importance on a state-led socialist model of development. It had also become clear that the ‘Community’ was a club of presidents and not necessarily a genuine community of the peoples of Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. It was thus that a good idea was often undermined by differences between leaders that were utterly irrelevant to their citizenry.

Repeating mistakes

Over the past few years we have seen a renewed drive at regional integration in East Africa. The underlying rationales, for example, of uniting the region’s peoples into a larger market and doing away with the impediments to trade and commerce are entirely laudable. However, we seem determined to make some of the mistakes that brought us to grief in the 1970s.

For East African unity to succeed we need to learn the lessons of our own history but also make an effort to appreciate the kind of painful economic problems the more mature democracies and markets of the European Union is facing even as we speak.

They have been in crisis management mode since the housing market crashed in 2007. The idea of a single currency is particularly premature. Indeed, experience shows that Britain has benefited from remaining outside the Euro and maintaining the Pound with their Queen on it. So too for Kenya. Let us retain our currency with Mzee Kenyatta on it! A referendum on East African unity is urgently required to properly legitimise the project among the people of all the current and proposed member countries.

Failure to do this will mean repeating the mistakes of the past. A community is not a club of presidents or a mere alignment of economic policies. At the end of the day it is a ‘community’ in the real sense of the word, a grand family in the widest sense. Currently, we are rushing head-on into an arrangement between nations and their peoples that have widely differing political postures on a range of fundamental issues.

I remember spending two hard months when the late President Mzee Kenyatta charged us with overseeing the dissolution of the EAC with the then ministers Robert Ouko and Issac Omolo Okero. The process of legally disentangling Kenya from the Community as it was then in the 1970s was painful.

While much has been written and spoken about the reason for its collapse there has been a marked reluctance to acknowledge the profound political contradictions between Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. I can tell you this without equivocation: late Mzee Kenyatta was much relieved to see the end of the EAC. He would be turning in his grave at the direction matters have taken. Why?

Today’s version of the East African Community anticipates the inclusion of nations such as Rwanda, Burundi and South Sudan. Kenya, for example, has certain critical political differences with Rwanda.

While we are a democracy — no matter how imperfect — Rwanda is almost a police state. The democratic freedoms that Kenya enjoys are a result of long struggle by Kenyans. It would be unfortunate to enter into a partnership that is not derived from shared values on issues such as political pluralism, human rights and, say, the involvement of the military in political and civilian affairs generally.

It is a cause for concern, for example, that even after the harsh lessons of the Westgate terror attack last September, we have reportedly gone ahead to create a ‘Nairobi Metropolitan Command’ to help fight terrorism in the capital. The military across Africa and many other parts of the developing world has been shown to engage in police work with disastrous consequences. There are many good lessons we can draw from Rwanda but democracy, human rights, media freedom and the role of the military in civilian affairs are not included.

In similar vein while Kenya passed a constitution three years ago that is highly progressive in terms of protecting the basic rights and freedoms of citizens, the opposite has been taking place in Uganda. The passing of so-called anti-gay legislation there recently is retrogressive. The government has nothing to do in the bedrooms of consenting adults in the 21st century. Implementing such a law would lead to absurdities on a scale unforeseen.

As Pope Francis said, who are we to judge the sexual preferences of people; they should be welcomed, loved and accepted. Similarly, we are faced with the ridiculous situation where while the Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni admits Migingo island is Kenyan, he insists it is in Ugandan waters! The island is ours and that should be made clear quickly.

Political divergence

Personally, I have met many Tanzanians who today are deadset against the Community. They express trepidation, only half in jest, that if they opened up completely their land would be grabbed by hoards of invading Kikuyus and Luos! On a sad note one bears witness to unfolding events in South Sudan. 

The rebellion in the region’s youngest nation is something that should preoccupy all of us in working towards an end to hostilities. However, the nature of that conflict illustrates the nature of the political divergence between the proposed membership of the community.

Finally, we must admit to ourselves here in Kenya too we are faced with serious political challenges that will require time, wisdom and dedication to resolve. We have only just started implementing our new constitution and it is dawning on all of us how much it will cost. However, the greed of leaders undermines the best of intentions.

It would be sad if corruption were to hobble the constitution implementation process. We have already set up an East African Assembly, a Court and other institutions that seem to follow in the Kenyan tradition of forming government bodies and commissions so people can benefit from endless fat salaries, per diems and sitting allowances.

These days it seems most demonstrations and strikes are not about people seeking a better political order; they are not about agitation for peace; they are not about dealing with plagues like tribalism — they are about people wanting more money.  This poisons even the best projects. As long as service to the people remains disconnected from the way we conduct our politics then politics will remain about people fattening themselves — all about shillings and cents and not service to the people of East Africa.

In that spirit it is important to distinguish between the alignment of economic policies in a region to facilitate easier trade and commerce on the one hand; and the creation of a community between countries with vastly differing political realities on the other.

Let us conduct a plebiscite across the region on the principle of unity so that all citizens of member nations can politically legitimise or reject it, but at least emerge with a way forward that is owned by the region’s good people.

The writer is a former Attorney General of Kenya and ex-Minister for Constitutional Affairs and MP for Kikuyu.