EALA legislator wonders why Africa seeks peace abroad

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On December 6, a summit of the East African Community (EAC) had been scheduled to take place in Nairobi, Kenya. But it was later called off due to a lack of quorum.

Behind the scenes, a member of the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA), who spoke on condition of anonymity, said many gave all manner of excuses.

Further hypothesising that in the heat of the region’s simmering political tensions, the accused, whom he did not point out, might have lacked the appetite to sit across the same table.

And yet, as the region was still struggling to process the development, in came the December 4, 2026, Washington Peace Accord.  The peace deal, which was brokered by United States (US) President Donald Trump, saw Rwanda’s Paul Kagame and Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) Felix Tshisekedi commit to ending hostilities.

It came off the back of several diplomatic efforts, including the Luanda Roadmap and the Doha Framework for a Comprehensive Peace Agreement, which the two countries signed in June this year.

According to credible reports, a day earlier, fighting had erupted in Kamanyola, South Kivu, between the March 23 Movement and the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC), forcing residents to scamper across the border into Rwanda.

While they welcome the cessation of hostilities between the two member states of the East African Community (EAC), regional political actors say the move has blown open a glaring contradiction.

African solutions for African problems

Especially in relation to the long-touted charade of ‘African solutions for African problems’ by African leaders. A development which seemed to unsettle Uganda’s East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) representative Jacqueline Amongin during a workshop at the Ugandan Parliament on December 5, 2025.

The event bringing together EALA MPs was anchored on democratic governance and election integrity in the region.

“I am a member of the East African Parliament. I have been in this Parliament (Ugandan House) for ten years. I was in the continental parliament (Pan-African Parliament) consecutively. Precedents have been set in a way that, in Africa we don’t believe in our own. We believe conflict resolution can be done by those outside Africa. You know what is trending all over. It is not a secret anymore,” Amongin raised.

“We have an EAC bloc which is very strong, a REC (Regional Economic Community) which is an exemplary REC within the African Union. We have a strong African Union, which brings together all the 54 Heads of State. But you can see that we are only resolving our issues from another continent outside Africa. How are we going to demonstrate to future leaders that democracy can be practised here? Resolutions and conflicts can be harmonised within Africa or East Africa?” she posed.

Short of that, as Americans often say, Amongin said talk is cheap.

Expert opinion

While reaching settlements as a bloc would be prudent, Prof. Mwambutsya Ndebesa, a senior historian at Makerere University, says individualism appears to have gotten the better of the member states.

“We are pretenders who are even pursuing the East African Community. Kenya is negotiating differently with the European Union (EU). Rwanda signed differently from whatever, Tanzania refused at one point through Uganda. By the way, I made that contribution in refusing to sign differently. I have been the chairperson of an organisation called SEATINI-Uganda,” Mwambutsya said.

“And we are the ones, even we had the late Mkapa, we tried to convince him to go and convince Kikwete that we should not sign individually. So, if we go as individuals and they dominate us, whose fault is it? We are not serious people at times,” he wondered.  

On the other hand, Mwambutsya contended that the current political crisis in the region should serve as a wake-up call to EALA to step up its oversight mandate.

“I hear you sometimes quarrelling, you have no money. Now, the summit has failed to meet. What is your comment? Why have they failed to meet? Because of their disagreements, political challenges in their countries. We can’t go on like this,” he said.

He added that it is high time regional leaders also focused on integration as a tool for resolving intra-country conflicts.

“European Union, when it started, it aimed at resolving two problems. One was facilitating economic development and integration. But another was that they should not fight another again. And there has not been a war between European countries since that time, was it 1951? For us, it is not mainly inter-country wars, it is intra-country wars. So, can we have a governance system by whatever name to resolve our country conflicts and let the people live harmoniously,” he said.

Mwambutsya's last response was directed at Kenya's EALA representative Falhada Iman Dekow. 

Falhada had pointed out at the complexities posed by the distinct political systems in a handful of the EAC’s eight member states.

“Somalia has a different way of conducting its political process. Because they are not based on party, they are based on clannism. And my question is what lessons can the East African Community (EAC) draw from the European Union’s political integration journey, both successes and setbacks?” she inquired.