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Arusha Fears are mounting here about the likely boycott of tomorrow's (East) Community Leaders' Summit of the East African Community (CAE) by Burundi.
Until last night, Burundian government officials were clearly absent from a series of pre-summit consultations involving the six partner states that began on Sunday.
Diplomatic sources reached by The Citizen suggested that the country could not be represented at the 20th Ordinary Summit of the regional bloc.
EAC summits are normally preceded by the meeting of the Council of Ministers, a powerful political body in the Community, which recommends what leaders should discuss and agree upon. EAC officials confirmed last night that none of the Burundian delegates had joined the representatives of Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda and South Sudan since Sunday, the day before. the beginning of the meetings.
A senior official, however, warned that Burundi could still be part of the summit even if its officials had skipped the preliminary meetings.
"You can not exclude Burundi's participation before the last day. He could send a minister to represent President Pierre Nkurunziza, "he said.
However, another official who requested anonymity suggested that Burundi may not appear after the summit to be held at the Arusha International Conference Center (AICC).
He added that the authorities in Bujumbura had informed the secretariat that they might not be going to Arusha because there would be an important national event in the capital (Bujumbura) on Friday, demanding the presence of high-level political leaders. level.
None of the EAC leaders could be contacted to reject or confirm the rumors circulating here about the possible total absence of an EAC Partner State at the key talks. The two Under-Secretaries-General were seen consulting with officials from partner states and EAC staff to make sure everything was going well.
The ministerial session preceding the summit met yesterday late afternoon at EAC headquarters with information circulating on the likelihood of the absence of a partner state at the summit.
A Tanzanian minister told The Citizen that he had heard about the possible absence of Burundi, but added that it would be too early to conclude that.
Burundi, which joined the CAE in 2007 alongside Rwanda, regularly attended EAC summits although President Nkurunziza has not come in person since 2015.
The only time Bujumbura hosted the summit was in 2011, around the time President Nkurunziza assumed the presidency of the summit.
Bujumbura also hosted routine sessions of the East African Legislative Assembly (Eala), the last of which took place in 2015. Uncertainty about Burundi's participation , despite reliable sources, indicated that President Paul Kagame would be replaced by the new CAE. replacing President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda.
According to the EAC treaty, if a summit member (president of a partner state) does not attend the summit, he can appoint a minister to represent him. The appointed minister has the powers, duties and responsibilities of his respective president to perform his duties in the leadership club.
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