East African Community (EAC) leaders have been urged to refrain from pronouncements that create diplomatic tension and erode trust among East African citizens.
According to Abdul Nasser Barack, a Foreign Policy Analyst at the Center for Policy & Strategic Studies Africa, while the South Sudan government has come out to deny reports that it had ordered Ugandan traders out the country, the under current is still being felt by the foreigners who are continuing to be attacked by the locals.
First to make such a pronouncement was Tanzania, followed by Kenyan president William Ruto who ordered a crackdown on foreigners running small businesses in Kenya, which started on September 7th.
Speaking to KFM, Barack says such statements are breeding protectionism which ultimately undermines the spirit of integration.
He also notes that the timing for these pronouncements in the three countries has been majorly determined by political events rather than diplomacy.
“When you look at those nations and you look at the time they were making those statements, for Tanzania, they were coming from an election. It’s more deflecting because Kenya is going to elections in 2027 in August. In December this year, South Sudan will be going for an election. So when you look at all these pronouncements, they are not driven by regional interests.
by diplomatic interests no they are driven by political interests so now instead of fixing and giving the people what they need they are going for cheap politicking that is attacking fellow east africans yeah yet they are party to that common market protocol, Mr Barack said.
