Burundi President Evariste Ndayishimiye takes over EAC Chairmanship from Kenya

Burundi President Evariste Ndayishimiye has taken over the leadership of the East African Community (EAC) from Kenya’s Uhuru Kenyatta.

Ndayishimiye, the new Chairperson will serve in the role for one year, before relinquishing it to another Head of State.

“Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta, who took over Chairmanship on February 27, 2021, relinquishes the bloc’s leadership to Évariste Ndayishimiye, President of the Republic of Burundi in Arusha, Tanzania,” the EAC said.

The President of the Republic of Burundi 🇧🇮 H.E General Évariste Ndayishimiye @GeneralNeva takes over as the Chair of the #EAC.

Republic of South Sudan to serve as rapporteur.@pmathuki #EACSUMMIT2022 pic.twitter.com/cjTirSaqGi

— East African Community (@jumuiya) July 22, 2022

South Sudan will serve as the rapporteur- to report on jumuiya’s proceedings of its meetings.

Kenyatta has also been appointed as the summit’s representative in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) peace process.

“He will oversee consultations at all levels and report to the EAC Head of States Summit,” a joint communique signed by EAC Heads of State indicated. 

EAC Heads of State are in Arusha, Tanzania for the 22nd Heads of State Summit to discuss among others the integration of DRC into the EAC, Nairobi’s process on DRC and the way forward, and Somalia’s admission process into the East African Community.