Mystery surrounds Dr Mathuki's ouster from EAC secretariat

Dr Mathuki, a Kenyan national, was nominated by President William Ruto as the new Kenyan ambassador to Russia on Friday.

The unexpected nomination was made just two days after accusations of graft were raised at the current East African Legislative Assembly (Eala) session in Nairobi.

"The secretary general has apparently been sent home. Who is the appointing authority?" asked Donald Deya, the CEO of the Pan African Lawyers' Union (Palu).

He wondered whether there was a consultation between the EAC Heads of State—the appointing authority of the secretary general (SG)—on his redeployment.

Mr Deya said matters had not been clear as to why Dr Mathuki's appointment as Kenya's envoy to Moscow coincided with the graft claims at the Eala session.

Dr Mathuki, who is currently on an official visit outside Arusha, could not be reached for comment, nor could the EAC chief legal advisor, Dr Anthony Kafumbe.

When asked for comments, the President of the East African Court of Justice (EACJ), Justice Nestor Kayobera, curtly declined.

"I can't discuss this issue for now. There are legal implications on this matter at this stage," he told journalists at the EAC headquarters.

A senior legal officer with the East African Law Society (EALS), Mr Achilleus Rwelamira, said people need to know what the EAC Treaty says on the removal of the EAC boss.

Dr Mathuki's inglorious exit from the high-profile seat at the EAC has sent the majority of the staff at the Arusha headquarters mute.

None of the officials reached were ready to discuss the matter with the media, even as business continued as usual with scheduled meetings pacing on.

Among the key events at the secretariat yesterday was a meeting between deputy SG Andrea Ariik and representatives of the development partners.

Another was a regional media training for editors and senior journalists from around the region on judicial reporting organised by EACJ.

The EAC's Corporate Communications and Public Affairs Department issued a statement early yesterday denying allegations levelled against Dr Mathuki.

"For now, we don't have anything for public consumption," one official of the communication unit said, adding that nobody was ready to discuss the matter.

"It is Dr Mathuki himself who would make all the clarifications you needed. You better wait until he is back in office," he told The Citizen.

One of the lingering questions is whether a Summit of the EAC Heads of State had to be convened in order to appoint or swear in the new SG.

One official who spoke on condition of anonymity said the swearing-in can be done virtually, as was the case when Dr Mathuki was appointed in 2021.

According to the EAC Treaty, the SG is appointed by the Summit of Heads of State after being nominated by the government of his/her country.

The SG, who is the CEO and chief accounting officer of the community, would serve for a five-year, non-renewable term.

On Friday, President Ruto's State House in Nairobi announced that Ms Catherine Mwende Mueke has been nominated to replace Dr Mathuki as the new SG.

Her tenure at the EAC will, however, be short and will, upon approval by the Summit, serve for the remaining two years left by Mathuki.

Although he was appointed on February 27th, 2021, Dr Mathuki took over the reigns as the sixth SG of the Community on April 23rd, 2021. His term was to end in April 2026.

Analysts say although they were not challenging the powers of the presidents—the appointing authority of the SGs—the manner of the latter's removal should be decent, as has been the case with other senior EAC technocrats.

The redeployment of Dr Mathuki has coincided with allegations levelled against him and the secretariat over some unaccounted $6 million from the EAC kitty.

According to Dennis Namara, an Eala MP from Uganda, the said money ($6 million) had been spent without being appropriated through the regional Parliament as per laid-down procedures.

The EAC secretariat, in its press statement yesterday, rubbished the graft claims levelled against the community boss, saying they were unfounded and malicious.

"We would like East Africans and all our stakeholders to remain confident about the status of the community," the statement pointed out.

Instead, the statement highlighted some milestones achieved by the community in the last three years under Mathuki.

These include the expansion of the community to eight partner states and increased intra-EAC trade by over 25 percent.

The secretariat states that the EAC operates in a structured manner where there are proper checks and balances in all its operations.

Each member state has appointed a Cabinet Minister responsible for coordinating EAC Affairs at the national level.

The Cabinet Ministers form the EAC Council of Ministers, which is the policy organ of the Community.

The Council of Ministers supervises the EAC secretariat. The statement hastened to say that at no point in time have there been queries raised by the Council of Ministers on the said allegations.

The EAC Council of Ministers, the powerful organ of the Community, always gives prior approval to expenditures of funds as stipulated in the EAC’s Financial Rules and Regulations.

Secondly, there is an Audit Commission that prepares a report on all activities of the community conducted by all partner states in line with International Audit Standards.

The statement further added that since Dr Mathuki assumed office three years ago, "there have never been any adverse audit reports on his part or the Secretariat and these audit reports remain available at the offices of the community."

The operations and activities of the community are continually audited to ensure compliance with the laid-down standards and procedures.