REFERENCE NO. 37 OF 2025 ISABIRYE CEASER v. THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE UNITED REPUBLIC OF TANZANIA & THE SECRETARY GENERAL OF THE EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY

The Applicant alleges that the Respondent’s actions on 28 July 2025 of enacting and publishing the Business Licensing (Prohibition of Business Activities for Non-Citizens) Order, 2025 (Government Notice 487A), which prohibits non-citizens (including citizens of EAC Partner States like Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan, DRC, and Somalia) from engaging in 15 specific business sectors such as mobile money transfers, retail trade, small-scale mining, and salon services are unlawful infringements on Articles 3(3), 5(1), and 7(1) of The Treaty for Establishment of The East African Community as well as the Fundamental and Operational Principles of the Community, the Common Market Protocol (specifically Articles 7, 16, and 24 regarding the free movement of services, capital, and non-discrimination), and the right of establishment.