TIMOTHY ALVIN KAHOHO v. THE SECRETARY GENERAL OF THE EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY

Case Number APPEAL NO. 2 OF 2013
Summary

The Appellant, a Tanzanian journalist, filed Reference No 1of 2012 averring inter alia that: Summit had contravened Articles 73 and 138 of the Treaty when it directed the conclusion of the Protocol on Immunities and Privileges because these were not areas of co-operation to which a Protocol could be concluded within the meaning of Article 151 of the Treaty and that by mandating the Secretariat to propose an Action Plan and Draft Model for the Political Federation, Summit would be circumventing that process as they should have directed the Council to undertake the process. This circumvention would violate Article 123 (6) of the Treaty. When summit rectified the error during its 14th meeting, by directing Council to consider the process, the Applicant contended that even then, a violation of Article 123 (6) continued. The Applicant also deponed that the process towards a Political Federation cannot be a preserve of the Council or Summit but must involve all citizens of the Partner States. The First Instance Division dismissed the Reference.

Aggrieved by the decision of the First Instance Division, the Appellant filed this Appeal.
RespondentThe Secretary General Of The East African Community
ComplainantTimothy Alvin Kahoho
Date filed
CountriesEast African Community , Tanzania
KeywordDelegation of authority , Good Faith , Procedural irregularities , Protocol on Immunities and Privileges
Treaty ArticleArticle 138 , Article 151 , Article 35 A , Article 73

First Instance Judgment

Verdict
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Date delivered
Quorum

Appeal Judgment

Verdict
  1. Both the spirit and letter of the Treaty permits the Partner States to forge co-operation of any kind, in any field, and on any matter of their choice as long as that co-operation is in the furtherance or promotion of the objectives of the Community as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty. The proposed Protocol for the Partner States’ recognition of the Immunities and Privileges of the Community (and its organs, institutions and employees) promotes the objectives of the Community and its adoption by Summit was, an enhancement of the objectives and purposes of the Treaty. It creates a common platform to enable Partner States to coherently and uniformly implement Articles 73, 138 and 151 of the Treaty.
  1. The Summit is the driver of the engine of the locomotive of East African Integration and Political Federation. The Summit could not and was not delegating its directives to anybody. It was transmitting a set of its decisions to the Secretariat for the latter’s implementation as per Articles 11 (1) and Article 11(5). Article 123 must be read with Articles 11, 14 and 71 of the Treaty. These Articles are complementary and lead to the conclusion that even if the Appellant’s contention that the process of Political Federation was initiated by the 13th Summit in Bujumbura (which the Court did not accept), the Summit did not exceed its authority.
  2. Failure to interpret the Treaty, or erroneous interpretation did not constitute a procedural irregularity as an irregularity is a procedural shortcoming; not a substantive error of interpretation of the law.
  3. Applying the principles of good faith, the First Instance Division committed no impropriety in their interpretation of the provisions of the EAC Treaty.
  4. There was no merit in the Appellant’s submissions that the First Instance Division failed to consider all his arguments. The Appeal was therefore dismissed.
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Date deliveredNovember 28, 2014
Quorum