Uhuru heads to Arusha by road

The President as EAC Chairman is due to address the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) on the progress of integration, the priority areas and the role of the assembly in relation to the council and secretariat in achieving these goals/FILE

On Tuesday, the President as EAC Chairman is due to address the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) on the progress of integration, the priority areas and the role of the assembly in relation to the council and secretariat in achieving these goals.

“The President will also take the opportunity to inform citizens of East Africa of the ongoing efforts to address challenges and the direction the Community is heading,” a communiqué from the Presidential Strategic Communication Unit (PSCU) explained.

On Monday however, the President was expected to make a stopover at Namanga, on the border of Kenya and Tanzania, where he was to address residents.

The President is due at the EAC Secretariat in the afternoon where he will be received by the EAC Secretary-General Richard Sezibera.

“After being briefed by the EAC Executive and Heads of institutions, the President will be conducted on a tour of the EAC Headquarters. At 5.30pm, President Kenyatta will address a news conference,” the communiqué continued.

President Kenyatta took over as EAC Chairman in November last year from Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni.

Ever since taking office in April of 2013, President Kenyatta has time and again reiterated his commitment to the EAC stressing that integration is pivotal to economic growth.

“The future of Kenya depends not only on our National Unity but also on deepening our bonds with our brothers and sisters in East Africa and Africa as a whole,” he said during his integration.

And according to Statehouse spokesperson Manoah Esipisu, the decision by President Kenyatta to travel to Arusha by road is to, “encourage movement across borders.”

In February, President Kenyatta used his identification card (ID) instead of his passport on a trip to Uganda.

Under the new arrangement, Kenyans and Rwandans will use national IDs while Ugandans will use voter’s cards as travel documents when entering or leaving any of the three countries.

Rwandan students will also be allowed to use their students’ cards as travel documents.

About The Author

OLIVE BURROWS

With a decade of storytelling under her belt, Olive Burrows has been with Capital FM for the last four years and perhaps most notably interviewed US President Barack Obama. Committed to asking the hard questions and telling the story in the most engaging way possible, she has also interviewed Melinda Gates, a UK Minister and severally had the opportunity to sit across from President Uhuru Kenyatta and address the pressing issues of the day. Other notables she has had occasion to seek answers from are UN Secretary General António Guterres and John Kerry in his time as US Secretary of State.

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