Rwanda-EAC: Consultations on the Constitution of the Confederation

Rwanda has been hosting national consultations since Monday, June 15, aimed at drafting the Constitution of the East African Community (EAC) political confederation. These consultations are being conducted by EAC constitutional experts.

The East African Community (EAC) officially launched its national consultations for drafting the Constitution of the political confederation on June 15, 2026 in Rwanda.

Led by a team of constitutional experts, this process aims to gather citizens’ views on the future governance structures of this Confederation.

In officially launching this consultation process, the State Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Dr. Usta Kayitesi, stated that these national consultations constitute a major step towards regional integration.

These national consultations represent a major step towards regional integration. Dr. Usta Kayitesi

“These national consultations serve as a transitional framework towards the ultimate goal of a complete political federation of East African states,” she stressed.

“The confederation model aims to strengthen coordination in foreign policy, peace and security, and regional governance, and this is very important,” she added.

She affirmed that Rwanda strongly supports this process, and called on all Rwandans to participate fully and actively.

The goal is to gather the opinions of citizens, leaders, and interest groups. Justus Benjamin Odoki

For his part, the chairman of the drafting committee for the constitution of the Political Confederation, Justus Benjamin Odoki, explained that the consultations are taking place in the form of public forums and that the objective is to gather popular opinions.

“The objective is to gather the views of citizens, leaders and interest groups to ensure that the governance framework reflects the expectations of the people,” he explained.

“The committee is consulting a wide range of stakeholders in each member state and this is a process that will lead to conclusions to be used in drafting the Constitution of our political Confederation,” he added.

He specified that this draft constitution will be submitted to the summits of the Heads of State of the East African Community for adoption.

For his part, Stephen Patrick Mbundi, Secretary General of the EAC, highlighted the importance of such consultations before drafting the constitution in question.

“The drafting of the Constitution of the Political Confederation is an inclusive process. The opinion of the people is essential to ensure that this project reflects their aspirations,” he insisted.

He explained that the political confederation is the transitional step towards the political federation of the East African Community.

The consultation process began in Kigali, but will then extend to Rubavu, Huye, and Nyagatare. The Rwandan phase concludes on June 27, 2026. Rwanda becomes the fourth country to host these consultations, after Burundi, Uganda, and Kenya.

Experts consult with the government, civil society, the private sector and interest groups, young people and academics, political parties and the media.

The East African Community (EAC) comprises Rwanda, Burundi, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, South Sudan, Somalia and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The establishment of a political confederation was adopted in 2017 by the Heads of State of the EAC. They conceived it as a transitional framework to deepen political integration. National consultations then play a fundamental role in this process.