Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni has assumed the rotational leadership of the East African Community (EAC), taking over from Kenya's William Ruto.
On starting the role, Museveni said Africa must avoid "the mis-cooking of the African Revolution," urging African countries to be united amid a changing global geopolitical and economic climate.
"Africa must build its own internal market through integration. The East African Community and continental integration are therefore not optional. Prosperity comes from production and markets. Fragmented markets keep Africa poor," Museveni said in a social media post.
Financial stress
"Historically, our weaknesses of disunity, poor leadership, and failure to adopt science allowed the continent to be colonised," the 82-year-old Ugandan leader observed.
He said after the continent’s independence from colonialism by Western powers, unity must remain a top priority.
Museveni was elected at the bloc's summit at its headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania, on Saturday to serve a one-year term, from March 2026 to March 2027.
This comes amid financial stress for the bloc, with some countries complaining that they have been overburdened with contributions while others pay less.
‘Mutual benefits’
The bloc has reportedly adopted a new contribution model based on individual countries' GDP to support its budget.
The East African Community (EAC) is a regional intergovernmental organisation of eight countries: Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Uganda, Tanzania and its latest member, Somalia, which was admitted in November 2023 and became a full member in March 2024.
It is home to an estimated 331.1 million citizens, with a land area of 5.4 million square kilometres and a combined Gross Domestic Product of US$312.9 billion, according to data from the bloc.
Established in 1999, the current EAC bloc aims to widen and deepen political, economic, and social integration and cooperation "for their mutual benefit" of its members.
