The East African Community’s drive for deeper political integration has received new impetus after Rwanda began nationwide public consultations on the draft Constitution for the proposed EAC Political Confederation.
The process, opened in Kigali on 15 June 2026, seeks citizens’ opinions on the developing governance framework and aims to ensure East Africans play an active role in shaping the future of regional integration.
The Political Confederation is intended as an interim stage toward a full Political Federation of EAC Partner States, with the goal of improving coordination and political cooperation across the region.
At the launch, Rwanda’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Dr. Uster Kayitesi, reaffirmed Kigali’s dedication to regional integration, emphasizing that joint action is vital for addressing common challenges and opportunities.
“Rwanda’s commitment to regional integration is based on our belief that many of the opportunities and challenges facing our countries require collective action. Whether we look at trade and investment or infrastructure development, cooperation offers a stronger path to progress than working separately,” she said.
She called on citizens to take part in shaping the proposed framework, saying wide public participation would be essential to ensure legitimacy and inclusiveness in the final Constitution.
EAC Secretary General Amb. Stephen P. Mbundi said the Rwanda consultations would continue for two weeks across Kigali, Rubavu, Huye, and Nyagatare, involving government institutions, Parliament, the Judiciary, academia, civil society, the private sector, youth, women, persons with disabilities, faith-based organisations, political parties, and the media.
“These engagements are meant to strengthen public participation in shaping the institutional and governance framework of the Political Confederation and to ensure that Rwanda’s views are fully reflected in the draft Constitution,” he said.
Mbundi traced the integration process to 2004, when EAC Heads of State created the Wako Committee to accelerate the political federation agenda.
He said later consultations across Partner States showed strong backing for a phased approach, which led to the adoption of the Political Confederation model at the 18th Ordinary Summit in 2017.
The constitutional drafting process was formally launched in Entebbe, Uganda, in 2018 under the guidance of President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, who was assigned to provide political leadership for the initiative.
Rwanda’s Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Amb. Fidelis Mironko, highlighted the importance of citizen-centered constitution-making, saying public contributions would help produce a document that reflects East Africans’ aspirations.
“The views gathered through these engagements will help shape a Constitution that reflects the hopes and ambitions of our people,” he said.
Benjamin Odoki, Chairperson of the Constitutional Experts Team and Chief Justice Emeritus of Uganda, also emphasized the need for inclusive participation, noting that the Constitution must reflect the expectations of East African citizens.
The draft Constitution is being prepared by experts appointed by the EAC Council of Ministers in 2019, who have carried out comparative studies of confederation systems and reviewed existing EAC legal frameworks to ensure alignment with the proposed model.
The Rwanda consultations are part of a wider regional exercise across Partner States as the EAC moves forward with its fourth and final integration pillar, political federation, following the Customs Union, Common Market, and Monetary Union.