Nkurunziza, now isolated, creates crisis all by himself

Burundian President Pierre Nkurunziza. The 20th Ordinary EAC Heads of State Summit collapsed at the last minute due to a lack of quorum, after Burundi boycotted it.

Differences between political leaders and conflicting national interests have once again cropped up to threaten the integration of the East African Community member states, bringing back memories of the 1977 break-up of its precursor.

On November 30, the 20th Ordinary Meeting of the EAC heads of state ended in disarray after Burundi boycotted, angry at how its concerns had been handled by the current EAC chairman, Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni.

President Museveni was forced to call off the meeting and reschedule it to December 27 citing lack of quorum.

As the issues simmer under the surface, some observers say the Community could be staring at a repeat of 1977 due to unresolved personality clashes, commercial interests and security issues among the partner states.

In 1977, the break-up was caused by the ideological differences between Kenya and Tanzania, and personal differences between Tanzania’s Julius Nyerere and Ugandan dictator Idi Amin.

While the current EAC, revived in 1999, was supposed to be people-centred and business-driven, experts say the bloc is now at the mercy of government elites.