speaking up

‘Why attack us?’: The East African Community’s language problem

By Musinguzi Blanshe

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Posted on August 29, 2023 15:17

© Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni (L) waves an East African community flag alongside Paul Kagame of Rwanda (C), and Kenya’s Uhuru Kenyatta (R) during the inauguration of Berth No. 19 at the Mombasa Port on August 28, 2013. AFP PHOTO/IVAN LIEMAN (Photo by Ivan Lieman / AFP)
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni (L) waves an East African community flag alongside Paul Kagame of Rwanda (C), and Kenya’s Uhuru Kenyatta (R) during the inauguration of Berth No. 19 at the Mombasa Port on August 28, 2013. AFP PHOTO/IVAN LIEMAN (Photo by Ivan Lieman / AFP)

Refused the right to use Swahili because it is not written into the bloc’s treaty, the Democratic Republic of Congo is vetoing the EAC’s budget.

One People, One Destiny … but several tongues. Since the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) joined the East African Community (EAC) its delegates have been unable to fully contribute. Congolese speak French and Swahili, yet the community’s sole official language is English, which has limited the participation of members of the regional bloc’s newest member state. The thorny issue of language has started to dominate debates.

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