is in Arusha, Tanzania chairing the 22nd Ordinary Summit of the East African Community (EAC) Heads of State.
According to a statement from State House, this is the last time President Kenyatta will be chairing the summit, relinquishing his leadership role to President Evariste Ndayishimiye of Burundi.
Uhuru succeeded Paul Kagame of Rwanda as chairman of the EAC in February 2021.
The high-level meeting will also receive status reports on the ongoing integration of DRC into the EAC, the Nairobi peace process on DRC, the admission process of Somalia into the EAC, and the inclusion of French and Kiswahili as official languages of the EAC alongside English.
The heads of state will also discuss the appointment of judges to the East African Court of Justice (EACJ), assent to legislation passed by the EACJ, and presentation of awards to winners of the EAC student essay competition among other bilateral matters.
As he exits, Uhuru will be remembered as the president who expanded the EAC to include DRC, oversaw the region’s recovery against Covid-19 and resolved the Kenya-Tanzania trade disputes.
His critics have also castigated the handling of Kenya-Uganda trade disputes, the relationship between Rwanda and Uganda as well as the military operation in DRC.
Earlier before the summit, President Kenyatta joined his EAC counterparts in opening the 42.4-kilometer East African Arusha Bypass road in Arusha town.
The Arusha Bypass is a segment of the Tanzanian section of the Arusha – Namanga – Athi River road.
It forms part of the 15,000km East African Road Network and the Trans African Highway from Cape Town to Cairo through Gaborone.
The road starts at Ngaramtoni, crosses Dodoma Road at Kisongo, and ends at Usa River Township.
President Kenyatta joined his EAC counterparts in opening the 42.4-kilometer East African Arusha Bypass road in Arusha town
The new by-pass road has relieved cargo pressure from the busy Moshi – Arusha road and enabled a seamless flow of cargo from Mombasa Port to joining the Central Corridor at Singida.
Further, the road has helped to decongest Arusha Central Business District helping spur the growth of the town that hosts the EAC headquarters.
