EALA MPs push for home-grown civil society free from external pressure

East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) MPs on Thursday (November 27) sharply criticised the international community, accusing it of repeatedly interfering in the region’s internal political processes.

The debate unfolded during the November 27, 2025, sitting as the House considered a motion, moved the previous day by Uganda’s Jacqueline Amongin, congratulating Tanzania’s President Samia Suluhu Hassan on her resounding 98 percent re-election victory in the recent general elections.

Contributing to the debate, Kenya’s David Ole Sankok noted that although EALA had produced a preliminary election report, only two pillars of East African Community (EAC) integration, namely the Customs Union and the Common Market, had been implemented to a significant degree.

He said the political federation and the monetary union were yet to be realised, meaning the eight member states remained fully sovereign and must be respected as such.

He added that this should serve as a reminder to all member states of the regional bloc.

“We must call upon 350 million citizens of EAC to respect sovereignty of individual countries by not exporting their constitution, behaviours from one country to another. I must say this without contradiction that it is a high time we relook the issue of civil society so that they don't turn into evil societies. We must relook and have civil societies who are fully sponsored by the East African states to speak on behalf of East Africa,” he said.

Addressing the role of civil society, Sankok reiterated that the region must re-examine how these organisations operate.

“It is high time we relook at the issue of civil society so that they don’t turn into evil societies. We need civil societies fully sponsored by East African states to speak for East Africa,” he added.

To avoid what he termed a new form of political and socio-economic neo-colonialism, he argued that civil society organisations should ideally be funded by African states.

Otherwise, he warned, they risk falling under the influence of foreign funders.

“But when a civil society is fully sponsored by foreigners, that’s when we have ideas penetrating into our cultures and traditions like LGBTQ. Because the hands that feeds will instruct them on what to do, and they can’t bite the hands that feed them,” he cited.

Tanzanian legislator Dr Makame Hasnuu Abdulla, a member of Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM), also spoke, praising President Samia Suluhu Hassan as a leader who had risen through the ranks and broken significant barriers.

He recalled her work as vice chairperson of the Constituent Assembly, convened in 2014 by former president Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete to examine proposed constitutional reforms. She deputised Samuel John Sitta, who passed away nine years ago.

Makame said that throughout her career, wherever Suluhu has served, she has left an enduring mark.

“She was fortunate to be the vice president of the fifth president of the United Republic of Tanzania, the late Joseph Pombe Magufuli, who trusted her, of course, through the party of Chama Cha Mapinduzi, and she was a very good assistant to Magufuli. And upon the passing of President Magufuli, five months after being re-elected into office as per the constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania, she had to assume the office of the presidency,” he stated.

At the time of Magufuli’s death, Makame said he had prioritised major strategic projects such as the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR), which had barely progressed. Today, it operates between Dodoma and Dar es Salaam, with plans underway to extend it to Rwanda, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

“This is a very serious project. Many people assumed it was a joke when President Magufuli announced it and never envisaged that President Samia Suluhu would oversee implementation of such a project. But because of her zeal, commitment and focus, the project is moving at a very good pace,” he said.

He added that the Julius Nyerere Hydroelectric Project, one of the region’s biggest with a capacity of 2,100 megawatts and 5,920 GWh annually, had also been dismissed by sceptics as a fairytale.

According to Makame, such achievements may have contributed significantly to Suluhu’s re-election.

“One of her attributes is that she can speak. Because when you are a politician, you can speak. But she doesn’t speak much as she does and delivers. So, she has more action than words. There is more delivery, and that is Samia Suluhu. In the election manifesto, she has committed to develop the country further in such a way that clear marks will be left,” he said.

Ugandan representative James Kakooza agreed, saying President Samia is tried and tested.

“Today, if you take a strength, weakness, opportunities and threats (SWOT) analysis of that country, I am telling you it is one of the best-performing countries in the region. Dear colleagues, you can say leadership is simple, but for a person managing a country without disruption for five years and gets another term, it is not a simple joke,” he said.

Kakooza added that the stability of Tanzania’s economy, and its rapid onward progress, is evidence of this.

“When you look at the countries within the region, it is one of the lowest countries that borrow from the world with International Monetary Fund (IMF). Managing an economy using your internal revenues and you perform that way; you are an excellent leader,” he added.