Kenya criticised for blocking Rwanda, Burundi lawyers

Implementation of the East African Community (EAC) Common Market, which provides for free movement of labour and services in the bloc, has come under scrutiny after Kenyan MPs blocked Rwandan and Burundian legal professionals from practising in the country.

Kenya has blocked lawyers from the two EAC partner states from practising until its advocates are allowed to work in the two countries on a reciprocal basis.

Kenya National Assembly’s Justice and Legal Affairs Committee wants the matter addressed by EAC partner states to allow Rwandan, Burundian and South Sudanese lawyers to work in the country.

Last week, the National Assembly tabled the Advocates (Amendment) Bill, 2021, which proposes amendments to the Advocates Act to include citizens of Rwanda and Burundi.

Under the Bill, lawyers from the two countries will have to sit and pass examinations set by Kenya’s Council of Legal Education. It will also be mandatory for the lawyers to practise locally for three months before being admitted to the Bar.

But Kenya has come under criticism for blocking the operationalisation of the EAC Common Market Protocol, allowing free movement of workers.

Rwanda’s Bar Association President Julien Kavaruganda said Kenyan lawyers have not been blocked from practising in Rwanda, adding that the principle of reciprocity already exists.

Fast-track inclusion

“Kenyan lawyers are allowed to practise in Rwanda. The challenge is that Kenyans question the legal training programme, our Institute of Legal Practice and Development, compared with the Kenya School of Law,” said Mr Kavaruganda.

Thirteen Kenyans, who are practising advocates of the Rwanda Bar Association, have petitioned the Kenyan Parliament to fast-track the inclusion of Rwanda and Burundi in the Advocates Act.

But the House committee on Justice and Legal Affairs has backed concerns by the Judiciary and the Council for Legal Education on the lack of uniformity in the qualifications for admission to study law and to join the respective Bars of the two countries.

“Tanzanian and Ugandan lawyers are currently allowed to practise in Kenya in accordance with provisions of Sections 12 and 13 of the Advocates Act,” said the Committee on Justice and Legal Affairs.

While Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania use the Common Law system, Rwanda and Burundi practise civil law.

Common vs civil law

Common law is part of English law that is derived from custom and judicial precedent rather than statutes. The civil law system is the code of laws developed from the Romans and used today in Europe and the United States, and to govern individual rights.

EAC ministers of Labour and Employment met last week in Dar es Salaam and proposed the formation of a sectoral council to address the free movement of labour.

Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for Labour and Social Protection Simon Chelugui, who chaired the meeting, identified the failure to align national social security laws as a major impediment to the movement of workers. He also faulted partner states for not fully implementing some of the commitments pertaining to the harmonisation of labour policies and national laws.

Kenya, Rwanda and Burundi have signed Mutual Recognition Agreements for accountants, architects, engineers and veterinarians and negotiations of MRAs for land surveyors and the advocates have been concluded.