Borders have long been a source of tension in Africa, with poorly defined boundaries often leading to disputes between neighbouring communities and states.

The East African Community (EAC) is no exception, with several border disputes threatening the region's stability and integration efforts. 

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However, rather than seeing borders as obstacles, we can transform them into opportunities for cooperation, peace, security and regional integration.

The root of many border issues in East Africa can be traced to the colonial era, when European powers arbitrarily drew lines on maps at the infamous 1884 Berlin Conference with little regard for local communities or landscapes. 

As former British Prime Minister Robert Cecil bluntly stated, the colonisers essentially used a blue pen and ruler to divide up the continent, carving out territories for themselves without considering the existing realities on the ground.

This colonial legacy has left a lasting impact, with borders dividing people, political systems and cultural areas.

Contemporary border disputes can be attributed to various reasons, including imprecise colonial boundaries, lack of surveying, contradictions between colonial treaties, the discovery of transboundary natural resources and demarcation that fails to account for local realities. 

Essentially, most of the border disputes involve a discussion of colonial legacies and varied interpretations of the colonial agreements.

When the Organisation of African Unity, now African Union, was formed in 1963, Member States pledged to respect each other's sovereignty and territorial integrity by maintaining the status quo.

The consensus was that accepting colonial borders, despite their flaws, was better than attempting to redraw them and risking "confusion and chaos."

The EAC has embraced this principle, with one of its fundamental goals being "peaceful coexistence, good neighbourliness and peaceful resolution of disputes."

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The regional bloc aims to remove trade barriers, increase free movement of people and goods, adopt common foreign and security policies and enhance cooperation in countering common security threats such as climate change, insurgents, terrorism and transnational organised crimes. 

The EAC region has faced various border disputes, both between states and between local communities since the 1960s, when most of them acquired independence.

Though some border issues in the region are still quiescent, their inherent potential to stimulate tensions and violence and also threaten peace and integration cannot be underestimated.

The actual or suspected existence of natural resources is an emerging driver of many border issues in the EAC region.

These resources include oil and gas, grazing lands (pastures), water bodies and agricultural lands, over which neighbouring states and border communities want to assert sole ownership rights. 

The shifting of natural features such as rivers and lakes due to climate change or environmental degradation has also contributed to the border issues, especially in areas where they have been generally used as beacons for international boundaries.

Despite the persistence of the border issues, not all is lost.

A study on the state of borders and boundaries in EAC region commissioned by the EAC Secretariat and adopted by relevant policy organs in April 2024 notes that partner states have established various mechanisms and structures for boundary management.

Such mechanisms include National Boundary Commissions or Committees (NBCs) and Joint Boundary Commissions (JBCs) charged with resolving bilateral boundary issues. 

One of the key success stories of such mechanisms is the Uganda-DRC (Vurra-Aru border issue), where intercommunal tensions almost triggered confrontations between forces in 2015.

Fortunately, the appointment of a joint team and the eventual demarcation of the 42km stretch of the border in 2016 permanently resolved the issue.

Consequently, business is now thriving at the common border and community cohesion, mutual respect and trust, and peaceful co-existence have become a reality.

The study found that the EAC partner states are committed to expediting the delimitation, demarcation and re-affirmation of their borders by 2027, in line with the AU requirements.

To this end, and on the direction of the EAC Joint Sectoral Councils (JSC) on Cooperation in Defence Affairs, Interstate Security and Foreign Policy Coordination, the EAC Secretariat has set out to mobilise resources to support partner states’ boundary delimitation, demarcation and reaffirmation efforts.

This will include among other things sensitisation of communities around contested border areas on peaceful co-existence and good neighbourliness to minimise communal tensions and prepare the ground for support to the work of joint technical teams.

The Secretariat is also working towards developing internal capacities to sustainably prevent, manage and resolve boundary issues in the region, modelled around the AU Border Programme (AUBP)

They are also working on building existing conflict resolution mechanisms in the Community such as the EAC Conflict Prevention, Management and Resolution Mechanism and the EACJ.

Additionally, the EAC is developing policies to address the unique situations of cross-border communities and manage shared natural resources.

While border disputes have long been a challenge in East Africa, the EAC is taking proactive steps to address these issues and transform borders from barriers to bridges for peace, security, prosperity and regional integration.

By embracing the principles of peaceful coexistence, cooperation, and shared prosperity, the region can move towards a future where borders unite rather than divide us.

The writer is the EAC Deputy Secretary-General responsible for Infrastructure, Productive, Social and Political sectors.