Veronica Mueni Nduva, the current Principal Secretary for the State Department for Performance and Delivery Management at the Ministry of Public Service in Kenya, has been sworn in as the new Secretary-General of the East African Community (EAC).
She becomes the first woman to hold the Arusha-based office.
Nduva was inaugurated during the EAC Heads of State’s 23rd Summit, held virtually on Friday, June 7.
Kenya’s judge nominee for the East African Court of Justice (EACJ), Zablon Muruka Mokua, was also appointed to the First Instance Division.
The leadership change at the EAC Secretariat followed the recall of Peter Mathuki on March 8 over accountability issues.
President William Ruto subsequently appointed Mathuki as Kenya’s ambassador to Russia. He also replaced the initially nominated Caroline Mwende Mueke with Nduva.
The summit holds amid severe financial crisis for the regional bloc, marked by the suspension of EACJ operations in June due to delayed remittances from partner states.
The court announced a backlog of over 200 cases and expressed regret over its inability to function properly.
The East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) has struggled with similar funding issues, advocating for sanctions on countries that fail to meet their financial commitments.
Many of the bloc’s programmes have stalled due to non-remittance of dues, totalling around $40 million.
As of May 17, 2024, only Kenya is up-to-date with its payments, while Tanzania, Uganda, and Rwanda have smaller balances, and Burundi recently contributed $600,000 of its $12.7 million obligation.