Since then, no further communication on this matter has been made by
either side and the 1st Respondent who is the Republic of Burundi is yet
to allow this Task Force to go there and undertake investigations.
111. During the hearing of the instant case held on 11th February 2015,
in response to the question put to him as why the 2nd Respondent had not
undertaken actions prescribed in Article 29 of the Treaty in the event that
a Partner State is not being cooperative to allow him carrying out
investigations on alleged violations of Treaty provisions, we heard learned
Counsel to be intimating that the Secretary General had undertaken a
diplomatic visit to the Republic of Burundi in which the issue of the
stalled work of the Task Force was raised.
He then conceded, however,
that now that the matter was before this Court, any order that the Court
might take would be further support for the 2nd Respondent to execute
investigations to ensure that the Republic of Burundi is brought to
compliance with the Treaty obligations.
112. In the matter at hand, we must note at this juncture that although
some actions have been undertaken in line with the 2nd Respondent’s
responsibilities under Article 71(1)(d) of the Treaty, no effective action to
overcome the 1st Respondent’s lack of cooperation was initiated as such
an action would be effected under Article 29 of the Treaty.
113. In this regard, we are of the view that it is the duty of the 2nd
Respondent to actively and proactively carry out his Treaty functions for
the sake of bringing Partner States in compliance with Treaty obligations
they voluntarily subscribed to in order to ensure the advancement of East
African integration. We shall make an order in this regard later in the
judgment.
REFERENCE NO.1 OF 2014
Page 37