President Salva Kiir - FILE PHOTO

Kenyan analysts have expressed mixed reactions towards President Salva Kiir’s expected takeover of the East Africa Community leadership next week.

Regional heads of state are due to hold a summit on November 24 in Tanzania where they are expected to endorse President Salva Kiir as the Chairman.

In his remark, Dr Kenneth Ombongi, the Head of the Department of History & Archeology at the University of Nairobi, says Kiir’s takeover will make South Sudanese feel they are members of the regional bloc.

Dr Ombongi made the remark on Tuesday, November 14, 2023, during a debate on regional politics.

He says President Kiir’s takeover of the regional chairmanship may also play a positive role in South Sudan’s elections slated for December 2024.

“The chairmanship of Salva Kiir is important though he is coming in for the first time once South Sudan has been accepted that comes with symbolism even at home which will give some hope that the people of South Sudan are members of EAC,” said Dr Ombongi.

“Salva Kiir also needs it for the election, you never know,” Dr Ombongi said during a TV show.

A senior official at Kenya’s Department of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Hassen says with Kiir’s regional leadership regime, South Sudan as the biggest defaulters in the regional contribution, will be forced to commit to paying its dues.

“South Sudan is one of the biggest defaulters, you can’t be sitting on the chair when you are not paying for the upkeep of the organization you are the head of, a country like Burundi, although they have been at the helm, they are not making their contribution,” said Hassen.

“It is going to become difficult for just one or two countries to bear the burden of managing the East African community.”

Yusuf goes on to say, member states must commit to paying their dues for the regional blocks to be viable.

“We can’t achieve the aim of African unity given the fact that of managing the East Africa Community. The East African Community is the building block of that bigger picture,” Hussen said.

“Governments must be able to pay their dues to East African Community to the African Union for these institutions for them to be viable,” he said.

For his part, Prof. Peter Kagwanja, Chief Executive Officer of Africa Policy Institute says, the President’s takeover will put the regional block in a dilemma as South Sudan is heading to a democratic transition in the 2024 elections.

“The coming of Salva Kiir will put the region in dilemma which we will not speak about because of diplomatic issues,”  said Prof. Kagwanja.

“He is supposed to face elections at some stage, and that pushes some issues about the East African community and the stability of its membership, particularly the process toward democratization so one point that must condor,” he said.

“The second, of course, is the fact that Salva Kiir is the Chair of a member of the IGAD mediation for Sudan, and he is a member of the East African Community.”

He added: “This big question is what is the future of the independent EAC visa versus IGAD?”