Former First Lady Mama Ngina Kenyatta has been recognised for the role she played in the establishment of the first East African Community. The East African Legislative Assembly has honoured her alongside other East African independence First Ladies Mama Miria Obote (Uganda) and Mama Maria Nyerere (Tanzania) for their contribution towards the formation of the first regional bloc between 1967 and 1977.
The EALA special sitting is held under the umbrella of the sixth meeting of the Assembly’s fourth session that started on May 23 until June 3. During the meeting, the 2016-17 EAC budget of $100 million (Sh10 billion) was presented on May 26. The budget gives priority to full implementation of the EAC Single Customs Territory and the EAC Common Market Protocol.
The East African region’s founding fathers Mzee Jomo Kenyatta (Kenya), Julius Nyerere (Tanzania) and Milton Obote (Uganda) steered the first East African regional bloc from inception in 1967 until its collapse in 1977. Last year, the ‘Living Legends’ award was conferred on the country’s founding First Lady by the African Women of Excellence Awards scheme sponsored and hosted by the Diaspora African Forum Foundation, a non-profit organisation based in Washington DC.
