Five of Burundi’s nine representatives in the East African Legislative Assembly will not take part in the forthcoming session to be held in Rwanda, citing political differences between Kigali and Bujumbura.

The EALA 5th Plenary Session is expected to take place in Kigali from March 5 - 17 but the five Burundian legislators have written to the Assembly speaker explaining their desire to abstain from the session.

According to sources, Burundian legislators on January 18 met with the EALA Speaker Daniel Kidega to discuss the matter, indicating that they would not attend the plenary in Kigali due to political misunderstandings between the two neighbours.

“In this regard, we therefore wish to confirm that due to reasons explained to you Sir, especially the current relations between Rwanda and Burundi, we will not attend the plenary session of the East African Legislative Assembly which will be held in Kigali, Rwanda in March 2017,” the letter reads.

When The EastAfrican contacted the EALA speaker, he declined to give details on the matter.

However, communication from EALA shows that Burundi has not entirely abstained from the Kigali Plenary. Each partner state has nine legislators, three of whom make a quorum.

The move by Burundian legislators to abstain from the Kigali plenary signals continued animosity between the two neighbours following the 2015 fallout, with Bujumbura accusing Kigali of backing groups keen on fighting President Pierre Nkurunziza.

In November 2015, Bujumbura recalled its representatives from EALA after the Assembly called on Burundi to put a halt to killings following the political crisis.

In July 2016, a Burundian delegation pulled out of the 27th African Union Summit which was held in Kigali, citing security concerns.

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Return of Zziwa?

Meanwhile, fireworks are expected at the next session of the East African Legislative Assembly, following claims by former speaker Margaret Zziwa, that she has been reinstated.

Ms Zziwa on February 14 wrote a letter to the clerk of EALA, claiming that the judgement by the East African Court of Justice had cleared her of all the grounds that were used to remove her from office in November 2014. The court had faulted all the grounds used to impeach her last year but declined to grant her plea to be reinstated.

READ: Zziwa: EALA broke most of its own rules

Earlier on February 7, Ms Zziwa wrote to the clerk stating that she is ready to resume office of the Speaker and the relevant duties that were interrupted on November 26, and asked the clerk to inform her “when you finalise the necessary adjustment”.

But the clerk, Kenneth Madete, replied on February 10 that he had been advised by the counsel of the Community that her request to resume duties of the Speaker was not feasible in the context of the judgment of the Court; that the court did not order that she be reinstated to the office of the Speaker.

But what has irked most EALA members is that Ms Zziwa went on to sign the letter as the Speaker of EALA and copied it to the chairperson Council of Ministers, the East African Community Secretary-General, the Counsel to the community, the Principal Judge at EACJ and all members of EALA and ministers of EAC.

Abubakar Ogle, an EALA member from Kenya, said it bordered on crime for Ms Zziwa to cite a non-existent court order to suit her interest. Mr Ogle warned that if Ms Zziwa insists on addressing the Assembly in Kigali in March, she could be excluded from all activities of the Assembly for three months.