The admission of Burundi and South Sudan to the East African Community served to prove one thing: Political stability, no matter how loosely defined, is not a criterion for membership of an economic bloc that harbours ambitions of becoming a political federation.
Even if it were, the Democratic Republic of Congo held watershed elections last year ushering in Felix Tshisekedi as president in the first democratic transfer of power in 60 years. The elections also ended Joseph Kabila’s desire to prolong his rule, including by proxy, at least until 2023.
