DR Congo has officially entered into the Arusha-based East African Community.
It was after the signing of the Treaty of the Accession of Congo Kinshasa into the EAC in the Kenyan Capital of Nairobi.
A new map of the seven member states of the East African Community, a flag colored one at that is also now out.
But hasn’t the map cropped out something? Well, the two Islands of Unguja and Pemba that should be part of the community are conspicuously missing from the colorful print.
That was to be pointed out by Tanzania’s outspoken politician, Zitto Zuberi Kabwe, the leader of the ACT Wazalendo Party.
Zitto posted on his twitter account, expressing concern that the map should be withdrawn and re-drawn afresh without snubbing Zanzibar Islands that happen to be important parts of Tanzania.
With DR Congo on board, the East African Community now has seven member states, including the founding three, Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, then Rwanda, Burundi and South-Sudan.
The current Chairperson of the Summit of East African Community Heads of State, is President Uhuru Kenyatta, of Kenya.
Kenyatta signed the Treaty of Accession with the President of DR Congo, Félix-Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo, at the Nairobi State House.
Also present at the ceremony, which took place on Friday, 8 April 2022, were Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni and his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame.
Meanwhile DRC now has up to 29th September, 2022 to undertake internal and constitutional processes to ratify the Treaty and deposit the instruments of ratification with the Secretary General.