SECRETARY GENERAL MOURNS KATEGYA

Says the late was a passionate Advocate of Regional Integration Agenda and a committed Pan Africanist

The Secretary General of the East African Community Amb. Dr. Richard Sezibera has joined Ugandans and the region to mourn the death of Uganda’s first Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of East African Community Affairs of the Republic of Uganda Rt. Hon. Eriya Kategaya that occurred on 2 March 2013 at the Nairobi Hospital.

In a condolence message sent to State House, Kampala this morning, Amb. Sezibera describes the late Eriya Kategaya as an excelled public servant who always carried himself with great dignity and humility and served the cause of Uganda with the same zeal with which he championed the cause of East African unity and development.

“He was one of the major pillars in the democratic process of Uganda and very instrumental in the revival of the East African Community in 1996, the signing of the Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community in 1999, which entered into force in 2000; and it’s launch in 2001” notes Amb. Sezibera.

The Secretary General recalls, in particular, the late Kategaya’s immense role in the negotiations of the Protocols on the Establishment of the East African Customs Union and the Common Market. “He brought his sharp legal mind to bear on the direction of the negotiations and also while chairing the EAC Council of Ministers during Uganda’s tenures. His contributions were always inspired by a sense of justice and fairness in the determination of the issues of the Community”, asserts the EAC official.  

He also recalls his immense contributions and articulation of issues pertaining to the regional integration and development process on the floor of the East African Legislative Assembly. 

The Secretary General says the late Kategaya was truly an East African and was a passionate advocate of the regional integration agenda and a committed Pan Africanist. “He always urged the Council of Ministers, as well as the regional Legislators, to look at issues from the regional perspective. Indeed, the late was a well-known figure and politician, not only in all the five Partner States, but also within the continent”.

“The late Kategaya was like an elder to the Council of Ministers. Whenever there were deadlocks in the negotiations or meetings, the Council of Ministers would always refer to the late for guidance. And he would always guide his fellow Ministers at such occasions in an impartial manner, at the same time he would strongly urge the five Partner States to move together as a bloc in the integration process” Amb. Sezibera mourns.

“Indeed, he was the current Chair of the EAC Council of Ministers. We mourn the passing of a great son of Uganda and a towering figure of our time who has left an indelible imprint on the modern history of Uganda and the East African region.

Uganda and the Community shall remain indebted to him for his dedicated service in various capacities. His life and his legacy bear witness to his love for his country and the EAC”.

 

 The late 1st Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of The East African Community Affairs of the Republic of Uganda.