Kenya's parliament will revisit a bill that would allow lawyers from Burundi and Rwanda to practice their profession in the East African country, local media reported.
"The objective of this Bill is to amend the Advocates Act, Cap 16 to allow the citizens of Burundi and Rwanda to be eligible for admission as an advocate the high court of Kenya subject to them having the relevant professional and academic qualifications," the proposed legislation reads.
The bill argues that Burundi and Rwanda should share the same rights as Uganda and Tanzania, which are also members of the East African Community (EAC), but their lawyers are authorized by Kenya.
"Subject to this Act, no person shall be admitted as an advocate unless he is a citizen of Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda or Tanzania, he is duly qualified in accordance with section 13," the proposed legislation read.
Under Section 13, for a person to be recognized as an advocate, he must have passed an examination from any recognized university in Kenya or obtained a law degree from it.
In 2019, attorneys from Rwanda and Burundi were barred from practicing in Kenya, which parliamentarians say is against the spirit of the EAC.
Lawyers from Rwanda and Burundi had been allowed to practice in Kenya since 2012, but the country's Court of Appeal overturned the amendments seven years later, indicating that Rwanda and Burundi should similarly allow Kenyan lawyers to practice in their jurisdictions.
The EAC was established in 1999 by leaders from Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. Burundi and Rwanda joined to the organization in 2007, and South Sudan joined in 2016.
The group seeks to broaden and deepen economic, political, social, cultural and legal integration up to the future formation of a political federation of East African states, as follows from the bloc's official website.