Wakilii

Awil and Others v Federal Republic of Somalia and Another (Consolidated Applications Numbers 16 and 17 of 2025 (Arising from References Number 45 and 46 of 2025))

East African Court of Justice · [2025] EACJ 13 · 2025 Application Granted AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Consolidated applications for interim/interlocutory relief arising from references challenging the validity of Somalia's first EALA election process
Decision
Interim injunction granted restraining EALA from seating the nine individuals pending determination of the underlying references challenging the validity of the election process

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The East African Court of Justice held that it has jurisdiction to entertain pre-seating challenges to EALA election processes under Article 50 of the Treaty, distinguishing such challenges from post-seating membership disputes governed by Article 52. The Court granted interim relief restraining EALA from seating nine individuals elected through Somalia's October 2025 process, finding a prima facie case that the process violated Treaty requirements of transparency, competitiveness, and representativeness, and that irreparable harm would result if the nominees were seated before the underlying references are determined.

Outcome

Interim injunction granted restraining EALA from seating the nine individuals pending determination of the underlying references challenging the validity of the election process

Facts

Somalia became a full EAC Partner State in March 2024. In October 2025, Somalia conducted its first election of nine members to the East African Legislative Assembly. On 11 October 2025, the Speakers of both Houses of the Federal Parliament appointed a five-member ad hoc committee to oversee the process. The committee imposed a five-day timeline (11-15 October 2025) for the entire exercise. Eighteen candidates were presented and on 15 October 2025 a joint sitting of Parliament voted. Nine individuals, all allegedly affiliated with the ruling Justice and Solidarity Party and allegedly drawn predominantly from the inner circle of the President, Prime Minister and Speakers, were declared elected. The names were forwarded to EALA. The Applicants then filed references and these consolidated applications seeking declarations of nullity and interim injunctions restraining the seating of the nominees, alleging the process violated Article 50 of the Treaty by failing to ensure a transparent, competitive, and representative election. The EALA plenary session at which oaths would be administered was scheduled to commence on 23 November 2025.

Issues

  1. Whether the court has jurisdiction to entertain the Applications and the References
  2. Whether the Applicants are entitled to the interim reliefs sought

Orders

  • Pending the hearing and determination of References Nos. 45 & 46 of 2025, the 2nd Respondent, its Speaker, Clerk or any officer acting on its behalf, is restrained and prohibited from convening, recognizing, administering the oath of office to, seating, or otherwise treating as validly elected representatives of the Federal Republic of Somalia the nine individuals whose names were transmitted pursuant to the Federal Parliament Resolution dated 16 October 2025 or any other persons purporting to have been elected under the impugned process.
  • The 2nd Respondent is restrained from issuing any notification or taking any step in recognition of the nine individuals whose names were transmitted pursuant to the Federal Parliament Resolution dated 16 October 2025 or any other persons purporting to have been elected under the impugned process.
  • The restraint shall operate from the date hereof and remain in force until the final disposal of the References or until further orders of this Court.
  • References Nos. 45 and 46 of 2025 are certified urgent and the Registrar shall fix them for hearing on a priority basis, not later than the immediately following session of the Court.
  • Costs of the Applications shall abide the outcome of References No. 45 and No. 46 of 2025.

Rules and key headnotes

East African Community Law — Jurisdiction — Pre-seating vs Post-seating EALA Election Challenges
The East African Court of Justice has jurisdiction to entertain pre-seating challenges to the validity of EALA election processes under Article 50 of the Treaty, but not post-seating challenges to the continued membership of persons already sworn in and sitting, which are governed exclusively by Article 52 and reserved to domestic institutions of the Partner State.
East African Community Law — Article 50 — Standards for EALA Elections
National procedures for electing members to the East African Legislative Assembly must uphold Treaty standards of transparency, competitiveness, and representativeness as much as is feasible, and a process so fundamentally defective that it cannot properly be characterized as an election at all engages the Court's interpretive and enforcement jurisdiction under Articles 23, 27(1) and 30(2) of the Treaty.
East African Community Law — Interim Relief — Test for Grant
The test for granting interim relief in the East African Court of Justice requires the applicant to show: (a) a prima facie case with probability of success; (b) that damages would be an inadequate remedy; and (c) that the balance of convenience favours the grant of relief, with each limb addressed sequentially.
East African Community Law — Irreparable Harm — Seating of Improperly Elected EALA Members
Where nominees to EALA are seated before determination of a challenge to the validity of their election, any subsequent finding that the process violated Article 50 becomes irreversible at Community level because Article 52 reserves post-seating membership questions exclusively to domestic institutions, and no monetary award can restore the forfeited opportunity to contest in a Treaty-compliant election or repair the erosion of democratic norms.
East African Community Law — Balance of Convenience — Pre-seating EALA Disputes
In pre-seating EALA election disputes, the balance of convenience favours restraint where a prima facie Treaty breach is established, because the public interest in upholding the democratic and representative character of the Community's sole legislative organ decisively outweighs the inconvenience of a brief postponement in a Partner State's representation.

Legislation cited (17)

  • Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community Article 6(d)
  • Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community Article 7
  • Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community Article 8
  • Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community Article 23
  • Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community Article 27
  • Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community Article 30
  • Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community Article 33
  • Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community Article 39
  • Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community Article 48
  • Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community Article 50
  • Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community Article 52
  • East African Court of Justice Rules of the Court, 2019 Rule 52(1)
  • East African Court of Justice Rules of the Court, 2019 Rule 52(2)
  • East African Court of Justice Rules of the Court, 2019 Rule 52(3)
  • East African Court of Justice Rules of the Court, 2019 Rule 52(4)
  • East African Court of Justice Rules of the Court, 2019 Rule 84
  • Provisional Constitution of Somalia Chapter 6

Cases cited (8)

  • Prof. Peter Anyang' Nyong'o & 10 Others v Attorney General of Kenya & Others (EACJ Reference No. 1 of 2006)
  • Hon. Abdu Katuntu v Attorney General of Uganda (EACJ Reference No. 3 of 2012)
  • Wani Santino Jada v Attorney General of South Sudan (EACJ Application No. 8 of 2017)
  • Rev. Christopher Mtikila v Attorney General of Tanzania (EACJ Reference No. 2 of 2007)
  • Democratic Party & Hon. Mukasa Mbidde v Secretary General of the EAC & Attorney General of Uganda (EACJ Reference No. 6 of 2011)
  • Giella v Cassman Brown & Co Ltd [1973] EA 358
  • American Cyanamid Co v Ethicon Ltd [1975] AC 396
  • Alvin Kahoho v Secretary General of the EAC & 2 Others (EACJ Application No. 2 of 2014)

Full judgment

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The original judgment as reported. Read the original PDF before relying on any passage.

Awil and Others v Federal Republic of Somalia and Another (Consolidated Applications Numbers 16 and 17 of 2025 (Arising from References Number 45 and 46 of 2025)) [2025] EACJ 13 (21 November 2025)
Source: this page presents Wakilii’s issue analysis and metadata for a publicly reported Ugandan judgment. Any AI-generated summary is marked as such. Judgment text is sourced from the Uganda Legal Information Institute (ulii.org). Wakilii is not affiliated with ULII.