Wetang’ula: EALA Games foster regional cohesion
By Joel Masibo, September 30, 2025National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang’ula has stated that the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) Games play an important role in uniting the region.
Wetang’ula, in his capacity as the President of the Bureau of East African Community Speakers, has called on the organisers to utilise the games to bring the EAC nations together amid top-gear preparations for the annual games to be held in Uganda.
Speaking during a courtesy call by the Uganda Parliamentary Sports Club, led by its Chairperson, Hon. Basalirwa Asuman, on Tuesday, September 30, 2025, at Parliament Buildings in Nairobi, the Speaker expressed his gratitude to Uganda for agreeing to host the games while at the same time preparing for elections.
“We look forward to coming to Uganda,” he said while restating his previous call to the EAC nations to use the games to build cohesion.
“Sports bring people together; it break barriers, whether race or tribe. We must encourage unity of purpose,” Wetang’ula noted.
He further reiterated his call for the utilisation of parliamentary diplomacy to enhance regional integration, saying the games offered a platform for the deepening of co-operation.
Importance of the Games
“We are going to compete on neutral grounds. It’s about bringing people together. We should mean business when we talk about integration; we need to have free movement of people, goods, and services,” Speaker Wetang’ula affirmed.
While noting that bottlenecks were hindering the effectiveness of the integration push, he noted steps had been taken to counter the emerging issues. “We should be big on the question of economics and how to grow our people; we must keep the spirit of the East African Community,” he added.
The hosting of the EALAs in Uganda was announced last month in Munyonyo, Kampala, during an all-Speaker and Presiding Officers of the National Legislatures of EAC Member States meeting to mark the 11th UNESCO Africa Week and 9th Engineering Conference. The Uganda Parliamentary Sports Club were on a benchmarking visit to learn lessons on how to host the games after Kenya successfully staged the regional championship last year.
The meeting was attended by, amongst others, the Clerk of the National Assembly, Mr Samuel Njoroge, the Ugandan delegation, including Mr Waiswa Henry, Solomon Kirunda, Charles Bukuwa, Waddimba David and Matovu Moses. This year’s EALA Games will take place from December 5-17, 2025, in Kampala.