This archive report was first published on 15 July 2021.
On July 15, 2021, the East African Court of Justice struck out a case filed by five Kenyans against the Ugandan government over the management of Lake Victoria's outflows, which resulted in devastating floods.
The floods displaced thousands of people in countries on the lake basin and damaged their property, with over 50,000 people affected.
The five Kenyans, including former Law Society of Kenya president Isaac Okero, had sued the Ugandan government, the East African Community Secretary General, and the Lake Victoria Basin Commission (LVBC) for violating the EAC Treaty and the Nile Basin Comprehensive Framework Agreement.
According to the court judgement, the petitioners included the Attorneys General of Kenya and Tanzania, who were not parties to the case.
However, the petitioners were given the liberty to amend their case by excluding the wrong parties.
The case was first filed in May 2020, with the five lawyers arguing that Uganda was releasing more water than allowed by a legal agreement between Kampala and Egypt.
