Towards the East African Monetary Union: Constitutional Issues for Kenya

Authors Shiundu Joseph Lutta

ISSN: 2521-2605
Affiliations: Advocate of the High Court of Kenya and Certified Public Secretary of Kenya
Source: Journal of Comparative Law in Africa, Volume 2 Issue 1, p. 74 – 100

Abstract

Generally, countries enter into monetary union agreements to promote economic integration. In turn, this economic integration is meant to spur equitable development among the member states. Aside from the potential economic gains, monetary unions raise a myriad of serious issues that are constitutional and political in nature. This is because this practice transfers sovereign power of the people from the nation to a supranational organisation. As such, this shift in authority alters the framework of a country’s governance system. This legal quandary forms the spine of this article. It seeks to demystify these constitutional issues from the perspective of Kenya and the prospective East African Monetary Union (EAMU). In addition, it provides a comparative study of the practice in Germany within the European Union (EU) and lessons it offers to Kenya in manoeuvring this legal dilemma.