Business
East African Bank relieved by court ruling
East African Development Bank Headquarters in Kampala, Uganda
Tanzania last week avoided further aggravating a damaging diplomatic and legal crisis after its Court of Appeal reversed a prohibitive court award against the East African Development Bank (EADB), in a key ruling that could set a precedent around immunities enjoyed by East African Community institutions.
In a decision that was as much a vindication of the regional lender and Tanzania’s judiciary as it was an indictment of opportunistic litigation, the Court of Appeal on December 28 ruled in favour of EADB, quashing a High Court order that had directed it to pay US$137 million to Tanzanian transport firm Blueline Enterprises.
The appeals court declared as null and void the entire proceedings of the High Court and faulted the lower court for wrongly entertaining the execution proceedings after the EADB had pleaded immunity. The case had left Tanzania facing mounting diplomatic pressures from fellow member states worried about the country’s lack of respect for the diplomatic immunity and privileges granted to EAC institutions
