Lawrence Lule Tindamanyire, 80, a retired employee of the East African Community (EAC), is facing financial hardship due to his inability to access his full pension from the government. Tindamanyire, a resident of Karama village, Bunono parish, Nyarushanje sub-county in Rukungiri district, began his career with the EAC on July 10, 1967.
However, in 1977, the EAC faced dissolution, bringing an abrupt end to its era of regional collaboration. Tindamanyire and his fellow former employees were given two options: seek positions within their home governments or gracefully exit public service. Tindamanyire and his fellow affected workers sued the government of Uganda in 1996 after their efforts to demand pension benefits reached an impasse.
In November 2000, an out-of-court settlement was reached between the government and former EAC employees. The settlement agreement stipulated that the government would pay retirement benefits, totaling at least 45 billion Ugandan shillings, to the group whose contracts had been abruptly terminated in 1977. As per the agreement, workers were entitled to receive pension arrears from July 1, 1977, to the date of payment, as well as monthly pensions in accordance with the Pension Act of the EAC Cap 11 and the Pensions Act 281, as amended by decree 6/1978.
After the initial agreement, Tindamanyire received 8 million Shillings as pension arrears in two installments that concluded in 2001. He was promised more but was not informed of the exact balance for the next phase. Since then, he has not received any further monthly pension payments.
By Samuel Amanya
