Tanzania which uses the language more extensively than Kenya has made it compulsory that all subjects in primary school are taught in Kiswahili.

Currently English is the only official language of the EAC, but Kiswahili is recognised in the treaty as the lingua franca.

Burundi and Tanzania have proposed the amendments of Article 137(1) of the treaty to provide for French and Kiswahili as official languages of the East African Community.

However the Kenyan Assistant minister for East African Community Affairs, Peter Munya, argues that there is no need for EAC to add other colonial languages like French to the list of the regional official languages as proposed by Burundi.

“In my view, since the EAC already has English as an official language there is no need to add another colonial language to the list,” said Mr Munya.

“There is logic in Kiswahili being an official EAC language because it is a local tongue and widely spoken across the five member states of Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda.”