Arusha. For Martin Karoli Ngoga, former president of the East African Legislative Assembly (Eala), the die is not cast.
The end of his five-year term over the weekend would likely open up more avenues for him to serve the region and beyond.
When asked where he would be heading after his tour of duty in the East African Community (EAC), he was quick to reveal his passion and where he belonged.
“You know or you may not know. I am the Chairman of the FIFA Ethics Committee and a member of the Committee since 2007,” he said.
He told The Citizen over the weekend that before the dust settles on his departure, he would focus on his work at FIFA for a while.
He said that as a Rwandan citizen and politician, he has no doubt that his government would assign him other roles given his status.
“But for now my eyes would be on my assignment at FIFA as president of the ethics body,” he said.
The committee is one of the three judicial bodies of the Zurich-based world soccer body organized into two chambers.
Two of them are the Instruction Room and the Adjudication Room. The third is the Disciplinary Committee.
Ngoga, a lawyer, said the world soccer body’s Ethics Committee has been on the offensive lately in the fight against corruption in the ranks of FIFA and the management of soccer globally.
He was recently in Doha for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in his capacity as Chairman of the Ethics Committee, but had to rush back to Arusha.
Regarding his management in Eala, he said that it was not an easy path given the challenges that the EAC has been subjected to in recent years.
These include the shortage of financial resources that severely affected the intergovernmental organization and the Covid-19 pandemic.
He said that the period between 2013 and 2021 was the most challenging for the EAC due to differences between some partner states to the point of open hostility.
“We were able to find a solution together with my colleagues. We have peacefully concluded our term,” she said.
Mr. Ngoga has held key positions in the Rwandan government before being elected to the Regional Assembly.
Between 2006 and 2011 he was attorney general at a time of a massive search for key suspects in the Rwandan genocide for trial at home and in Arusha.
Since March 2015, he has served as an Eala member for his country before being elected President of the fifth Assembly in December 2017.
The fifth Eala which was inaugurated yesterday (Monday) will elect a new Speaker today (Tuesday) to replace Mr. Ngoga.
