It has been famously said in the past that ‘in a democracy, every nation gets the government it deserves’. We have witnessed elections take place across the world with undoubtedly startling results in the recent past. Among these were the elections held in three East African states over the past two years, each exposing in its own way, the odd ‘tinge’ of controversy. This aside, democracy is taking root in the region. Be that as it may, 2017 promises to be a seminal year for East Africa, given that the opportunity will arrive for the remaining two member countries of the East African Community – Kenya and Rwanda, to conduct national and Presidential elections respectively. In all of these and the previous elections, no African government has had an environmental agenda on their policies but in fact, these should form a better part for a sustainable development agenda for any country. Will the choices made here be a true reflection of the kind of leadership that each country deserves?