Author: IGIHE

South Sudan impasse impedes swearing in of EALA legislators

{The East African Court of Justice (EACJ) has restrained the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) from administering oath of office to its members, hence stalling whatever timetable that would be set for the commencement of the fourth assembly.}

The order was delivered by the First Instance Division of the EACJ, as an interim ex parte order restraining swearing-in of new members or otherwise to recognise nominees from the Republic of South Sudan pending the hearing of inter-parties tomorrow.

The ex parte hearing was before and decided by the Principal Judge Monica Mugenyi; Deputy Principal Judge Isaac Lenaola and judges Faustin Ntezilyayo, Fakihi Jundu and Audace Ngiye.

It comes as a result of an application filed by Mr Wani Santino Jada, a citizen of the Republic of South Sudan against the Attorney General of the Republic of South Sudan, the Speaker of the Parliament of South Sudan and the Secretary General of the East African Community (EAC).

All parties have been served with the ex parte order that was issued by the court.

Mr Jada who represented himself at the ex parte hearing claimed that on or about the 11th of March 2017, the President of the Republic of South Sudan appointed nine persons to represent the said partner State in EALA and that it was in violation of Article 50 of the Treaty for the Establishment of the EAC.

He argued that whereas the swearing-in of EALA MPs that was due to take place on the 5th of June, 2017 and had since been deferred incidentally, it could nonetheless transpire before the hearing of the interim orders of inter parties thus rendering the said application nugatory.

Article 50 of the EAC, on election of EALA members provides for each partner state’s parliament, to elect, not from among its members, nine members of the Assembly, who will represent as much as it is feasible, the various political parties represented in the national assembly.

Among others, it provides that such election should take into consideration gender and other special interest groups in the respective partner state, in accordance with such procedure as the national assembly of each partner state may determine.

The EACJ is one of the organs of the EAC established under Article 9 of the Treaty for the Establishment of the Community. It was established in November 2001 and its major responsibility is to ensure the adherence to law in the interpretation and application of and compliance with the EAC Treaty.

Speaker of EALA, Mr Dan Kidega dissolved the third Assembly on June 2, this year.

Source:Daily News

June 14, 2017
Tanzania:Court slaps man with 20-year jail term over government trophies

{Sindiga Resident Magistrate’s Court has ordered a 46-year old man to pay 630m/- or spend 20 years in jail for illegally possessing three elephant tusks valued at 63m/- contrary to the Economic Sabotage Act.}

State Attorney Mr Ahmed Seif told the court presided by Senior Resident Magistrate-in-Charge, Joyce Minde that James Kalenzoe, a resident of Ilula in Iringa Region, who is also known as ‘Saidi’ was arrested after being found in possession of the said government trophies around 08:30pm on January 11, this year, at Friends ‘B’ Guest House in Singida town.

Mr Seif further claimed that on the material day, the accused was found with three elephant tusks worth 63m/- which is an offence.

The prosecutor further alleged before the court that despite the unrelenting government endeavours to prevent poaching, the accused continued to kill the precious animals that form the country’s resources.

In mitigation, the accused asked the court to be lenient in imposing a penalty because that was his first offence since he was born 46 years ago and that he had a large family which solely depended on him.

Source:Daily News

June 14, 2017
President Kagame condoles with late Mukayisenga family

{President Paul Kagame has sent in his condolences to the family of late parliamentarian Mukayisenga Françoise who passed on Sunday at Rwanda Military Hospital. }

The message from Kagame was conveyed by the Minister of Sports and Culture, Uwacu Julienne who said that his excellence and family “are sad to learn about the demise of late Mukayisenga Françoise.’ President Kagame comforted Mukayisenga family and prayed that ‘they become strong during this mourning period.’

Uwacu noted that Mukayisenga held various leadership positions and in parliament where she has served with commitment for 14 years. “The country has lost a good leader and public servant who served with commitment and patriotism,” he said.

The General Secretary of RPF Inkotanyi, Ngarambe François said Mukayisenga executed her duties with utmost commitment.

“MP Mukayisenga was a credible member. She was a good team player in local leadership and in parliament where she served for 14 years,” he said.

The Speaker of Lower Chamber of Parliament, Mukabalisa Donatille lauded the contribution of late Mukayisenga’s nation building ideas she would share in parliament.

June 14, 2017
President Kagame meets German counterpart

{President Paul Kagame was yesterday received by his German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier during a luncheon at the sidelines of the G20 summit. }

President Kagame is in German where he attended G20-Africa partnership forum held in Berlinwhere he delivered a speech calling for expanded relationships between rich countries and Africa and International financial institutions noting that aid is not enough to guarantee sustainable development.

He highlighted investment opportunities present in Africa in various sectors including roads construction, bridges, dams, railways and ports noting that private investments are the foundation of productivity.

President Kagame also held talks with German Foreign Affairs Minister, Sigmar Gabriel.

G20 is comprised of 19 countries including Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China,France, German, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, England, United States and European Union.

June 14, 2017
Symposium on peace and security roots for sustainable dev’t

{The Minister of Justice and Attorney General, Johnston Busingye has said that security and sustainable development are mutually inclusive and should be pursued with a comprehensive approach.}

He made the remarks while giving a keynote address at the opening of the fourth symposium on peace, security and Justice.

The annual event is organized by the National Police College (NPC) as part of the course requirements for the Police Senior Command and Staff Course (PSCSC) offered to senior police officers at strategic level.

“Good governance and sustainable development cannot exist in an environment that has no security,” Minister Busingye said.

The one day event was organized under the theme: “Security to enhance good governance; a key pillar for sustainable development.”

The symposium drew scholars, academicians, policymakers and other eminent officials with expertise in various fields whose work greatly influence the shaping of norms in the three areas of peace, security and justice.

The seminar is integral part of the PSCSC masters program in Peace Studies and Conflict Transformation conducted by NPC in collaboration with University of Rwanda and UK College of Policing.

It also attracted the PSCSC students from eleven African countries attending the fifth intake, and Institute of Legal Practice and Development (ILPD) students.

The students attending the fifth intake are from Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Namibia, Sierra Leone, Somalia, south Sudan, Uganda, Cameroon, the Gambia and Rwanda, the host.

While speaking on challenges and prospects in ensuring peace and security for sustainable development in Africa, the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Emmanuel K. Gasana pointed out that although Africa is a continent with a lot of opportunities, it is also faced with many challenges that have a direct impact on the progress of the continent.

“Inter-state conflicts and insurgencies, costly criminal activities, genocide ideologies, the trend and activities of terrorism did not leave Africa… different structural conflicts have devastated the continent; Africa’s internal challenges have been characterized by bad governance, poor leadership and political wrangles,” IGP Gasana said.

Prof. Patrick Loch Otieno Lumumba, the Director of the Kenya School of Law, who spoke on ‘visionary leadership as a foundation for good governance,’ observed that if “Africa is to be on the table as diner not a waitress,” then it’s paramount to know where the continent has come from.

“Visionary leaders are committed to values, exemplify a sense of personal integrity, radiate a sense of energy, vitality and will,” Prof. Lumumba said.

He added: “The most effective visionary leaders are responsive to the real needs of people and they develop participative strategies to include people in designing their own futures.”

Among the key personalities shaping Africa’s progress today, according to Prof Lumumba, is President Paul Kagame whom he described as a “visionary and dedicated leader that has tremendously transformed Rwanda into a country on the move” and whose “obituary had been written by pessimists.”

“Under his leadership, Rwanda has exhibited robust economic growth, became the leading country in Africa in terms of service delivery, education and in health. Levels of corruption have decreased nationwide and high levels of institutional accountability, economic recovery, and national income rose while urban poverty has decreased,” Prof Lumumba said of President Kagame.

He observed that many parts of Africa continue to endure suffering because of poor leaders, who have arrogated to themselves the monopoly of wisdom and have led their countries to pain, sorrow, and lamentation.

“However, a few examples have demonstrated that Africans can run their affairs if sound and visionary leadership takes root. The examples of Rwanda, Uganda, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Botswana, Mauritius and Seychelles confirm this,” he said.

Executive Director of SMART Africa Alliance, Dr. Hamadoun Toure, also spoke on ‘understanding today’s digital world opportunities and threats.’

“By the year 2020, the world will have 50 billion devices connected. The more these figures go up the more sophisticate cybercrimes become,” Dr. Hamadoun said.

He added: “Globally, an estimate of US$2.5trillion is lost due to cyber-related crimes; piracy is costing approx US$23billion and US$250 lost in violation of intellectual property, but the more sophisticated part is that the criminals are not visible and can be in many places at the same time.”

Other speakers at the symposium include the Commandant of NPC, Commissioner of Police (CP) Felix Namuhoranye; the spokesperson of the Uganda Police Force Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIGP) Asan Kasingye who gave a lecture on countering the increasingly sophisticated terrorism-challenges and way forward; Letty Chiwara, the UN Women Representatives to Ethiopia, African Union, and Economic Commission for Africa who spoke about inclusiveness for sustainability-Women’s participation; and Dr. Anita Ndoti Kiamba from University of Nairobi spoke about Security as a beneficiary and contributor to sustainable development-case study of the great lakes region.

The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry Youth and ICT, Maj. Regis Gatarayiha spoke about mainstreaming ICT-led security to respond to growing cyber threats while Prosecutor General Jean Bosco Mutangana spoke on ‘multidimensional approach to confronting new security threats: Legal adaptability.’

In his keynote address while closing the symposium, the Minister of Education Dr Papias Manimba Musafiri said that the forum presents an opportunity to share experiences and skills to combat emerging security challenges.

“Law enforcers should embrace the use of ICTs as a crucial tool to reshape police operations in the changing nature of cybercrimes,” Minister Musafiri said.

Source:Police

June 14, 2017
Autism risk linked to fever during pregnancy

{Prenatal exposure to maternal fever during the second trimester raised odds of autism spectrum disorder by 40 percent}

Fever during pregnancy may raise the risk for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in the child, according to a study led by scientists at the Center for Infection and Immunity (CII) at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health. The effect was most pronounced in the second trimester, raising odds for ASD by 40 percent. Risk of an ASD was increased by over 300 percent for the children of women reporting three or more fevers after the twelfth week of pregnancy.

The study is the most robust to date to explore the risk of ASD associated with fevers across the entire span of pregnancy, and of the capacity of two different types of commonly used anti-fever medications — acetaminophen and ibuprofen — to address that risk. Risks were minimally mitigated among the children of women taking acetaminophen for fever in the second trimester. Although there were no cases of ASD among children of mothers who took ibuprofen, a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug, researchers could not ascertain whether risk was mitigated due to the extremely small number of women using this particular drug for fever. Results of the study appear in the journal Molecular Psychiatry.

The researchers followed 95,754 children born between 1999 and 2009, including 583 cases of ASD identified in Norway through the Autism Birth Cohort (ABC) Study. Mothers of 15,701 children (16 percent) reported fever in one or more four-week intervals throughout pregnancy, similar to rates reported in the U.S. ASD risk was increased by 34 percent when mothers reported fever at any time during pregnancy, and by 40 percent in the second trimester. The risk increased in a dose-dependent fashion from 1.3-fold with one or two fever episodes after the twelfth prenatal week to 3.12-fold with three or more episodes.

“Our results suggest a role for gestational maternal infection and innate immune responses to infection in the onset of at least some cases of autism spectrum disorder,” says first author Mady Hornig, associate professor of Epidemiology and director of Translational Research at CII.

Questionnaire analysis did not indicate an association between risk and maternally-reported symptoms of infection in individual organ systems that might implicate specific infectious agents. An ongoing study is testing blood samples collected at mid-pregnancy and at birth to explore the possible role of specific infectious agents and the contribution of distinctive patterns of immune response among mothers and children to understand the mechanisms creating vulnerability.

“Future work should focus on identifying and preventing prenatal infections and inflammatory responses that may contribute to autism spectrum disorder,” says senior author W. Ian Lipkin, John Snow Professor of Epidemiology and director of CII.

Source:Science Daily

June 14, 2017
Tigo partners with Ericsson, launch Business Support System (BSS) ‘as a Service’ in Rwanda

{Tigo Rwanda has partnered with Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) to completely overhaul its Business Support System (BSS) ecosystem. The partnership enables Tigo to better serve its customers with new and innovative offerings combined with shorter time to market, improved customer experience and increased operational efficiency.}

Commenting on the partnership, Xavier Rocoplan, Chief Technical and IT Officer at Millicom said, “This is another major step in our IT transformation and process improvement journey. The ‘as a Service’ operating model is a very important component of our long term strategy. This new way of looking at BSS activities is a cornerstone in Millicom’s operational excellence program that strives at always delivering a better experience for our customers in a more efficient manner. The partnership with Ericsson has enabled us to quickly meet our strategic needs and provide a solid foundation for future development. We have already begun to see improvements in the experience for our consumers and employees in Rwanda.”

Rafiah Ibrahim, SVP and Head of Market Area Middle East & Africa, Ericsson, said: “Our partnership with Tigo Rwanda and the implementation of Ericsson’s innovative BSS ‘as a Service’ model signifies an important first step towards future collaboration across the Millicomgroup. We are confident that the trust and cooperation embedded in this business model, which lies at the center of revenue generation for Tigo, will further strengthen the strategic relationship in BSS between Tigo Rwanda and Ericsson, as well as the entire Millicom group.”

Tigo Rwanda is the first operator across the Millicom group that has transformed its BSS operations and gone live with Ericsson’s ‘as a Service’ model for its complete BSS needs.The solution covers the full spectrum of charging, billing, provisioning, mediation and roaming functionality combined with advanced customer care and self-care solutions for management and ordering of services.

June 14, 2017
Making art activates brain’s reward pathway

{Your brain’s reward pathways become active during art-making activities like doodling, according to a new Drexel University study.}

Girija Kaimal, EdD, assistant professor in the College of Nursing and Health Professions, led a team that used fNIRS (functional near-infrared spectroscopy) technology to measure blood flow in the areas of the brain related to rewards while study participants completed a variety of art-making projects.

“This shows that there might be inherent pleasure in doing art activities independent of the end results. Sometimes, we tend to be very critical of what we do because we have internalized, societal judgements of what is good or bad art and, therefore, who is skilled and who is not,” said Kaimal of the study that was published The Arts in Psychotherapy. “We might be reducing or neglecting a simple potential source of rewards perceived by the brain. And this biologocial proof could potentially challenge some of our assumptions about ourselves.”

For the study, co-authored by Drexel faculty including Jennifer Nasser, PhD, and Hasan Ayaz, PhD, 26 participants wore fNIRS headbands while they completed three different art activities (each with rest periods between). For three minutes each, the participants colored in a mandala, doodled within or around a circle marked on a paper, and had a free-drawing session.

During all three activities, there was a measured increase in bloodflow in the brain’s prefrontal cortex, compared to rest periods where bloodflow decreased to normal rates.

The prefrontal cortex is related to regulating our thoughts, feelings and actions. It is also related to emotional and motivational systems and part of the wiring for our brain’s reward circuit. So seeing increased bloodflow in these areas likely means a person is experiencing feels related to being rewarded.

There were some distinctions between the activities in the data collected.

Doodling in or around the circle had the highest average measured bloodflow increase in the reward pathway compared to free-drawing (the next highest) and coloring. However, the difference between each form of art-making was not statistically significant, according to analysis.

“There were some emergent differences but we did not have a large-enough sample in this initial study to draw any definitive conclusions,” Kaimal said.

It was noted and tracked which participants in the study considered themselves artists so that their results could be compared to non-artists. In that way, Kaimal and her team hoped to understand whether past experience played a factor in triggering feelings of reward.

Doodling seemed to initiate the most brain activity in artists, but free-drawing was observed to be about the same for artists and non-artists. Interestingly, the set coloring activity actually resulted in negative brain activity in artists.

“I think artists might have felt very constrained by the pre-drawn shapes and the limited choice of media,” Kaimal explained. “They might also have felt some frustration that they could not complete the image in the short time.”

Again, however, these results regarding artists versus non-artists proved statistically insignificant, which might actually track with Kaimal’s previous research that found experience-level did not have a bearing on the stress-reduction benefits people had while making art.

Overall, though, the finding that any form of art-making resulted in the significant activation of feelings of reward are compelling, especially for art therapists who see art as a valuable tool for mental health.

In fact, in surveys administered to the participants after the activities were complete, respondents indicated that they felt more like they had “good ideas” and could “solve problems” than before the activities. Participants even said they felt the three-minute time spans for art-making weren’t long enough.

“There are several implications of this study’s findings,” Kaimal said. “They indicate an inherent potential for evoking positive emotions through art-making — and doodling especially. Doodling is something we all have experience with and might re-imagine as a democratizing, skill independent, judgment-free pleasurable activity.”

Additionally, Kaimal felt that the findings of increased self-opinion were intriguing.

“There might be inherent aspects to visual self-expression that evoke both pleasure and a sense of creative agency in ourselves,” she said.

Source:Science Daily

June 14, 2017
[Pictorial]National Police College holds fourth symposium on Peace, Security and Justice

{The National Police College (NPC), yesterday, held its fourth annual symposium on Peace, Security and Justice, one of the course requirements for the Police Senior Command and Staff Course (PSCSC) offered to senior police officers at strategic level.}

The one day event held at Rwanda National Police (RNP) general Headquarters was organized under the theme: “Security to enhance good governance; a key pillar for sustainable development.”

The symposium drew scholars, academicians, policymakers and other eminent officials with expertise in various fields whose work greatly influence the shaping of norms in the three areas of peace, security and justice.

Source:Police

June 14, 2017
Plastic made from sugar and carbon dioxide

{Some biodegradable plastics could in the future be made using sugar and carbon dioxide, replacing unsustainable plastics made from crude oil, following research by scientists from the Centre for Sustainable Chemical Technologies (CSCT) at the University of Bath.}

Polycarbonate is used to make drinks bottles, lenses for glasses and in scratch-resistant coatings for phones, CDs and DVDs

Current manufacture processes for polycarbonate use BPA (banned from use in baby bottles) and highly toxic phosgene, used as a chemical weapon in World War One
Bath scientists have made alternative polycarbonates from sugars and carbon dioxide in a new process that also uses low pressures and room temperature, making it cheaper and safer to produce

This new type of polycarbonate can be biodegraded back into carbon dioxide and sugar using enzymes from soil bacteria

This new plastic is bio-compatible so could in the future be used for medical implants or as scaffolds for growing replacement organs for transplant

Polycarbonates from sugars offer a more sustainable alternative to traditional polycarbonate from BPA, however the process uses a highly toxic chemical called phosgene. Now scientists at Bath have developed a much safer, even more sustainable alternative which adds carbon dioxide to the sugar at low pressures and at room temperature.

The resulting plastic has similar physical properties to those derived from petrochemicals, being strong, transparent and scratch-resistant. The crucial difference is that they can be degraded back into carbon dioxide and sugar using the enzymes found in soil bacteria.

The new BPA-free plastic could potentially replace current polycarbonates in items such as baby bottles and food containers, and since the plastic is bio-compatible, it could also be used for medical implants or as scaffolds for growing tissues or organs for transplant.

Dr Antoine Buchard, Whorrod Research Fellow in the University’s Department of Chemistry, said: “With an ever-growing population, there is an increasing demand for plastics. This new plastic is a renewable alternative to fossil-fuel based polymers, potentially inexpensive, and, because it is biodegradable, will not contribute to growing ocean and landfill waste.

“Our process uses carbon dioxide instead of the highly toxic chemical phosgene, and produces a plastic that is free from BPA, so not only is the plastic safer, but the manufacture process is cleaner too.”

Dr Buchard and his team at the Centre for Sustainable Chemical Technologies, published their work in a series of articles in the journals Polymer Chemistry and Macromolecules.

In particular, they used nature as inspiration for the process, using the sugar found in DNA called thymidine as a building block to make a novel polycarbonate plastic with a lot of potential.

PhD student and first author of the articles, Georgina Gregory, explained: “Thymidine is one of the units that makes up DNA. Because it is already present in the body, it means this plastic will be bio-compatible and can be used safely for tissue engineering applications.

“The properties of this new plastic can be fine-tuned by tweaking the chemical structure — for example we can make the plastic positively charged so that cells can stick to it, making it useful as a scaffold for tissue engineering.” Such tissue engineering work has already started in collaboration with Dr Ram Sharma from Chemical Engineering, also part of the CSCT.

The researchers have also looked at using other sugars such as ribose and mannose. Dr Buchard added: “Chemists have 100 years’ experience with using petrochemicals as a raw material so we need to start again using renewable feedstocks like sugars as a base for synthetic but sustainable materials. It’s early days, but the future looks promising.”

This work was supported by Roger and Sue Whorrod (Fellowship to Dr Buchard), EPSRC (Centre for Doctoral Training in Sustainable Chemical Technologies), and a Royal Society research Grant.

Source:Science Daily

June 14, 2017