Category: News

{{A senior official of the East African Community (EAC) has observed that the region needs a solid and workable peace and security strategy to counter emerging threats.}}

“We still lack workable strategies to contain new security threats such as maritime piracy, money laundering, terrorism and cyber crimes, among others, with the view to ensuring that peace and stability in the region remain our top priority,” said the EAC deputy secretary general in charge of Political Federation Dr. Julius Rotich.

He was opening a five-day meeting of EAC member states experts to review the regional Peace and Security Strategy. The meeting is taking place in Dar es Salaam, according to a statement from the Arusha-based secretariat.

In a speech read on his behalf by Didacus Kaguta, the EAC Peace and Security officer, the deputy secretary-general emphasised that addressing and maintaining regional peace and stability should continue to serve as the cardinal security agenda among members.

The Peace and Security Strategy is an operational policy document that mandates partner states and the secretariat to jointly plan and respond to issues of peace and security in the region. This should happen as the Peace and Security Protocol is being finalized.

The protocol has been presented before the EAC Sectoral Council on Legal and Judicial Affairs for legal input and endorsement.

The EAC Treaty recognises peace and security as pre-requisites for the success of the regional integration. The matters are more important now than ever because of the already advanced negotiations on the Monetary Union.

“Our joint desire for successful integration cannot and should not be frustrated by criminals or criminal activities and hence a need to move quickly to position ourselves through strengthening the peace and security strategy.

This will ensure that the achievements made through the integration stages are not threatened,” he asserted.

The chairman of the session, David Njoka, said the region cannot sit back without addressing critically new security issues, which can otherwise “divert us from our perceived objective of a united and prosperous East Africa”.

“Emerging security issues must be managed and tackled swiftly so that East Africans can carry out their activities without being inhibited by security threats,” the official added.

The meeting is attended by experts from military, police, security, prisons/correctional services, judicial and legal sectors coordinated by the EAC Secretariat.

The five-day meeting is held with support of the German International Development Agency (GTZ), which has over the years supported a number of EAC Peace and Security programmes.

{{In the ongoing Police week activities, Police has conducted community work in Kicukiro involving preparation of road and construction of a bridge that connects Niboye and Kanombe sectors.}}

During the even, Police in partnership with stakeholders lay a foundation stone for the construction of Isange one Stop Center aimed at decentralising Isange and facilitate gender based violence victims.

After the community work, the mayor of Kicukiro district, Paul Jules Ndamage handed a check of Frw 10 million to Police to facilitate construction of Isange One Stop Center within the district.

The construction phase is expected to take 3 months at a total cost of Frw 30 million.

The Police also distributed free 100 mosquito nets and health insurance cards to the most vulnerable people in Kicukiro district.

The Kigali City mayor Fidèle Ndayisaba applauded the existing collaboration in fighting crime between Police and Kigali City citizens.

He said that drugs and illicit alcohol consumption have negative effect to citizens’ health, their socio-economic well being and the development of the country as a whole.

“Drugs are of no use, they only lead to self destruction and death. You should instead focus on income generating activities to improve your livelihood,” Ndayisaba noted.

He added that consumption of drugs and illicit alcohol lead to criminal activities.

{{Swtizerland’s media has reported that Gaspard Ruhumuliza an alleged Rwandan war criminal suspected of genocide is living in Luzern on welfare benefits.}}

In 2011 Canada media had reported that Ruhumuriza was suspected to be living in Canada.

Its alleged that most Genocide fugitives changed their names when they arrived abroad to enable them quickly secure assylum.

Identified only as GR he is one of three people living in Switzerland suspected of involvement in the Rwandan genocide. He protests his innocence, online news site Blick reported.

“The accusations against me are nonsense. I always wanted to help my people. But now they want to see me hang,” he said referring to Rwanda government.

GR, now 59 years old, was Rwanda’s Minister of Environment and Tourism when the genocide began in Rwanda 18 years ago.

Meeting with one of Blick’s journalists in Luzern, he said he fled the country when the genocide started, taking refuge in Switzerland, where he has remained ever since.

Since his arrival in Switzerland in 1994, GR has benefited from welfare payments of up to 260,000 francs ($273,000). His wife and four children have been living in Geneva.

He has been living on 1,677 francs ($1,759) a month, having tried without success to find work.

“As long as I am a suspect, I cannot get a job,” he said.

GR is being investigated by the military justice system in Switzerland, but will not be returned to Rwanda despite a request for his extradition, the news site said.

He is also wanted by Interpol for war crimes and genocide.

“We know that Switzerland is a happy hunting ground for former war criminals who live here in secret,” says Philip Grant, director of TRIAL, the Swiss society for international criminal law.

Switzerland cannot return GR to Rwanda because it does not believe that he would receive a fair trial: if the Rwandan system found him guilty, he would almost certainly face the death penalty.

“They have accused me of leading the army in the fighting. This is absurd, I was only Minister of Environment and Tourism. I’ve never given a command to kill,” he told the news site.

Rwanda expert Gerd Hankel from the Hamburg Institute for Social Research believes that GR was not one of the instigators of the genocide, but said that as minister, he must have at least condoned it.

GR said he was not perturbed by the military investigations into his past.
“I have nothing to hide, and it is also important to me that the truth comes to light.”

{{Police has arrested three people for posessing counterfeit currency notes worth Frw 368,000. The suspects were arrested in two separate operations.}}

Police in Kayonza district, Nyamirama sector apprehended Mustafa Rushirabwoba 46 and Gilbert Ndikumana 18 as they tried to send Frw 368, 000 worth of counterfeit money through Tigo cash.

The two are detained at Mukarange Police Station.

In a different scenario, in Karongi District, Bwishyuza Sector, Police arrested one Eric Habimana 22, with counterfeit currency worth Frw 68,000.

The suspect is being held at Bwishyura Police Station while investigations to track down other suspects continue.

“We are particularly pleased with the collaboration of the public”, Police Spokesperson Superintendent Theos Badege said, referring to the people who tipped of Police leading to the arrest of three.

{{Hon. Jesca Eriyo, the EAC Deputy Secretary General in charge of Productive and Social Sectors has reaffirmed the importance of collaboration if the region is to successfully manage its transboundary natural resources.}}

She made the remarks while opening a three-day workshop on transboundary conservation on Tuesday in Arusha, Tanzania, stated that better management of cross-border resources and ecosystems was an essential driver for economic growth.

At the workshop, whose theme is “Managing transboundary resources for the enhancement of the region’s sustainable development”, Hon. Eriyo observed.

She added that through its specialized institutions and with support from development partners the EAC had initiated numerous transboundary natural resource management projects in an effort to achieve sustainable social-economic development from these shared resources.

She noted that EAC is cognizant of the fact that collaborative transboundary resource management practices can help avoid or reduce duplication of efforts, creating economies of scale and enhancing economic opportunities.

Meanwhile, on behalf of United States Government delegation head Julie Fischer, the US Africa Coordinator for Foreign Service Programs Matthew Edwardsen reiterated the country’s strong commitment to promotion of livelihoods and conservation of ecosystems across East Africa.

The workshop is expected to agree a structure and roadmap for promoting, developing and coordinating transboundary conservation in the region; agree mechanisms and processes for sharing information on transboundary initiatives, activities and experiences; and develop a workshop statement on transboundary ecosystems conservation in East Africa, among others.

EAC has organized the transboundary conservation workshop in collaboration with the Wildlife Conservation Society and the United States Forest Service.

{{President Paul Kagame has made a surprise visit to Uganda where he was received by his counterpart President Yoweri Museveni at the State House Entebbe.}}

The Plane Carrying President Kagame touched ground at Entebbe International Airport at Mid-day on Tuesday.

Details of their discussions have not yet been made public. Uganda’s Daily Monitor has only published leaked Photos of President Kagame shaking hands with President Museveni at State House Entebbe.

The photo is tagged to a story with a headline “Uganda tops Africa in blood donation” probably to scoop their archrival state owned New Vision.

NewVision carried a lead story of Heroic welcome of EALA Speaker Margaret Zziwa Tuesday at Entebbe Airport upon her return from Arusha Tanzania.

Equally Rwanda’s State owned media and Rwandas only Print Daily has not published this surprise visit by President Kagame to Uganda.

Presently Rwanda and Uganda relations can be described as Excellent.

{{Mangwashi Phiyega is the first woman to head the South African Police.
Her appointment follows the firing of Gen Bheki Cele who had been accused of corruption.}}

South African President Jacob Zuma told Media that he had “decided to relieve Gen Cele of his duties”.

Gen Cele, whose predecessor was jailed for corruption, was suspended in October after it emerged he had been implicated in alleged unlawful property deals – he had denied any wrongdoing.

He played a key role in Zuma’s hard-fought campaign to be elected president in 2009.

Last year a South African corruption investigator, Thuli Madonsela, ruled that police buildings were leased from a company at inflated prices.

Madonsela – who is South Africa’s public protector, a role similar to that of an ombudsman – accused Gen Cele of being among those who were ultimately responsible for the “fatally flawed” deals.

{{Wednesday June 13, the High Court in Dar es Salaam will be presented with evidence and supporting documents by way of affidavit to prove that Lulu is under age.}}

Elizabeth Michael a.k.a Lulu is charged at the Kisutu Resident Magistrate’s Court with murdering local movie star Steven Kanumba on April 7, this year, at Sinza Vatican.

Tuesday court Judge Fauz Twaibu ordered defence lawyers of Lulu to submit evidence about age of the actress supporting their claim she is under the age of 18.

Defence counsel led by advocate Peter Kibatala filed the application at the High Court seeking the determination of the accused’s age.

Lawyers stated that Lulu has not attained the age of 18 years to merit prosecution in an adult court.

The application by Kibatara followed a decision by the lower court to turn down their request to transfer the murder case to a juvenile court on the ground that the lower court lacked jurisdiction to entertain the matter.

However, in his ruling Monday, Judge Twaib quashed and set aside the decision by the resident magistrate’s court to refuse to entertain the application, saying it was an error in law and an abdication of duty.

“Consequently, I hold that the lower court was wrong to refuse to entertain the application, thinking that such an enquiry could only be done by this court.
I quash and set aside the decision of the Kisutu Court,” the judge ruled.

The judge said, considering the seriousness of the charge facing the applicant and the urgency of determining whether or not the applicant is entitled to the benefits of the Child Act and in the interest of justice, the court is invoking its supervisory powers under Section 44 of the Magistrate’s Court Act and shall proceed to determine the correct age of the applicant in terms of Section 113 of the Child Act.

The judge said that the nature and seriousness of the charge facing the applicant, the lack of any possibility for securing bail, during the pendency of the charge and undisputed urgency of the matter require that the controversy about her age be determined the soonest.

He further ruled that, in the meantime, the proceedings of the murder case at the lower court should stay, pending determination of the applicant’s age in the High Court.

The judge ordered the applicant’s counsel to produce evidence on their client’s age on June 13 while prosecution required submitting their reply on June 20 while the hearing would be on June 25.

{{Former President of Egypt Hosni Mubarak 84, has accused the current government that ousted him of planning to kill him in jail.}}

‘They want to kill me. Save me, Farid, find me a solution,” said Farid al-Deeb, his chief lawyer in the murder and corruption trial that ended this month with his sentencing.

Mubarak is serving a life sentence over protester killings, has said the authorities “want to kill” him in jail as his health deteriorated, his lawyer told media.

The former president’s health has deteriorated since his imprisonment on June 2, and he was defibrillated twice to revive his heart on Monday.

He is currently being held in an intensive care wing of Cairo’s Tora prison. Prison authorities agreed on Monday to allow his son Alaa, also jailed in the same prison on corruption charges, to join him and his other son Gamal.

Mubarak’s wife Suzanne and his two daughters-in-law were given special permission to visit him on Sunday following rumours that he had died in prison.

{{The United States ambassador to the DRCongo has urged Congolese troops to destroy the M23 rebels confirming U.S. position through a statement issued on June 7 in Washington.}}

“We support efforts made by the Congolese government and its partners against the M23. Government has a duty to destroy the rebels.
You are right to destroy these rebels, “James Entwistle told the Congolese authorities in Goma.

He said the Congolese government has the right to destroy the Movement of March 23 (M23), currently under fire from the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC) in North Kivu.

“We support the Congolese government’s efforts to discourage further desertions and bring to justice perpetrators of violations of human rights among the mutineers, including Bosco Ntaganda,” read the statement issued by the White House.

The rebel general was indicted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes, crimes against humanity committed in Ituri in 2002.

Ambassador Entwistle said that he made him a briefing on the military situation prevailing in that province.

The clashes between the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo and the rebels have caused displacement of thousands into neighbouring countries including Uganda and Rwanda.

He noted that cooperation between Kinshasa and Washington did not begin with the case of M23.

“We trained Congolese soldiers a long time. We support this country for years, “he said.