IGIHE

Category: Politics

  • Congo: Nguesso hosts Kabila for talks on DRC political situation

    {DR Congo president Joseph Kabila on Monday paid a visit to Congo-Brazzaville’s president Denis Sassou Nguesso in his hometown of Oyo, northern Congo.}

    The official visit aims at addressing the issues surrounding the political situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and particularly in view of the presidential election that is tentatively scheduled for the end of this year.

    President Sassou Nguesso who is also trying to contain a tense socio-political situation in his own country, is apparently trying to mediate the DRC crisis.

    Already, former Togolese prime minister Edem Kodjo is leading Africa Union’s mediation talks between the DRC government and opposition groups.

    President Joseph Kabila has come under pressure to step down and opposition members are accusing him of trying to hang onto power by trying to delay the polls.

    His term expires on December 20.

    In early May, the country’s top court ruled that he can stay in office beyond his mandate if the presidential election is delayed.

  • Uganda:Besigye to resume defiance campaign

    {Jailed Opposition leader Kizza Besigye has vowed to resume the defiance campaign as soon as he is released from Luzira prison where he is facing treason charges related to the campaign he launched during the presidential elections and insists is legal.
    }
    Dr Besigye told a group of 12 FDC MPs who visited him yesterday that if his bail application set for July 6 is successful, he will instantly resume the defiance campaign, rallying his supporters to remain defiant even in the face of an upsurge in adversity.

    When he appears for his bail application in the High Court, Dr Besigye said he will also voice misgivings on “restrictions” imposed on him by the Prison authorities after he was barred from publishing a Ramadhan message he had authored.

    “The struggle continues. Encourage our people. They should not lose hope. If I get bail, the defiance campaign will resume immediately. What the regime is trying to do is to make people their subjects, to make people feel powerless. That we [government] can pick anybody and lock him [in Luzira] and nothing will happen. We shall not accept that,” he said.

    Dr Besigye also warned of a plot to grab land from unsuspecting peasants, saying he will write in detail about dubious land registration schemes, while also asking MPs to specifically take interest in the matter of land grabbing in the country.

    “There should not be land registration before there is a clear legal regime and the previous cases of land grabbing are resolved,” Dr Besigye said.
    Commenting on his plight in Luzira, he said the conditions have improved since he was last incarcerated there in 2005, only complaining of overcrowding, saying: “I am no stranger to this place. I have to say that the conditions have improved since the last time I was here. The only problem is over-crowding,” Dr Besigye said. He shares a cubicle cell with one inmate.

    The MPs briefed Dr Besigye about the parliamentary petitions where FDC MPs have defeated NRM MPs in court and the treason charges that were yesterday preferred against the Nakawa MP Michael Kabaziguruka in the General Court Martial.

    Dr Besigye, in his typical cheerful mood, exchanged pleasantries with the MPs, recounting how inmates cheerfully wave at him when he is out of his cell, and how he responds with strokes of toka kwa bala bala, the signature song for the defiance campaign.

    {{Re-enforcing security}}

    When the MPs entered the officer’s room that was manned by three prison guards, security quickly reinforced with an additional five guards who kept watch and listened to all the proceedings.

  • Brexit: David Cameron to face EU leaders in Brussels

    {British PM to discuss UK referendum result in Brussels for the first time, amid political and economic uncertainty.}

    Prime Minister David Cameron is heading to Brussels to meet with EU leaders for the first time since Britain voted to leave the bloc.

    He is expected on Tuesday to discuss the vote at an EU summit, while the other 27 leaders will gather for the first time without him on Wednesday morning to plan their next moves.

    Cameron will first sit down with EU President Donald Tusk, before the European Council meets later in the day. Later, the British prime minister will “explain the situation” to his fellow leaders over a dinner, according to an invitation letter from Tusk.

    The EU leaders are likely to stress a willingness to negotiate, but only after London binds itself to a tight two-year exit timetable.

    The leaders of France, Germany and Italy met in Berlin on Monday and said Europe needed to respond to its people’s concerns by setting clear goals to improve security, the economy and prospects for young people.

    German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who has appeared to take a softer line on Britain’s decision than some European leaders, said she had “neither a brake nor an accelerator” to control events, adding: “We just don’t want an impasse.”

    Cameron’s trip comes amid deep political uncertainty in Britain, sparked by Thursday’s EU referendum in which he failed to convince Britons to vote to remain in the EU.

    Shortly after the results were announced on Friday, he promised to resign by October – opening the way for a leadership contest within the ruling Conservative Party.

    The decision for a Brexit – or British exit – also caused global markets to sink, sterling to drop to its lowest level in more than three decades, and it threw the opposition Labour Party into crisis.

    Many expect a general election in the near future, following Cameron’s resignation and as several Labour MPs have resigned, citing ineffective leadership by Jeremy Corbyn.

    The political, economic and regulatory uncertainty is being felt across the globe at a time when economies are still slowly recovering from the 2008 economic crisis, interest rates are close to zero, and central banks have fewer tools than normal to revive demand if countries enter recession.

    {{‘Who’s running Britain?’
    }}

    On Monday, there was still an air of confusion in Britain regarding leadership and the plan to leave the EU. Cameron ruled out, however, a second referendum on the issue, following calls to hold another vote.

    “Who’s running Britain, and what now is the plan? That’s what everyone wanted to know as government ministers arrived at Downing Street, those who had voted to stay and those whose campaigning to leave had been the undoing of David Cameron. Not one said a word,” said Al Jazeera’s Laurence Lee, reporting from London.

    “But the notable absentee from the meeting, Boris Johnson, used his newspaper column to argue in far more conciliatory terms that things may not be so different in the future, in particular that EU citizens in the UK will not have to leave, even though many Leave voters wanted exactly that. It was quite different from his tone before the vote.”

    Johnson, a Conservative politician and former London mayor, had led the Leave campaign.

    “I’ve seen a lot of confusion over the weekend about the status of people living in this country. It is absolutely clear that people from other European countries who are living here have their rights protected,” said our correspondent.

    “All that people want to see is a system that is fair, impartial and humane to all people coming from around the world. To put it bluntly, there currently is no government and no opposition.”

  • Nigeria senate leader Saraki denies forgery charges

    {The leader of Nigeria’s senate, Bukola Saraki, and his deputy have pleaded not guilty to forgery and criminal conspiracy charges.}

    Mr Saraki and Ike Ekweremadu are accused of trying to forge the senate rules in order to help them secure their positions.

    If found guilty they face up to 14 years in prison.

    President Muhammadu Buhari has been at loggerheads with Mr Saraki as his party did not want him as senate leader.

    Mr Buhari’s preferred candidate was not present when the senate elected its president last year.

    Mr Saraki’s opponents say that that election was not valid and was conducted under rules which they allege were forged.

    The case could have widespread political ramifications, correspondents say.

    The accused arrived at court in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, in bus accompanied by senate colleagues, the BBC’s Chris Ewokor reports.

    Mr Saraki is also involved in another court case in which he is accused of false asset declaration, a charge he denies.

    Bukola Saraki denies charges of false asset declaration in another case

  • South Africa’s President Zuma ‘must repay $500,000 in public funds’

    {South Africa’s treasury has recommended President Jacob Zuma pay back $509,000 (£385,000) to the government for upgrades made to his private home.}

    This comes after the country’s highest court ruled earlier this year that Mr Zuma repay some of the $23m of public funds spent on his house in 2009.

    The upgrades included an amphitheatre, pool, chicken run and cattle enclosure.
    Mr Zuma must now repay the money – about 3% of the total spent – within 45 days.

    An anti-corruption body, known as the public protector, ruled in 2014 that Mr Zuma had “unduly benefited” from the non-security renovations to his rural home in Nkandla in South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal province.

    In March, the Constitutional Court then ruled that he had violated the constitution when he failed to repay some of the money.

    It gave the treasury two months to come up with a figure for Mr Zuma to repay.
    The treasury says it hired two independent quantity surveyors to conduct separate investigations to come up with the figure.

    The main opposition Democratic Alliance (DA), one of the parties which brought the case, welcomed the treasury’s report but said it had hoped the figure would be higher.

    “This sends out a clear message to those involved in corruption, especially those in the ANC, that you will be held accountable for your actions, even if you are the president,” the AFP news agency quotes DA spokesman Mabine Seabe as saying.
    What has been a long and drawn out fight between President Zuma and opposition parties seems to be coming to an end, reports the BBC’s Pumza Fihlani in Johannesburg.

    The Nkandla scandal has been a hotly debated subject in parliament for almost three years and has damaged the president’s reputation, she says.

    In April, President Zuma apologised for the controversy and said he would abide by the Constitutional Court’s ruling.

    A few days later he survived an impeachment vote in parliament, showing his opponents that he is a true political survivor, our correspondent says.

    The Nkandla residence has become a political headache for President Zuma

  • African Union urges quick talks to solve Burundi crisis

    {Peace monitors not yet deployed as talks with regime have not been successful.}

    The 15 members of the African Union Peace and Security Council have urged quick and inclusive talks to solve Burundi’s year-long crisis, the Council said while concluding a four-day visit in Burundi.

    “For four days, we have met various groups and authorities including the Burundian president, religious groups, civil society organizations, the UN system and diplomats accredited in Burundi.

    ‘’All Burundian stakeholders said that they need a quick solution to the crisis,” Mr Lazare Makayat Safouesse, head the African Union Peace and Security Council delegates, told a press conference on Monday.

    According to him, all groups expressed “urgency” of an inclusive dialogue to settle Burundi’s year-long crisis.

    “The internal dialogue that is ending in four months can feed the dialogue at the external level under the mediation of the East African Community (EAC), with Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni as the main mediator and former Tanzanian President Benjamin Mkapa as the co-facilitator,” said Mr Safouesse.

    He commended the recent visit by Mr Mkapa in Brussels, Belgium where he met Burundian citizens who had been unable to attend the inter-Burundian dialogue held in May in Arusha, Tanzania.

    “Dialogue is not done between friends. We hope that Burundian citizens will show their maturity as it was the case when they reached the 2000 Arusha Agreement,” said Mr Safouesse. He noted that the security situation has “positively” progressed.

    {{Peace and security}}

    Burundian President Pierre Nkurunziza met with members of the AU Peace and Security on Friday at Makamba chief town in the province of Makamba, some 200 km south of the Burundian capital Bujumbura.

    With regards to the deployment of 100 troops and 100 human rights monitors recommended in February after a visit in Burundi of an AU high level delegation of heads of state, Mr Safouesse indicated that the deployment “has not yet been possible”, adding that discussions are still underway between the AU and the government of Burundi for their deployment.

    He said, “We hope that there will be an agreement for the deployment of troops and the human rights monitors to oversee the situation in Burundi.”

    Burundi is facing a political turmoil that broke out since April 2015 following the announcement that he would be seeking a third term.

    His candidature, which was opposed by the opposition and civil society groups, resulted into a wave of protests, violence and even a failed coup on May 13, 2015.

    Over 451 people are reported to have been killed since then while some 270,000 citizens sought exile in neighbouring countries.

    President of Uganda, Yoweri Museveni speaks at the Sipopo Conference Centre during the 23rd African Union Peace and Security Council meeting in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea on June 26, 2014.

  • Labour’s Jeremy Corbyn faces crisis after Brexit vote

    {Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn fires shadow foreign secretary Hilary Benn for attempting coup, as 15 other members resign.}

    Britain’s opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn is facing a crisis within his Labour Party following the EU referendum, having sacked one shadow cabinet minister for attempting a coup, and as 13 other members resigned, citing ineffective leadership.

    But, a defiant Corbyn said he will stand in any new Labour leadership election and “reshape” the shadow cabinet within a day.

    “I regret there have been resignations today from my shadow cabinet,” the Labour leader said in a statement late on Sunday. “But I am not going to betray the trust of those who voted for me – or the millions of supporters across the country who need Labour to represent them.

    “Over the next 24 hours I will reshape my shadow cabinet and announce a new leadership team to take forward Labour’s campaign for a fairer Britain.”

    In the early hours of Sunday, Corbyn sacked shadow foreign secretary Hilary Benn as deep divisions emerged in the Labour Party following the UK’s vote to leave the European Union.

    Corbyn, facing pressure to step aside after Thursday’s referendum, dismissed Benn after reports that he was preparing to lead a coup against the Labour leader.

    Hours later, Heidi Alexander, the shadow health secretary, resigned. Soon after, Gloria de Piero, the shadow minister for young people , also quit and many others also quit. Shadow Commons leader Chris Bryant and Anna Turley, shadow minister for civil society were among those who resigned a day later, on Monday.

    In a letter posted to Corbyn, published on her Twitter page, Turley said: “[I] do not believe the Labour Party under your leadership is, or ever will be, in good enough shape to go to the public in an election and ask to serve them in government.”

    Corbyn has been criticised for not campaigning hard enough in support of EU membership, and had failed to convince millions of voters in the party’s heartlands to back “Remain”.

    Many fear that should another general election be held in the wake of the Brexit, or British exit, vote, Corbyn would fail to inspire voters towards the Labour Party – the main opposition to the ruling Conservative leadership.

    In a statement, Benn said he was sacked after telling Corbyn in a phone call that he had lost confidence in his leadership.

    “It has now become clear that there is widespread concern among Labour MPs and in the shadow cabinet about Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership of our party. In particular, there is no confidence in our ability to win the next general election, which may come sooner than expected, if Jeremy continues as leader,” Benn said.

    Benn, the son of former Labour politician Tony Benn, also publicly disagreed with Corbyn in September over air strikes on Syria.

    Soon after the 52 to 48 percent vote in favour of Brexit , which triggered the resignation of Prime Minister David Cameron, two Labour MPs – Margaret Hodge and Ann Coffey – submitted a motion of no-confidence in Corbyn.

    ‘Immigration debate needed’

    Around one third of Labour voters are estimated to have backed a British exit from the EU on Thursday, with many of those coming from traditional working class areas where high immigration tops the list of public concerns.

    Responding to criticism from Labour colleagues that he had failed to address those concerns, Corbyn said there needed to be a national dialogue on immigration to reach a new settlement.

    “We can’t duck the issue of immigration, clearly it was a factor,” he said. “We need to start an open and honest debate.”

    Corbyn said the vote showed a backlash against the EU principle of free movement. But he added that if Britain wanted to retain access to the European single market – one of many issues cast into doubt by the vote – he believed it would have to accept free movement as a condition of that deal.

    “If we were part of the single market in future, then clearly that would be accompanied by the continuing free movement of people,” he said.

    Benn said he was sacked after telling Corbyn he had lost confidence in his leadership

  • Pentagon to lift ban on transgender service members

    {Officials say US army to implement new policies affecting everything from recruiting to housing for transgender people.}

    The Pentagon plans to announce the repeal of its ban on openly serving transgender service members next month, US defence officials have said.

    One of the US officials said on Saturday that parts of the repeal would come into effect immediately. But the plan would also direct each branch of the armed services to implement new policies affecting everything from recruiting to housing for transgender troops, the official said.

    The repeal would come five years after a 2011 decision to end the US military’s ban on gays and lesbians serving openly, despite fears – which proved unfounded – that such a move would be too great a burden in wartime and would undermine readiness.

    The disclosure came the same week that the US army formally welcomed its new secretary, Eric Fanning, who is the first openly gay leader of a military service branch in US history.

    Republican Representative Mac Thornberry, chairman of the House of Representatives Armed Services Committee, said Defence Secretary Ash Carter had not answered questions the panel had asked, including about “readiness challenges” for transgender service members.

    “If reports are correct, I believe Secretary Carter has put the political agenda of a departing administration ahead of the military’s readiness crisis,” Thornberry said in a statement.

    Supporters of transgender rights cheered the news.

    Ashley Broadway-Mack, president of the American Military Partner Association, said in a statement: “Our transgender service members and their families are breathing a huge sigh of relief.”

    The National Centre for Transgender Equality estimated last year that 15,000 trans people served in the US military.

    Supporters of transgender rights cheered the news

  • Warning: Don’t hire maids from Tanzania, Burundi

    {The Interior Ministry has warned citizens against travel to Tanzania and Burundi for recruiting domestic workers unless all legal measures have been completed and an official recruitment office has been opened.}

    In a statement to SPA, Mohammed Al-Marool, director general at the ministry’s Department of Public Relations and Media, said the ministry had been informed by the Foreign Ministry that the authorities in Tanzania and Burundi were investigating some Saudi citizens.

    The authorities in Tanzania and Burundi have accused the Saudis of human trafficking, illegally recruiting domestic workers and working without a government permit.
    “The Interior Ministry urges all citizens to keep themselves abreast of the laws and regulations in other countries,” said the statement.

  • Uganda:Nothing to fight for in Parliament, says Besigye

    {Former Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) presidential candidate, Dr Kizza Besigye, has urged the Opposition MPs to refrain from scrambling for appointments in the Opposition’s shadow cabinet because there is nothing to fight for since Parliament cannot change anything on the NRM government status quo.}

    “I do not think MPs should be reduced to fighting for small positions in Parliament. What we need to be fighting for is different. We need to struggle to strengthen our position on the ground and form structures like the Power 10 we used in elections to develop capacity to take on the regime that we know has lost credibility. In Parliament, they are just there to make numbers they can’t change anything President Museveni wants whether in Opposition or not,” Dr Besigye said from Luzira prison on Thursday.

    A delegation from Ntungamo District had visited Dr Besigye at the prison where he is on remand on treason charges.

    Talking to Saturday Monitor in an interview at the sidelines of the visitation in the prison, Dr Besigye said the Opposition in Parliament is just there to make numbers but they cannot change anything against President Museveni’s wishes.

    Following the appointment of the Opposition shadow cabinet last week, some senior FDC party officials, including Mr Odonga Otto, said the positions were given as a special reward for supporting the FDC president, Gen Mugisha Muntu, in the past party primary elections.
    Several other analysts described it as a development that could cause major rifts in the biggest Opposition party.
    “We can’t allow positions in Parliament that mean nothing to cause rifts yet we have much to do,” Dr Besigye said.

    He added that fears for his life in prison will not setback his agenda and he shall keep fighting until the regime is removed from power.

    “I have spent much of my youthful age in the struggle, now I am over 60 years, I am not growing younger. What is remaining is that we must fight to the end whoever dies, others will continue. We can’t hold on any more until we get peace, justice, freedom and equality before the law,” he said.

    Dressed in a yellow trouser and short-sleeved yellow shirt of the prison uniform, blue Umoja sandals, a smiling Dr Besigye said he had not been badly treated in prison, only that he still has a lot of fear about his life, especially on what he experienced while in Moroto prison.

    Dr Besigye said he is not yet sure whether a poisonous material was not sprayed in his cell to cause him slow death since he was left there alone and the cell was left open.

    He said deep in the night he saw a policeman with something resembling a poison mask standing at the cell door but the policeman fled when he flashed a torch light on him.
    Dr Besigye said since he has not received specialised medication he still fears his life might be in undetected danger.

    He added that the growing connivance between prisons authorities, police and other security agencies makes him feel more unsafe even inside the cells in Luzira Upper Prison.

    His visitors are subjected to various checks, including biometrics registration, scanning of individual identity cards, with only national IDs and passports acceptable.

    Five officers, four cadet and one Assistant Inspector of Police sit in the room where Dr Besigye meets his guests in front of the office of the officer in charge of the maximum security prison.

    Commenting on the recent insurgency and arrests of key individuals for suspected treason, Dr Besigye said the attacks could have been self-made to frame Opposition individuals and ruled out rebellion.

    “President Museveni should also know that there are some people who think like him. When he lost an election he never went to court he just went directly to the bush. There are people who also believe that they can acquire power that way and do not want to sit on their dissatisfaction. But also they (NRM) can stage-manage something,” Dr Besigye said.