IGIHE

Category: Politics

  • Tajiks vote on allowing president to rule for life

    {Constitutional changes, if passed as expected, will allow President Rahmon to rule the central Asian state for life.}

    Polls closed in ex-Soviet Tajikistan on Sunday in a referendum on constitutional changes almost certain to strengthen the hold of long-time President Emomali Rahmon and his family over the Central Asian state.

    The country’s electoral commission, which declared the vote valid, said some 88.3 percent of the roughly 4.3 million eligible voters had cast ballots by 1300 GMT.

    The 63-year-old leader has ruled Tajikistan for nearly a quarter of a century, demonstrating what critics say is an increased disregard for religious freedoms, civil society and political pluralism in recent years.

    Many residents of the Tajik capital appeared enthusiastic in their support for Rahmon, who led the country out of a five-year civil war that began in 1992, less than a year after independence.

    “Rahmon brought us peace, he ended the war, and he should rule the country for as long as he has the strength to,” 53-year-old voter Nazir Saidzoda told AFP news agency.

    Other voters were more pessimistic about their leader’s ability to pull the country of eight million out of economic difficulty.

    “Everything that is being done is for [the regime] to hold on to power for as long as possible,” 37-year-old Marifat Rakhimi said.

    “We are waiting for a better economy and the disappearance of corruption.” Rakhimi added.

    The amendment to lift the limit on his time in office applies only to Rahmon, owing to the “Leader of the Nation” status parliament voted to grant him last year, which also affords him and his family permanent immunity from criminal prosecution.

    Other amendments include lowering the minimum age required to be elected president from 35 to 30 and a ban on the formation of parties based on religion.

    The age-limit change could position Rahmon’s 28-year-old son, Rustam, for an early succession, while restrictions on political parties come amid the ongoing trial of key members of a banned Islamic party.

    The Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan (IRPT) had been widely viewed as moderate before the government branded it a “terrorist group” last year, stripping away the most significant formal opposition to the Rakhmon regime.

  • Dozens detained in Kazakhstan over land reform protests

    {Police block protests in major cities over reforms the opposition says will lead to foreigners acquiring too much land.}

    Police have detained dozens of protesters in Kazakhstan during anti-government rallies in the country’s major cities, prosecutors said.

    Opposition activists had called for demonstrations in the Central Asian country’s largest cities, including Astana, Almaty and Karagandy, to protest a controversial proposal for land reforms that includes liberalising the sale and rental of farmland to foreigners.

    There are fears it could lead to Chinese farmers acquiring large swathes of land.

    Authorities had rejected all applications to hold protests on Saturday and cordoned off the main squares of Almaty and Astana, while activists called on their supporters to protest nonetheless.

    Kazakhstan’s deputy prosecutor general, Andrei Kravchenko, said that as of Saturday, 40 people had been arrested for organising and taking part in these unauthorised demonstrations, TASS news agency reported.

    Kravchenko said that the police force had worked to “prevent any violations of the law.”

    A number of journalists were briefly detained during the protests. Kazakh police later said that the arrests had been a “misunderstanding”, Interfax news agency reported.

    In April demonstrators had taken to the streets in a string of provincial towns to protest proposed land reforms the government says are important to attract investment into the country.

    President Nursultan Nazarbayev earlier this month halted the proposal, saying that “doubts had arisen in society”.

    A combination of inflation and falling real incomes have fuelled social discontent in a country often regarded as a regional success story despite endemic corruption.

    Kazakhstan’s tenge currency shed around half its value after the government abandoned a trading corridor with the dollar last year under pressure from low crude prices and Russia’s economic downturn.

    Land policy is highly politicised in ex-Soviet Central Asia where privatisation policies of the 1990s are often recalled with bitterness and where nearby China is seeking to expand its agricultural interests.

    Kazakhstan's deputy prosecutor general said police had worked to prevent any violations of the law

  • Africa’s second round of elections all set for August

    {Kabila out to emulate, Museveni, Nkurunziza, Kagame, Bashir and Jammeh.}

    As the second half of 2016 beckons, Africa can look back to a busy first half that saw the continent focused on a mixed bag of often dramatic elections and referendums.

    As matters stand, the election of former coup leader Azali Assoumani as the president of Comoros marked the end of a series of riveting polls, many of which were controversial.

    In Comoros, what turned out to be a tight race saw Assoumani garner 41.43 per cent of the ballots cast. He is to be sworn into office on Thursday.

    As for the rest of Africa, a welcome hiatus is now in place, giving the continent a whiff of fresh air as it refocuses on socio-economic and security matters before the beginning of another poll season that kicks off in August.

    There is still a lot of internal politicking, though, as campaigns are already heating up in countries like Zambia.

    As matters stand, the country will hopefully hold an election on August 11. President Edgar Lungu faces a tough opposition.

    An unusually crowded month in Africa’s electoral calendar, August is also expected to see a presidential election in Cape Verde.

    The tiny country recently held credible parliamentary polls won by the opposition.

    Also due in August is a presidential election in Gabon, a country with a history of unabashed vote-fixing, and where the Bongo dynasty will be going all out to remain in power.

    Evidently, though, incumbent Ali Ben Bongo Odimba, the heir of Omar Bongo, will not be having it easy.

    In the meantime, there is uncertainty regarding a presidential election set to be held in Somalia, also in August.

    In fact the jury is still out about whether the perennially unstable country will be able to mount an election.

    As for the Democratic Republic of Congo, a still uncertain presidential poll is supposed to be held in November.

    However, the political turbulence prevailing in the country has raised fears that the poll may not be held.

    In recent times, that prospect has become all too real as President Joseph Kabila, who assumed power in 2001, has been accused of resorting to tricks in a bid to have the poll postponed.

    Borrowing a leaf from such veterans of the African political scene as Uganda’s Yoweri Museveni, Rwanda’s Paul Kagame, Sudan’s Omar al-Bashir and his own wily neighbour, Dennis Sassou-Ngueso of the Republic of Congo, Kabila seems to be hell-bent on serving a new term.

    Indications, however, are that Kabila — who like Gabon’s Bongo inherited his country’s presidency from his father Laurent Desiré Kabila — is unlikely to be sitting easy for long.

    Already, he is being kept on toes by a formidable and seemingly united opposition fronted by its flagbearer, Moise Katumbi, who is widely recognised as the leading contender for the presidency.

    The world can still look forward to other polls slated for different dates in November. Among them will be Ghana.

    Also awaited is the planned presidential poll in Gambia, where Yahya Jammeh will by all predictions be trying to tighten his grip on power.

    President Edgar Lungu (left) talks to Foreign Affairs minister Harry Kalaba during a military exhibition march to mark Zambia's 50th Independence celebration. Zambian voters go to the ballot on 11th August 2016.

  • Burundi parties advised to learn from two world wars

    {Parties to the ongoing conflict in Burundi have been warned against fuelling civil war in the country and advised to learn from the two world wars on how such unrest could badly cost a community socially and economically.}

    That was stated by Head of the European Union Delegation to Tanzania, Ambassador Roeland Van-De Geer, who was speaking on behalf of the Diplomatic Community during the opening of the Burundi Dialogue Process on Saturday.

    “In Europe, we learned the hard way. It took us two world wars to realise the importance of peace and conflicts resolutions,” he recalled. The four-day dialogue sessions are taking place here under the facilitation of former President Benjamin Mkapa.

    The original Burundi Peace Accord was notably signed in Arusha during Mr Mkapa’s tenure and supervision alongside former South African President, the late Nelson Mandela. In his comments yesterday, Mr Mkapa pointed out that it was Burundi who held the responsibility of ensuring peace in their country.

    “We are all aware that this is a Burundi problem and it can be solved only by the Barundi themselves,” he said, adding that his only role was to facilitate the dialogue and reach an amicable solution.

    “My plan in this endeavour is to give ample time and space to all stakeholders to express their views on the way forward and for this reason I have sent invitations to former heads of state and political parties in Burundi, civil society Organisations, faith-based groups, prominent political actors as well as women and youth group,” explained Mr Mkapa.

    The dialogue’s opening was also attended by the Special Advisor to the United Nations Secretary General on the Great Lakes, Ambassador Jamal Benomaar, who stated that the UN Security Council was very much concerned on the situation in Burundi.

    “The Security Council has given its full support to the East African Community-led meditation efforts under the Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni and commended the EAC’s decision to appoint former Tanzanian president to facilitate the process,” he said.

    Mr Mkapa had been appointed as facilitator for the Burundi peace talks by the Summit of the East African Heads of State, a regional community, comprising of Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania and Burundi itself.

    Former President Benjamin Mkapa and facilitator for the Burundi peace talks

  • Uganda:Continue the struggle, Besigye tells Opposition

    {The former Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) presidential candidate, Dr Kizza Besigye, who is remanded at Luzira prison on treason charges, has told his party leaders to continue with the fight for rights and freedoms of the oppressed.}

    “When I was in Moroto Prison, I found many inmates on remand who have gone for over two years without seeing a judge. Most of them are now busy handling election petitions. Here in Luzira prison, which was built for 600 inmates now accommodates over 1,300 inmates. Go and continue our struggle to free these Ugandans,” Mr Ibrahim Ssemujju, the FDC spokesperson, quoted Dr Besigye as telling party leaders.

    Mr Ssemujju together with Kampala Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago visited the former presidential candidate in Luzira on Friday morning.
    The FDC spokesperson said Dr Besigye was in high spirits.

    “Those who think that by jailing him they are going to frustrate him are lying to themselves. This is a man who spent four years in the bush during the war (1981 to 1986). So he is used to harsh and actual conditions. He is recharging. When he eventually comes out, he will continue where he ended,” Mr Ssemujju said.

    The genesis
    Dr Besigye was arrested on May 11 after a video clip on YouTube circulated on social media showed him being sworn in as President of Uganda.
    He was later transferred to Moroto District in the remote Karamoja semi-arid region and charged with treason.

    Dr Besigye was on Monday this week transferred to Nakawa in Kampala and charged with treason afresh before being remanded to Luzira prison until June 1 for mention of his case.

    The Electoral Commission announced Mr Museveni winner of the February 18 elections with 60 per cent and Dr Besigye as runner up with 35 per cent.
    Dr Besigye disputed the results and said the Electoral Commission wrongfully announced President Museveni the winner. Dr Besigye claims he won the elections with 52 per cent.

    Meanwhile, Dr Besigye’s wife Winnie Byanyima visited him on Friday evening.
    “I am pleased that today I got permission from prisons commissioner to regularly speak to Besigye on phone when I return to work,” she posted on Twitter.

  • Tunisia’s Ennahda distances itself from political Islam

    {Party leader Rached Ghannouchi calls for more democratic embrace after being labelled “moderate Islamists” for 30 years.}

    Tunisia’s conservative Ennahda party says it has separated itself from any association with political Islam after being considered “moderate” Islamists for 30 years.

    Ennahda’s leader Rached Ghannouchi made the announcement on Friday in the opening of the party’s first congress since 2012, which was attended by thousands of people in the capital Tunis.

    “We are keen to keep religion far from political struggles, and we call for complete neutrality,” he said.

    “A modern state is not run through ideologies, big slogans and political wrangling, but rather through practical programmes.”

    In 2011, Ennahda won the country’s first democratic election after President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was forced from power by a popular protest movement.

    But in 2014, it came second to the secularist Nidaa Tounes party in parliamentary elections and is part of a coalition government.

    Al Jazeera’s Nazanine Moshiri, reporting from Tunis, said that Ennahda’s decision to become more of a democratic party stems from efforts to broaden its appeal to the wider sectors of society.

    She said that as a result of its move to halt religious activities in politics, the party’s members can no longer preach in mosques and people can join the party without having to obtain two signatures from the party.

    “Tunisia and the West in general still view the label of Islamists as connected to groups like Al-Qaeda and Boko Haram. So it is trying to move away from that label, but it doesn’t mean it wont have Islamic values, it still will.”

    Ghannouchi and other intellectuals inspired by Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood in 1981 founded the Islamic Tendency Movement, which became Ennahda in 1989.

    Banned under the leadership of Ben Ali, the party was legalised after the 2011 uprising.

    Ghannouchi, who lived in exile for 20 years, returned home to a triumphal welcome after the uprising and won post-revolution election in October 2011.

    Ghannouchi says that a modern state is not run through ideologies, but through practical programmes

  • DR Congo opposition leader Katumbi flies to SA for medical care

    {Moise Katumbi, the opposition presidential hopeful in the Democratic Republic of Congo, has flown to South Africa for medical treatment, his lawyer says, a day after authorities issued an arrest warrant for him.}

    He was accused of hiring foreign mercenaries in an alleged plot against the state, which he denies.

    Mr Katumbi’s lawyer said he had been in hospital since police had fired tear gas during a protest.

    Elections are due in November.

    Prosecutors allowed him to travel for treatment on condition that he returned to face the criminal charges against him.

    Lawyer Georges Kapiamba said Mr Katumbi was taken to hospital in Lubumbashi, after police fired tear gas at him and his supporters.

    The politician was weak but boarded the flight unaided, he added.

    Mr Katumbi has condemned the charges against him as an attempt to stall his campaign to replace President Joseph Kabila in November polls.

    Mr Kabila, in power since 2001, is nearing the end of his second term and he is constitutionally obliged to step down by December.

    But there is growing political tension as it is not clear if he will relinquish power.

    Moise Katumbi was governor of the south-eastern Katanga province for almost a decade.

    He is a wealthy businessman who has a lot of support in the mineral-rich south-eastern Katanga province, and was at one time an ally of the president,
    But in September last year he broke ties with the ruling party when he accused President Kabila of wanting to cling to power.

    His popularity is partly down to his job as the president of a great source of Congolese pride – football club TP Mazembe.

    They are Africa’s reigning football champions, having won the African Champions League for the fifth time in November.

    Moise Katumbi denies the charges against him

  • Uganda:Rights body condemns Besigye brutal arrest, wants speedy trial

    { {{Kampala.}} The chairperson of the Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC) has called for a fair and speedy trial of Opposition leader, Dr Kizza Besigye, who is currently on remand at Luzira prison on treason charges.}

    Mr Medi Kaggwa made the call while addressing the press in Kampala yesterday about the recent human rights concerns in the country.

    He also condemned the brutal arrest of Dr Besigye and FDC party supporters by the police and other security agencies in various parts of the country.

    Dr Besigye, the runner up in this year’s presidential elections, was on May 11, arrested and taken to Moroto where he was charged with treason and later transferred to Nakawa Chief Magistrate’s Court in Kampala and charged afresh on Wednesday.
    He was remanded to Luzira prison until June 1 for mention of his case. Treason is a capital offence only tried by the High Court and attracts a death sentence on conviction.

    “The Uganda Human Rights Commission noted the arrest of Dr Besigye, the former presidential candidate on Wednesday 11, 2016, and his being charged with treason at the Nakawa Chief Magistrate’s Court. The UHRC consequently calls upon all those concerned to ensure a fair and speedy trial…” Mr Kaggwa said.
    On the charge sheet, the prosecution states that Dr Besigye and others still at large between February 20 and May 11 this year in diverse places in Uganda formed an intention to compel by force or constrain the government of Uganda to change its measures or counsels as to the lawfully established methods of acceding to the office of President.

    Mr Kaggwa also condemned the beating up of people who were following Dr Besigye recently in the city. People were beaten up by masked men in the presence of police.
    Days after the Inspector General of Police, Gen Kale Kayihura, withdrew his officers from Dr Besigye’s home in Kasangati, Wakiso District, after a siege of over 45 days, masked men were seen randomly beating up people who followed the Opposition leader as he drove through the town to his party headquarters in Najjanankumbi.

    Police were present but just looked away as the masked men inflicted mayhem on unarmed civilians.
    “Media reports indicate that masked men beat up people in the streets of Kampala on Thursday 14 April, 2016 in the presence of the police without being restrained or arrested. The commission however, noted that the police disowned the masked gangs and said it had commissioned an investigation into the matter,” said Mr Kaggwa.

    He added: “The commission notes that the public expects quick investigations whose findings should be made public.”
    The UHRC is a government agency mandated to protect and promote human rights in the country.
    The commission is also mandated to give guidance on any emerging human rights issues in the country by pointing out human rights violations that require urgent attention.

    {{Law says}}

    Article 28 (1) of the Constitution demands that in determination of civil obligations or any criminal charge, a person shall be entitled to a fair and speedy public trial before an independent and impartial court or tribunal established by law.

    Uganda Human Rights Commission chairperson Medi Kaggwa addresses a press conference in Kampala yesterday.

  • Burundi ready for Arusha meet

    {President Pierre Nkurunziza’s government in Bujumbura has confirmed its participation in the Inter-Burundian Peace Dialogue which starts in Arusha, this weekend, under the facilitation of former Tanzanian president, Mr Benjamin William Mkapa.}

    The inter-Burundian dialogue, which starts today, comprises a series of talks aimed at ending the year-long political crisis. The sessions will be concluded next Tuesday (May 24) at the East African Community (EAC) Headquarters.

    “The May 21 to May 24 meetings in Arusha will be staging consultations between different stakeholders with the co-facilitator in the Burundian conflict, the former Tanzanian Head of State,” said the Head of Corporate Communications at EAC Secretariat, Mr Richard Owora Othieno.

  • EAC emblem for use in all public offices

    {All government institutions, including regional administration and local government offices, will now be using the East Africa Community (EAC) emblem, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation, Regional and International has announced.}

    The ministry’s Head of Communications, Ms Mindi Kasiga, told reporters in Dar es Salaam yesterday the symbols include the EAC flag and anthem, which will be used alongside national symbols.

    Ms Kasiga said the private sector, most especially learning institutions, including universities, are also required to have the EAC symbols as part of educating and promoting the EAC among the youth.

    “The symbols will be used in all public offices and private offices that usually have the national symbols that is the Union flag and the national anthem — and most especially in schools and universities to promote and educate the youths on EAC,” Ms Kasiga explained.

    She noted that the EAC flag is supposed to fly alongside the Union flag, meaning that whenever there is any event where the national anthem is sung, the EAC anthem must also be played.

    The symbols must be used by ministries, independent departments, public institutions and agencies, Ms Kasiga added,explaining that her ministry will work with the Ministry of Regional Administration and Local Government (TAMISEMI) to make sure the EAC symbols are available in all local government offices. The ministry will coordinate availability of samples of the EAC symbols, whose costs will be shouldered by each institution.

    “All ministries and other government institutions must liaise with the ministry for further clarifications on availability and use of the EAC symbols,” she added. The move is in line with the implementation of the Treaty for the establishment of the EAC, section 7 (a), which requires the public in all the member states to be part and parcel of the community, including being informed on all different steps being taken by the community.

    According to Ms Kasiga, the move to have the EAC symbols used alongside national symbols is not just for Tanzania but for all EAC member states. “The 5th Phase Government, under President John Magufuli, who is also the current EAC Chairperson, will ensure Tanzanians participate fully in all EAC projects to know the benefits and opportunities available in the region,” she explained.

    Meanwhile, former President Benjamin Mkapa, will lead the peace dialogue on Burundi conflict expected to begin on May 21 and 24 at the Arusha International Conference Centre (AICC).

    Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni remains the main mediator and the Burundi peace talks were earlier scheduled for between May 2 and 6 under the new facilitator (Mr Mkapa); but were later postponed. Mr Mkapa was appointed as the facilitator of the Burundi peace talks at the 17th Ordinary Summit of EAC heads of State in Arusha in March.

    The deadly violence in Burundi erupted after President Pierre Nkurunziza announced he would run for a third term, which he won under controversial circumstances last July.

    The opposition in Burundi said President Nkurunziza violated the constitution’s two-term limit as well as the Arusha Agreement that ended the 12-year civil war in the tiny central African country.