IGIHE

Category: Politics

  • Kenya:Lawyers vote for new leaders in LSK elections

    {The much-awaited Law Society of Kenya’s elections have started.}

    The polls had faced uncertainty after a junior advocate, Mr Frank Ochieng Walukwe, moved to the High Court to stop the exercise because he had been locked out.

    Both Mr Walukwe and LSK, however, got a reprieve when Justice Weldon Korir ruled that he should be included in the ballot.

    The judge faulted the lawyers’ umbrella body for violating his rights.

    “This candidate was treated unfairly and this case is not about one’s popularity but a violation of rights, Mr Walukwe is qualified to contest as council member therefore the decision to disqualify him is hereby quashed,” Justice Korir ruled.

    The elections are being presided over by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) and an estimated 7,154 lawyers are expected to participate in the voting.

    {{COVETED SEAT}}

    The coveted seat of LSK president is being contested by Nairobi lawyer Allen Gichuhi and two Kisumu-based lawyers, Isaac Okero and Aggrey Mwamu among others, who are looking to replace the outgoing chairman Eric Mutua.

    Other contested seats include those of the vice-president, governing council, disciplinary tribunal, council of the Nairobi branch and a female representative to the Judicial Service Commission (JSC).

    Mr Mwamu is a former president of the East Africa Law Society, from 2012 to 2014, and he is said to be banking on his legacy to win the top seat.

    Besides the president’s seat, the female representative to the JSC position has attracted stiff competition because she will have a say in determining the successor of Chief Justice Willy Mutunga after he retires in June.

    The contenders are Ms Jane Abuodha, Ms Mercy Deche, Ms Marykaren Kigen-Sorobit, Ms Florence Mwangangi and Ms Jane Njeri Njoki Onyango.

    The deputy president seat has attracted two candidates namely Ms Jennifer Shamalla and Ms Faith Waigwa.

    The winner qualifies for the governing council, which also consists of the president and 10 other members.

    Eighteen contestants will battle it out for the other slots.

    At least one member of the council must ordinarily be practising in Mombasa while at least two other members must not practice in Nairobi or Mombasa.

    The voting is taking place in 25 polling centres based at the High Court or Law Courts in Mombasa, Malindi, Machakos, Kisumu, Milimani and Supreme Courts in Nairobi, Nakuru and Kericho.

    The voting centres include Bungoma, Kakamega, Kitale, Kisii, Eldoret, Meru, Nyeri, Busia, Embu, Migori, Kitui, Mumias, Nyahururu, Murang’a, Thika, Homa Bay and Kerugoya.

    The votes will then be tallied at LSK’s secretariat offices in Lavington, Nairobi.

    Source:Daily Nation:[Lawyers vote for new leaders in LSK elections->http://www.nation.co.ke/news/Lawyers-vote-for-new-leaders-in-LSK-elections/-/1056/3091736/-/mauj4v/-/index.html]

  • Tanzania:Zanzibar vows to maintain national unity government

    {The Minister of the State in Second Vice-President Office, Mr Mohamed Aboud, has said that despite threats from the main opposition party to boycott the upcoming elections, people should not worry about the future of the Government of National Unity (GNU).}

    “GNU is for the people, and they are free to decide its future. Therefore, the absence of the main opposition party will not affect the system because there are other political parties which can replace it,” Mr Aboud said.

    His comments were in response to views by some people that GNU faces imminent collapse after March 20, the date set for the election re-run following threat to boycott the polls by the Civic United Front (CUF).

    CUF leaders, led by its candidate Mr Seif Sharif Hamad, have all along insisted that they have decided to boycott the fresh elections because it is against the Zanzibar Constitution.

    “Real elections were held on October 25, 2015 in which CUF won both the presidency and majority seats in the House,” said Mr Hamad. However, Mr Aboud, on behalf of the government and the Zanzibar Electoral Commission (ZEC), stated that preparations for the fresh elections were in top gear and that voters in the Isles should prepare for peaceful elections.

    ZEC Chairman Mr Jecha Salim Jecha nullified the general elections in Zanzibar last October, saying it was tainted by fraud, prompting him to call for fresh polls next month.

    Mr Jecha said that all the candidates from 14 political parties, who took part in the nullified polls, qualify for the fresh polls. Meanwhile, CUF’s Deputy Secretary General, Mr Nassor Ahmed Mazrui, has dismissed as baseless reports in the social media that Mr Hamad, currently in India for health checks, has undergone major surgery.

    “The widely circulated reports are mere rumours from CUF enemies. Mr Hamad is still in India and may pass through other countries before returning home,” Mr Mazrui said, adding that the opposition leader’s medical plan requires him to travel to India for a further check-up every six months.

    There are other reports that Mr Hamad has already left India and was now in Oman.

    Source:Daily News:[Zanzibar vows to maintain national unity government->http://www.dailynews.co.tz/index.php/home-news/47306-zanzibar-vows-to-maintain-national-unity-government]

  • Palestinian anti-corruption chief claws back $70m

    {Anti-corruption chief tells Reuters news agency millions of dollars still missing abroad due to shady business deals.}

    The head of the Palestinian anti-corruption body said he has clawed back $70m in five years from officials who used state money to strike business deals abroad and then pocketed the profits.

    But Rafiq al-Natsheh, chairman of the Palestinian Anti-Corruption Commission, told the Reuters news agency in an interview late on Tuesday that “tens of millions of dollars” still needed to be tracked down.

    One of the biggest challenges for his team, he said, was finding money that had disappeared abroad.

    Natsheh said his investigators had failed to uncover evidence to justify allegations that hundreds of millions of dollars in government funds had gone missing.

    After years of talk of vast sums going astray, the attorney general of the Palestinian Authority announced in February 2006 that he was investigating 50 cases of embezzlement from the authority’s budget totalling $700m.

    President Mahmoud Abbas is under pressure from donors to show he is taking action.

    The European Union and the United States, both of which give direct budget support to the Palestinians, want to see tighter controls, with the Europeans going as far as to send investigators to track where some of their money has gone.

    Over the last five years, direct support to the Palestinian budget from the EU and others has fallen from around $1.3bn a year to less than $700m, with the decline attributed in large part to frustration over money not being spent where it was intended, or not being fully accounted for.

    Natsheh was given sweeping powers to investigate misappropriation of funds, embezzlement, bribery, nepotism and any other corrupt practices.

    ‘Stressful, difficult’

    The $70m recouped for the Palestinian Authority came from a series of successes against senior officials, including three ministers and a director general of the finance ministry, he said.

    “We got $40m back from Egypt and $20m from Iraq,” he said, describing deals in which Palestinian officials used state funds to do business abroad and pocketed the proceeds, rather than transferring them to the PA budget.

    He mentioned a conviction handed down by the corruption court against an adviser to former president Yasser Arafat, but the $34m missing has not yet been recovered.

    The same goes for a case involving $1m, and the former ambassador to Abu Dhabi was convicted of embezzling more than $2m.

    “The biggest challenge we face is to get the money back,” he said. “There are many millions outside Palestine, so it depends on foreign countries for us to get the money back.”

    Asked how much money was still outstanding, he talked of “tens of millions” of dollars, but wouldn’t go into more detail.

    “It’s very stressful work, it’s difficult,” he said.

    Source: Reuters:[Palestinian anti-corruption chief claws back $70m->http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/02/palestinian-anti-corruption-chief-claws-70m-160224073940381.html]

  • Saudi and UAE ban citizens from travelling to Lebanon

    {Bahrain also joins travel ban after Saudi halted $4bn aid to Lebanon army in response to “hostile” Hezbollah positions.}

    Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain have urged their citizens to leave Lebanon or avoid travelling there.

    The move on Tuesday came after Riyadh halted $4bn in aid to Lebanese security forces in response to “hostile” positions linked to Lebanese Shia group Hezbollah.

    The Saudi foreign ministry issued a statement calling on “all citizens not to travel to Lebanon, for their safety, and asking citizens residing in Lebanon or visiting not to stay unless extremely necessary”.

    The statement, run by the official SPA news agency, urged citizens to contact the Saudi Embassy in Beirut.

    Announcing the aid halt on Friday, an official said the kingdom had noticed “hostile Lebanese positions resulting from the stranglehold of Hezbollah on the state”.

    The UAE also banned its citizens from travelling to Lebanon and reduced its diplomatic presence in Beirut.

    Bahrain also urged citizens against travelling to Lebanon, and called on Bahrainis there already to leave quickly, according to a statement posted to state news.

    On Friday, the United Arab Emirates announced “full support” of Saudi’s review of its relations with Lebanon, blaming the country’s “failure to condemn Iran’s aggression” after Saudi Arabia’s embassy was attacked in Tehran in January.

    The embassy attack followed the execution of a renowned Shia leader in Saudi Arabia over “terrorism” charges.

    “The UAE fully supports the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s decision to halt its aid to the Lebanese army and security forces,” said the UAE’s foreign ministry statement, posted on state media on Tuesday.

    “At the same time [the UAE] calls upon Lebanon and its people to restore Lebanon to the Arab Nation where it belongs, away from the Iranian influences adopted by the so-called Hezbollah,” the UAE statement added.

    On Monday, Lebanon tried to repair relations and vowed to support Arab countries and maintain its Arab identity.

    Lebanon’s Prime Minister Tammam Salam said that Lebanon should maintain good relations with Saudi Arabia and that Arab countries must garner a unified response to all obstacles that they face.

    “Lebanon will not forget Saudi Arabia’s role … in helping it rebuild the country after the [1975-1990] civil war,” Salam said after a cabinet session.

    Former prime minister Saad Hariri also expressed loyalty to the kingdom.

    Lebanon’s main political divide pits a Sunni-led coalition against another led by the Iran-backed Shia Hezbollah movement.

    Lebanon has seen a series of armed attacks in recent years linked to the conflict in neighbouring Syria.

    Source: Al Jazeera:[Saudi and UAE ban citizens from travelling to Lebanon->http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/02/saudi-uae-ban-citizens-travelling-lebanon-160223154000581.html]

  • Trump projected to win Nevada Republican caucuses

    {Republican frontrunner wins a third straight victory in the Nevada primary, as Rubio comes in second, US media reports.}

    Donald Trump has won a third straight primary victory in the Nevada caucuses, according to US media, cementing a lead that could soon be insurmountable in the Republican presidential race.

    Early results on Wednesday showed Trump, who had been expected to win by a large margin, leading the pack of candidates with about 44 percent of the vote.

    Marco Rubio was projected by Fox News to come in second with about 30 percent, edging out Ted Cruz who received 16 percent in the Nevada primary, according to early results.

    Both men, however, were far ahead of John Kasich and Ben Carson, Fox News projected.

    The Nevada win is the third in a row for Trump in the state-by-state nominating contest for the November presidential election.

    A billionaire businessman and political outsider, Trump’s brash, anti-government talk appealed to Nevada residents, political strategists said before the Tuesday evening caucus.

    “If you listen to the pundits, we weren’t expected to win too much, and now we’re winning, winning, winning the country,” Trump said at a victory rally in Las Vegas on Wednesday.

    Basking in his victory, Trump vowed he would keep open the military detention centre in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, if elected.

    “We’re going to load it up with a lot of bad dudes out there,” he said, a day after President Barack Obama presented his latest plan to close the facility.

    Trump also drew loud cheers for his vow to build a wall along the southern border and his instance that Mexico will pay for it.

    Trump offered shout-outs from the stage to several of his billionaire friends, including Phil Ruffin, who owns the Treasure Island, and casino developer Steve Wynn.

    “Now we’re going to get greedy for the United States,” he said.

    Cruz and Rubio had both set their sights on a strong second-place finish there in the hopes that a win over the other would provide important momentum ahead of the 12 nominating contests on March 1, known as Super Tuesday.

    Source: Al Jazeera:[Trump projected to win Nevada Republican caucuses->http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/02/trump-wins-nevada-republican-caucuses-160224045859339.html]

  • Libyan forces make key Benghazi gains

    {Residents of Benghazi area celebrate their return as fierce clashes result in hardliners’ stronghold being freed.}

    Forces loyal to Libya’s internationally-recognised government have seized a key central neighbourhood of Benghazi from armed militias, the military said.

    Special forces on Tuesday retook the Benghazi area of Lithi, which had been a stronghold for armed groups including the Islamic State of Syria and the Levant (ISIL) group, after days of fierce clashes.

    Fadel al-Hassi of Libya’s special forces said the neighbourhood was “totally liberated”.

    Residents celebrated alongside loyalist fighters in streets retaken from fighters, flashing victory signs next to the bombed-out shells of buildings.

    Some even tried to enter Lithi to reach their homes but were prevented by security forces who said they needed more time to mop up the district, an AFP reporter said.

    ‘Slow’ political process

    The advance came as Libya’s parliament again failed on Tuesday to vote on a UN-backed unity government seen as a crucial step in ending years of political chaos and conflict in the North African state.

    The administration, now exiled in the eastern town of Tobruk, failed to hold a vote of confidence because it lacked a quorum.

    “The required quorum (89 members of parliament) was not reached, so the president of the chamber adjourned the session,” said MP Mohamed al-Abbani.

    Another parliamentarian, Ali Al-Qaidi, confirmed that “the necessary quorum was not reached, and the session for the vote was adjourned until next week”.

    UN envoy Martin Kobler voiced his disappointment at the postponement.

    “Concerned by slowness of (political) process in Libya, overtaken by military events, must speed up to stop Daesh expansion,” Kobler tweeted, using the Arabic acronym for ISIL.

    Libya has had rival administrations since the summer of 2014 when the recognised government fled Tripoli after a militia alliance overran the capital.

    Libya’s conflict, which has help to create a surge in refugees fleeing the country, has alarmed Western governments over the prospect of hardline groups including ISIL establishing a bridgehead just 300 kilometres (190 miles) from Europe.

    Italy said on Tuesday it had given the US permission to use an airbase in Sicily to launch drone strikes against ISIL in Libya.

    On Friday, US warplanes flying from a Royal Air Force base in Britain attacked an IS training camp in the western Libyan city of Sabratha, killing more than 40 people including two Serbian diplomats being held hostage.

    Source: Al jazeera:[Libyan forces make key Benghazi gains->http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/02/libyan-forces-key-benghazi-gains-160223183343272.html]

  • Lebanon vows to maintain Saudi ties despite tensions

    {Current and ex-prime ministers pledge good ties with Riyadh after Saudi threat to halt grant to security forces.}

    Lebanon vowed to support Arab countries and maintain its Arab identity days after Saudi Arabia decided to halt a $4bn grant for the Lebanese security forces in a diplomatic dispute.

    Prime Minister Tammam Salam said on Monday that Lebanon should maintain good relations with Saudi Arabia and that Arab countries must garner a unified response to all obstacles that they face.

    “Lebanon will not forget Saudi Arabia’s role … in helping it rebuild the country after the [1975-1990] civil war” Salam said after a cabinet session.

    Also on Monday former Prime Minister Saad Hariri expressed loyalty to the kingdom.

    “Loyalty to the Kingdom means loyalty to Lebanon and offending the kingdom means offending Lebanon” Hariri said at a ceremony attended by politicians journalists and businessmen.

    “We tell the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and its leadership and the leaders of the Arab Gulf that the rogue voices attacking you do not speak in the name of Lebanon and the Lebanese and do not represent them.

    “These are the voices of those who turned against Arabism and withdrew from the national consensus. We will not give them the chance to seize the Lebanese Republic regardless of the challenges.”

    On Friday Saudi Arabia said it was halting the military aid programme over Lebanon’s failure to support the kingdom in its recent row with Iran and for what it said were hostile “political and media positions led by the so-called Hezbollah in Lebanon”.

    The Saudi announcement affects two deals: one for $3bn in military hardware for the armed forces and another worth $1bn in aid for the police.

    Saudi Arabia broke off diplomatic relations with Iran last month after the kingdom was angered by the Islamic Republic’s criticism of its execution of Shia religious leader Nimr al-Nimr and a mob attack on its embassy in Tehran.

    Iran and Hezbollah are also staunch supporters of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad committing troops to help his forces against the rebels and hardline groups such as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group.

    Saudi Arabia has been a key backer of the Syrian opposition since the beginning of the uprising against the Assad regime in 2011.

    Source: Al Jazeera:[Lebanon vows to maintain Saudi ties despite tensions->http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/02/160222203826383.html]

  • Bolivia’s Morales set to lose referendum on fourth term

    {President’s bid to run for another term appears to be headed toward a slim defeat, unofficial partial vote counts show.}

    An attempt by Bolivian President Evo Morales to run for another term by amending the constitution appeared headed toward a slim electoral defeat, according to unofficial partial vote counts and early results.

    Morales, 56, now serving a third term, was trying to change the constitution so he could run for re-election in 2019, potentially allowing the former coca grower to remain president until 2025.

    But exit polls showed he may have lost the vote. An Ipsos poll had the “no” side at 52.3 percent and “yes” at 47.7 percent, while a Mori poll gave a narrower 51 percent to 49 percent lead to the “no” side.

    Early official results had the “no” side winning with 66 percent of votes, although that covered only 3 percent of returns. Turnout had been very high, at nearly 88 percent, according to the electoral commission.

    The government urged patience, calling the results a tie and saying it was too early to call.

    “We are really talking about a dead heat at the moment. So it would be better to hold your enthusiasm and calmly wait for results,” the country’s vice president Alvaro Garcia told reporters.

    “All your celebration may well turn into weeping.”

    If the result is confirmed, it would be another blow for South America’s once dominant populist leftist movement that has suffered a series of recent electoral defeats across the continent.

    Morales, Bolivia’s first indigenous president, has been credited with slashing poverty in one of the region’s poorest countries. He took office in 2006 and was re-elected in 2014 with 61 percent of the vote.

    But a growing number of critics charge his administration with corruption, waste and authoritarianism.

    Recent allegations about an ex-girlfriend whose company won lucrative government contracts have weighed heavily on his popularity.

    Economic boom

    Morales presided over an unprecedented economic boom as prices for raw materials soared just as he took office. He built airports, highways and the pride of La Paz, an Austrian-built aerial tramway system.

    He also put a Chinese-built satellite into space. Average per capita income rose from $873 to $3,119 and a new indigenous middle class was born.

    But the boom is over. Bolivia’s revenues from natural gas and minerals, making up three-fourths of its exports, were down 32 percent last year.

    Source: Al Jazeera:[->http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/02/bolivia-morales-set-lose-referendum-fourth-term-160222033644138.html]Bolivia’s Morales set to lose referendum on fourth term

  • Somalia may review Kenya ties after PM plane crisis

    {MOGADISHU, Somalia-Somali government officials have withered words for neighbouring Kenya over its disrespect for a delegation led by Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke, Garowe Online reports.
    }
    By Saturday, Kenyan authorities prevented Prime Minister Sharmarke from racing in a fleet of cars parked outside Jomo Kenyatta International airport in recess enroute to the Turkish city of Istanbul.

    Though Somalia has yet to officially present diplomatic note to Kenya, Federal Member of Parliament Abdullahi Jama, who is accompanying the Prime Minister told VOA Somali Service that Somali parliament will have a session on the humiliating incident perpetrated against the high level delegation.

    The brief stranding attracted the attention of Kenyan media, with Standard running ‘Somali Prime Minister detained in Nairobi’ on its front-page on Sunday morning.

    Sharmarke departed Nairobi for Turkey late on Saturday night, with his entourage whom authorities interrogated at Criminal Investigation Department (CID) flying in the morning.

    Kenyan sources claim that the Prime Minister failed to obtain clearances at Jomo Kenyatta because of his failure to get inspected at Wajir airport where flights from and to Somalia go through for security checks.

    Authorities seized the passports of accompanying delegation members including ministers, staffers and MPs.

    Kenyan Defence Forces (KDFs) crossed the border into Somalia in 2011 to go after Al Shabaab militants in the extreme south.

    Somalia’s ties to Kenya have worsened in the past, with the war-ravaged East African country once recalling its ambassador for consultations.

    Source:Garowe:[Somalia may review Kenya ties after PM plane crisis->http://www.garoweonline.com/en/news/somalia/somalia-may-review-kenya-ties-after-pm-plane-crisis]

  • Uganda challenger Besigye claims poll fraud over Museveni win

    {The main opposition leader in Uganda, Kizza Besigye, has rejected the result of Thursday’s elections, in which President Yoweri Museveni won a fifth term of office.}

    Mr Besigye, under house arrest since Friday, said Ugandans had seen “the most fraudulent electoral process”.

    He described the poll as a sham and a creeping military coup.

    President Museveni, in power for 30 years, received nearly 61% of the votes, with Mr Besigye taking 35%.

    Foreign observers say the poll was conducted in an atmosphere of fear and intimidation.

    While praising the “remarkable determination” of Ugandans to vote, EU chief observer Eduard Kukan said the governing National Resistance Movement’s “domination of the political landscape distorted the fairness of the campaign”.

    The election has been marred by sporadic violence and opposition allegations of electoral fraud, with social media sites and messaging apps blocked.
    ‘Military coup’

    “Today I am under house arrest,” Mr Besigye said in a statement.

    “My home is sealed off and I am not allowed to leave. Nobody is allowed to access my home. I am also under some kind of electronic blockade. I am unable to access any form of internet service in my house.

    “Generally, the regime is baring its bloodied fangs and claws for all to see. This has not been an electoral process. This is a creeping military coup.”

    It was the fourth time Mr Besigye, candidate for the opposition Forum for Democratic Change, had taken on President Museveni.

    The two men were once allies, with Mr Besigye serving as Mr Museveni’s personal doctor when they were guerrilla fighters.

    He was placed under house arrest ostensibly to stop him announcing his vote score unilaterally.

    Mr Museveni seized power in 1986 and is credited with restoring stability to Uganda. However, critics say he has become increasingly authoritarian.

    The next closest challenger to Mr Museveni, former Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi, is also reportedly under house arrest.

    The National Resistance Movement put out a statement celebrating the win, saying Mr Museveni’s opponents had “failed to offer any alternative”.

    Kizza Besigye, 59, a veteran opposition leader. He has lost the last three elections

    Amama Mbabazi, 67, former ally of President Museveni and once prime minister – also served as defence, security and justice ministers

    Yoweri Museveni, 71, in power since winning a five-year guerrilla war in 1986 – one of Africa’s longest-serving leaders. His final term was meant to end in 2006, but in 2005 he won a campaign to lift the constitutional term limits

    Source:BBC:[Uganda challenger Besigye claims poll fraud over Museveni win->http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-35624477]