IGIHE

Category: Politics

  • National Youth Council calls for mass protest against UN report on Burundi

    {The Burundi National Youth Council is calling on all young Burundians to participate in a mass demonstration to be held on 4 March throughout the country. The objective is to protest against the recent report released by the United Nations Secretary General (UNSG) on Burundi.}

    “The report says that Burundians continue to flee the country while we live in peace. This report is biased,” Elaste Nzitonda, the chairman of the Burundi National Youth Council, tells Iwacu.

    He calls on all young Burundians to come to protest against the UN report throughout the country.

    Nzitonda says that it will be an opportunity to protest against impunity in Burundi.

    “Wanted people in Burundi should be extradited and be tried, especially the alleged coup plotters,” Nzitonda says. He also asks for the constitution of Burundi to be amended. He says that the Burundi Constitution needs to be updated according to the current conditions of the country.

    UN concerned about human rights deteriorating in Burundi

    On 23 February, the UNSG Antonio Guterres released a report on Burundi. The report reveals that human rights violations continue to deteriorate in the country, while the government has decided to withdraw from the International Criminal Court (ICC), to suspend its cooperation and collaboration with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and not to cooperate with the Commission of Inquiry mandated by the Human Rights Council.

    Guterres said he is concerned with the report issued in August 2016, where the National Commission for Inter-Burundian Dialogue (CNDI) envisaged canceling the presidential term limits which would violate the Arusha Peace and Reconciliation Agreement.

    Patrick Nkurunziza, chairman of the youth league of an opposition party, Frodebu, says that Frodebu members are not concerned by this demonstration organized by the national council. “We are not invited. Besides, we do not recognize this national youthcouncil because it is largely made of the youth members of the ruling party, CNDD-FDD. They work for the government, «he says.

    The report reveals that 387,000 Burundians have fled the country since the current crisis erupted in April 2015. The UNHCR estimates that Burundi refugees will reach 500,000 by the end of 2017.

    Protesters before UN place in Bujumbura.

    Source:Iwacu

  • UN chief warns of Burundi’s leader seeking 4th term

    {A new report by the UN secretary general warns that if Burundi’s president tries to seek a fourth term it could “plunge the country into an even deeper crisis”.}

    The UN chief Antonio Guterres’ report to the UN Security Council cites recent comments by President Pierre Nkurunziza that he might pursue a fourth term if Burundi’s people decide to change the constitution.

    The East African nation has seen deadly political turmoil since Nkurunziza in 2015 successfully pursued a third term, which some called unconstitutional. Hundreds have been killed, and more than 380 000 have fled.

    Burundi’s government on Tuesday responded to the UN report by saying it “regrets that some lobbies with proven interests and positions against Burundi seem to have control over a number of United Nations’ organs”.

    Source:News 24

  • Theresa May suffers House of Lords setback over Brexit

    {Upper house of parliament refuses to adopt Brexit bill without amendment to guarantee rights of EU citizens in the UK.}

    Britain’s upper house of parliament has voted to amend and thereby delay a bill empowering Prime Minister Theresa May to begin negotiations for the UK’s exit from the European Union, or Brexit.

    Peers at the House of Lords, an unelected body, voted by 358 to 256 for a change requiring ministers protect the rights of more than three million European Union and European Economic Area citizens after Britain leaves the bloc.

    The change requires the government to publish proposals on how to protect EU citizens currently living in the UK – including their residency rights – within three months of triggering exit negotiations.

    May’s Conservatives do not have a majority in the upper chamber.

    Al Jazeera’s Paul Brennan, reporting from London, said that the Lords have come under a large amount of pressure in the past couple of days “to stay loyal to the government”.

    “They have even been threatened with the idea that further down the pipeline the Lords themselves may soon be abolished if they stood in the way of public opinion on Brexit,” he said.

    “What’s clear is that the Lords had sufficient concern about the rights of the EU citizens within the UK to defy the government on this – and by a sizable majority.”

    The defeat is a blow to May, who had hoped to pass the legislation without changes.

    “We are disappointed the Lords (upper chamber) have chosen to amend a bill that the Commons (lower chamber) passed without amendment,” a spokeswoman for the Brexit department said in a statement.

    READ MORE – Brexit: The English gamble

    While May has said she wants to guarantee EU citizens’ rights, she has not been prepared to do so until other member states agreed to a reciprocal deal.

    The government can try to overturn the change using its majority in the lower chamber of parliament, but Wednesday’s vote will delay the final approval of the law.

    May is still expected to be able to fulfil her plan to trigger the exit process by the end of the month.

    A majority of British voters decided to leave the EU in a referendum in June last year.

    In January, May said Britain must leave the EU’s single market as it exits the bloc.

    She said it was necessary to make a clean break and not opt for anything that would leave the country “half-in, half out”.

    Source:Al Jazeera

  • UN chief warns of Burundi’s leader seeking 4th term

    {A new report by the U.N. secretary-general warns that if Burundi’s president tries to seek a fourth term it could “plunge the country into an even deeper crisis.”}

    U.N. chief Antonio Guterres’ report to the U.N. Security Council cites recent comments by President Pierre Nkurunziza that he might pursue a fourth term if Burundi’s people decide to change the constitution.

    The East African nation has seen deadly political turmoil since Nkurunziza in 2015 successfully pursued a third term, which some called unconstitutional. Hundreds have been killed, and more than 380,000 have fled.

    Burundi’s government on Tuesday responded to the U.N. report by saying it “regrets that some lobbies with proven interests and positions against Burundi seem to have control over a number of United Nations’ organs.”

    Source:ABC News

  • Gambia scraps age limit for presidential candidates

    {The Gambian parliament on Tuesday scrapped the constitutional age limit on presidential election candidates after new President Adama Barrow faced questions over his deputy’s eligibility due to her age.}

    Anyone over 65 has been barred from running for The Gambia’s highest office under a constitutional amendment that came into force in the west African country in 1997.

    The new change comes after Barrow — who took office on February 18 after 22 years of iron-fisted rule by his predecessor Yahya Jammeh — faced criticism over his decision to nominate 68-year-old Fatoumata Jallow Tambajang as his vice president.

    According to the constitution, the vice president must fulfil the qualifications required for a president – which made Tambajang overage.

    Tambajang was last week named women’s minister instead, with a mandate to oversee the vice-presidency.

    The constitutional change adopted by parliament Tuesday will have to be approved by Barrow to enter into force — a move that would allow him to name Tambajang officially to the vice-presidency again, according to observers.

    Lawmakers also voted to lift the retirement age of judges by five years to 75.

    Interior Minister Mai Fatty defended the changes, saying: “It is envisaged that this will facilitate and encourage qualified, competent and experienced Gambians to be appointed as judges of the superior courts or be elected to political office.”

    The national assembly remains dominated by Jammeh’s Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction party.

    The former strongman went into exile in Equatorial Guinea after finally ceding power to Barrow following intense international political and military pressure.

    Gambian President Adama Barrow looks at the audience from the opened roof of a car as he arrives at the Independence Stadium in Bakau for the inauguration ceremony, on February 18, 2017. Barrow has scrapped the constitutional age limit on presidential election candidates.

    Source:AFP

  • Kenya:Anti-graft team pushing to have governors locked out of polls

    {Anti-corruption authorities want governors, county officials and members of county assemblies who have corruption-related court cases to be locked out of this year’s General Election, the Nation can reveal.}

    The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) is compiling a list of the affected based on those who are already facing charges and those under investigation and intends to refuse them clearance.

    “So as to stop the misuse and rampant wastage of billions of shillings given to counties, we will go for those who have enriched themselves using taxpayers resources. They will be taken to court and those hoping to vie barred from getting clearance for nomination,” Mr Michael Mubea, the chief executive of operations at EACC, said in an interview.

    The commission’s move, which will also affect national government officials seeking elective posts, could lead to a flurry of court battles. The practice has in the past been that one can only be barred from elections if he/she had been convicted and gone through the appeal process as stipulated in Article 99 of the Constitution.

    The EACC, the Kenya Revenue Authority and the Directorate of Criminal Investigations are mandated to clear all aspirants before they present their certificates to the electoral commission.

    {{ECONOMIC CRIME CASES}}

    Among those targeted are Governors Evans Kidero (Nairobi), Alfred Mutua (Machakos), Adhi Godana (Isiolo), Adam Nathif (Garissa), Sospeter Ojaamong (Busia) and Mwangi Wa Iria (Murang’a) all of whom have been interviewed by EACC.

    EACC has so far taken to court 281 people in relation to corruption and economic crime cases in the counties. Those taken to court comprise county government officers, private persons, companies and directors.

    The report includes allegations that county chiefs have been unable to explain how they have spent billions of shillings allocated to their counties.

    As part of its changed strategy to go after devolved corruption in counties, EACC has opened investigations into unexplained quick rise in fortunes of governors, their spouses, children, county officials and their aides.

    Mr Mubea said ongoing investigations into procurement issues, crooked employment and loss of funds are already at an advanced stage in Nairobi, Migori, Siaya, Busia, Murang’a, Nyamira and Kilifi counties. Suspects from the seven counties will be taken to court in a couple of weeks.

    In Kilifi, the commission is concluding investigations into possible misuse and wastage of over a billion shillings.

    {{TAKE LEGAL ACTION}}

    One of the matters in the Kilifi investigation is the purchase of the 11-acre Mtwapa Bus Park and market land in which an acre was bought at Sh28 million, bringing the total to Sh308 million, yet an acre at the location goes for about Sh3 million.

    In Nairobi, EACC will move to charge 12 MCAs over a fist-fight that marred attempts to kick out Governor Evans Kidero on September 29, 2016 after they lost a case where they had hoped to stop EACC from taking legal action against them.

    The commission is also finalising new investigations into loss of funds and abuse of office in the Nairobi County Executive.

    In Nyamira, the commission will take to court several senior officials for fraudulent employment of senior staff.

    According to Mr Mubea, the commission will next month issue guidelines on how to enforce the leadership and integrity regulations which will be used to bar those accused of corruption and economic crimes.

    The EACC is basing its vetting authority on the Constitution, Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission, Leadership and Integrity, Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes and Public Officer Ethics Acts.

    {{FIGHT CORRUPTION}}

    “One of the challenges we might face is that the suspects might use Article 99 of the Constitution which states that you will not be barred from an election until you have exhausted all appeal mechanisms,” he said.

    Mr Mubea explained that the commission was unable to enforce the Integrity regulations in the 2013 General Election since the mechanism was not in place and because the anti-corruption body was in transition from the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission (KACC) to EACC. At the time, the commission did not have a CEO and a deputy CEO.

    He said they had instructed their investigators to deal with the cases quickly so that those found culpable could be taken to court before election campaigns heat up.

    Renewed efforts to fight corruption have seen the investigation and prosecution of dozens of individuals since the start of the year.

    This month, EACC officers arrested the Trans Nzoia Speaker, clerk and 38 MCAs for obtaining Sh47,000 illegal allowances each to collect the body of their colleague from Nairobi. Interestingly, the body of their colleague, Ronald Matongolo, had not been kept in Nairobi but within their county at the time they obtained the money.

    Still within the month, EACC took to court Kisii County Trade chief officer John Obwocha over the loss of Sh50 million through a parallel liquor licensing scheme.

    Last month, eight Bungoma county officials were charged in court with breaching procurement rules in awarding a tender to supply 10 wheelbarrows to the county at Sh109,000 each.

    Integrity Centre, the Ethics and Anti-Corruption headquarters in Nairobi. Anti-graft agency wants governors, county officials and members of county assemblies who have corruption-related court cases locked out of August General Election.

    Source:Daily Nation

  • Uganda:Opposition grumble as NRM sweeps EALA polls

    {The National Resistance Movement party yesterday took full advantage of its numerical strength and swept six of Uganda’s nine slots in the East African Legislative Assembly (Eala).}

    Opposition parties were left grumbling over election rules as the ruling party basked in victory.

    With 298 MPs (68.9%) in a Parliament sitting 431 MPs, the six NRM candidates who were first picked during acrimonious primaries on February 8, went into yesterday’s election sure of a plain sailing and the polls did not disappoint.

    Former Internal Affairs Minister Rose Akol emerged the best performing candidate with 370 votes. She was followed by former Kakuuto County MP Mathias Kasamba who polled 359 votes and Mr Paulo Mwasa Musamali, a former a policy analyst in the Government Chief Whip’s Office, who polled 350 votes.

    Former Lira RDC George Michael Odong polled 346 votes; former Animal Husbandry State Minister Mary Mugyenyi 341 while Mr Dennis Namara, the ex-chair of the NRM Youth League, clinched 329 votes to complete NRM’s six-candidate line-up.

    The Democratic Party’s Fred Mukasa Mbidde retained his seat with 311 votes. Ms Susan Nakawuki (Independent) 298 votes and Chris Opoka (Uganda Peoples Congress) 274 votes also held onto their seats.
    A total of 398 MPs cast their votes in yesterday’s polls in which eight votes were declared invalid.

    For the second Eala term, the Forum for Democratic Change (the country’s largest opposition party) will not send a representative to the regional Parliament after two of its candidates lost.

    Ms Florence Ibi Ekwau polled 179 votes while the FDC Secretary for Mobilisation managed 25 votes.

    Leader of Opposition (LoP) Winifred Kizza still put on a brave face, pointing out that the party was grateful that it managed to garner 179 votes for Ms Ekwau despite their numerical inferiority.

    Speaker Rebbecca Kadaga and her deputy Jacob Oulanyah did not vote as the rules prohibit them from casting ballots.

    Source:Daily Monitor

  • Western Sahara: Morocco to pull out of UN buffer zone

    {Morocco is to pull out of a UN buffer zone in the disputed Western Sahara territory, an official statement says.}

    Tension in the area flared up a year ago when Morocco moved into the buffer zone, breaching a UN-backed ceasefire.

    The Polisario Front, which wants independence for Western Sahara, dismissed Morocco’s move as a gimmick.

    Morocco recently rejoined the African Union, which it had left in 1984 after the body’s recognition of Polisario as the territory’s government.

    The decision to withdraw from the Guerguerat zone is said to have been taken in person by the Moroccan King Mohammed VI.

    The move came after the sovereign spoke on the phone with the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres who asked him to pull out his troops.

    “The Kingdom of Morocco will proceed from today with a unilateral withdrawal from the (Guerguerat) zone,” the Moroccan foreign ministry said in a statement.

    Polisario said the move would hardly make any difference.

    “The Moroccan decision to withdraw its troops near Guerguerat by a few hundred metres is window dressing,” it said in a statement.

    Western Sahara is a sparsely-populated area of mostly desert situated on the north-west coast of Africa.

    It was annexed by Morocco in 1975 – a move resisted by the Polisario Front.
    A 16-year insurgency ended with a UN-brokered truce in 1991 and the promise of a referendum on independence.

    But this has yet to take place and Morocco still controls two-thirds of the territory, while thousands of refugees live over the border in Algeria.

    Morocco’s decision to withdraw its troops does not signify a major change in the kingdom’s policy – it will still work towards ensuring international recognition of its claim over Western Sahara.

    The announcement does, however, indicate a willingness to work with the United Nations, and in particular the new Secretary General, Antonio Guterres.

    Mr Guterres’ predecessor, Ban Ki-moon, infuriated Rabat by describing Morocco’s annexation of Western Sahara as an “occupation” – a remark he later apologised for.

    Morocco is rolling out a renewed campaign on Western Sahara – including joining the African Union, and King Mohammed VI making several trips to African countries.

    The military withdrawal is also presumably intended to signal a willingness to compromise.

    But the Polisario Front and its supporters will want to know whether that extends to giving the Sahrawi people the referendum on their future which has been delayed for so many years.

    As a result of the dispute over Western Sahara, thousands of people have been living in refugee camps in Algeria.

    Source:BBC

  • Gambia’s new president replaces armed forces chief

    {Gambia’s President Adama Barrow has fired the head of the armed forces, General Ousman Badjie, a former loyalist of the ousted government, a military source said today.}

    He was replaced by General Masanneh Kinteh, a special military adviser to Barrow since January.

    Barrow retook his oath of office on February 18, a month after he was sworn in across the border in neighbouring Senegal during a tense power struggle with his predecessor Yahya Jammeh, who had refused to step down following his defeat in December elections.

    Mr Barrow told the crowd at his swearing-in he would probe human rights abuses under Jammeh’s mercurial and despotic rule spanning 22 years.

    Badjie, a Jammeh loyalist, had pledged allegiance to Barrow along with top defence, civil service and security chiefs on January 20, one day before the former president fled the country. (AFP)

    The general was also spotted among revellers on the streets of Banjul celebrating Barrow’s inauguration in Senegal.

    The military source said Badjie would be redeployed to a foreign mission, but has yet to be told which one.

    Kinteh was first named as armed forces chief in October 2009 following the removal and arrest of his predecessor, General Lang Tombong Tamba.

    He was dismissed in July 2012 and appointed Gambia’s ambassador to Cuba, and replaced by Badjie.

    Gambian President Adama Barrow looks at the audience from the opened roof of a car as he arrives at the Independence Stadium in Bakau for the inauguration ceremony, on February 18, 2017. Barrow has promised to probe human rights abuses under Jammeh’s rule.

    Source:AFP

  • U.N. chief urges Burundi parties to participate in peace talks

    {The United Nations has called on political parties in Burundi to commit fully to peace talks to resolve a two-year old political crisis in the east African nation.}

    Burundi President Pierre Nkurunziza’s government said earlier this month it would not attend the talks led by the East African Community (EAC) aimed at ending the crisis sparked by his decision to run for a third term in office.

    The Burundian government, which has repeatedly accused the U.N. of bias, said it objected to the presence of senior U.N. adviser Benomar Jamal at the talks, which are being held in neighboring Tanzania.

    The country’s main opposition grouping said it would attend the talks, which are being mediated by Benjamin Mkapa, a former president of Tanzania.

    U.N Secretary General Antonio Guterres said in a report to the Security Council that the U.N would keep supporting the efforts to peacefully resolve the impasse, in order to secure stability in the region.

    The UN has banned from its peacekeeping missions a number of Burundi army officers, including the current Army Spokesman Gaspard Baratuza, alleged to have violated human rights.

    Source:Africa News