IGIHE

Category: Politics

  • Kenya should remain in ICC to deter future chaos, MP says

    Mr Njagagua said Kenyans should not pretend that the 2008 chaos never occurred.

    A Jubilee MP has said that Kenya should not pull out of the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the International Criminal Court (ICC), saying this would be the best way to help deter future chaos.

    Mbeere North MP Muriuki Njagagua said the country was usually torn along tribal lines and it would be inappropriate to withdraw from the court that could tame any individual out to cause chaos.

    “I don’t want us to leave ICC because chaos may erupt again. The West should, however, treat us as equal partners,” said the legislator.

    He at the same time called for the disclosure of the contents of the Waki envelope that named key suspects in the 2007/2008 post-election violence, saying this will help reveal the truth about it.

    Mr Njagagua said Kenyans should not pretend that the chaos never occurred, even after the dropping of cases against the six individuals who had been charged in the ICC.

    Speaking Saturday at Siakago Girls High School during the opening of a dormitory, Mr Njagagua said there was need to know who was actually to blame for the fight to help initiate a healing process.

    “Let ICC look at the real culprits who were involved in the fight.

    “We demand the disclosure of the names in the Waki envelope so that we can know the truth. We paid for the commission and deserve to know the contents,” he said.

    COMPENSATION FOR PEV VICTIMS

    Mr Njagagua also called for complete reparation of the victims of the post-election violence, saying many lives and property were lost.

    The legislator, at the same time, defended the Jubilee administration against accusation from Cord leaders that it had underperformed, saying it had scored excellently.

    He said the construction of the standard gauge railway and other infrastructural developments had helped the country make huge strides in development.

    “I would give it an A, or an A- on the lower side,” he said.

    Mr Njagagua criticised Cord leader Raila Odinga for giving a state of the nation address, saying it was unconstitutional.

    He said Mr Odinga broke the law since only the Head of State is allowed to make the address.

    Mr Njagagua also called on the Central Bank of Kenya to tighten its supervisory instruments to weed out errant bankers who were carrying out illegal activities in the banks.

    He said it was unfortunate that three banks had gone under in a span of six months while CBK only learnt of it while it was too late.

    “Central Bank (of Kenya) must tighten the bolts and nuts of monitoring what banks are doing.

    “It is disheartening to see people lose their life savings. Three banks have collapsed in a span of six months which is not right,” said Mr Njagagua.

    Mbeere North MP Muriuki Njagagua speaks during the official opening of a dormitory at Siakago Girls High School, Embu on April 9, 2016.

  • Ismail Guelleh wins fourth term as Djibouti president

    Incumbent to continue to head strategically important country following vote marked by complaints of curbs on freedom.

    Ismail Omar Guelleh has been re-elected Djibouti president for a fourth term, according to the prime minister of the East African country.

    Guelleh, 68, has been Djibouti’s leader for 17 years and sealed another term in the office after the first round of the presidential election on Friday.

    “According to our projections, we can say that the UMP candidate [Guelleh of the Union for the Presidential Majority] has been elected in the first round,” Abdoulkader Kamil Mohamed, the prime minister, announced on national television.

    “The people of Djibouti have followed the path of wisdom, stability, security and development.”

    Opposition groups had complained of curbs on freedom of assembly in advance of the vote, while rights groups have denounced political repression and crackdowns on basic freedoms.

    As with the previous election in 2011, the announcement was made before all the votes were in.

    However, Guelleh is said to be easily above the 50 percent threshold required to avoid a second-round of voting.

    Guelleh will continue to head the strategically important Horn of Africa country that hosts thousands of foreign troops in military bases.

    He was credited with receiving about three-quarters of the votes cast in the capital Djibouti and in Balbala, a populous and dilapidated suburb.

    The two areas comprise about 60 percent of the country’s population, prompting Mohamed to declare Guelleh’s apparent victory.

    Opposition boycott

    About 187,000 people – about a fifth of the population – were eligible to vote in Friday’s election that was boycotted by some oppposition parties.

    Due to the boycott and with turnout low throughout the day the electoral commission extended polling by an hour.

    Guelleh won the 2011 election with 80 percent of the vote after the country’s parliament altered the constitution to allow him to extend his rule.

    His party UMP also holds the majority of the seats in the parliament.

    Guelleh is Djibouti’s second president since independence from France in 1977.

    He succeeded his uncle, Hassan Gouled Aptidon, in 1999.

    Guelleh’s strong hold on power is largely attributed to divisions within the opposition and to government repression of dissent.

    Guelleh's hold on power is largely attributed to divisions within the opposition and to government repression of dissent

  • Francophone group puts Burundi on ice over year-long political crisis

    The International Organisation of la Francophonie suspended cooperation with Burundi, citing worsening security and the East African nation’s failure to hold inclusive political dialogue to end a yearlong crisis.

    The Paris-based group, which was created in 1970 to encourage solidarity between French-speaking nations, announced the decision in a statement on its website. All programmes have been suspended except those “directly benefiting the civilian population and those which may contribute to the restoration of democracy,” it said. French is one of Burundi’s official languages.

    Landlocked Burundi has been rocked by unrest that’s killed more than 470 people since April 2015, when President Pierre Nkurunziza announced plans to stand for a third term, a move criticized by his opponents as unconstitutional.

    Presidential adviser Willy Nyamitwe criticised the organization’s move in comments posted on his Twitter account. “It’s as if la Francophonie was a god and Burundi should bow down to this denial of its sovereignty,” he said.

    A young Burundian flees from commotion in the capital Bujumbura.

  • Is Egypt covering up the murder of an Italian student?

    Giulio Regeni was an Italian student who went missing in Cairo after speaking to trade union and opposition activists.

    It is a case that has shocked and outraged Italians.

    Giulio Regeni was an Italian student who went missing in Cairo after speaking to trade union and opposition activists.

    His mutilated body was later found on the side of the road. He appeared to have been tortured.

    What followed was, for many Italians, a botched investigation – one that some have concluded amounts to a cover-up.

    As an Egyptian delegation arrives in Rome to discuss the case, Inside Story looks at the diplomatic row between Egypt and Italy, and asks what does the murder tell us about the rule of law in Egypt?

    Presenter: Sami Zeidan

    Guests:

    Nicholas Piachaud – Egypt researcher, Amnesty International

    Raffaele Marchetti – Professor of International Relations, Luiss University

    Wafik Moustafa – Founder and chairman, British-Arab Network

  • Burundi to Sign Agreement With AU Over Human Rights Concerns

    Burundi is to sign a memorandum of understanding with African Union officials following concerns the government is violating citizens’ rights.

    Burundi Foreign Minister Alain Nyamitwe denied accusations that his government uses state security agencies, as well as supporters, to violate the rights of opponents. He says the administration in Bujumbura is cooperating with African Union (AU) officials, who are currently in the country to investigate allegations of abuse.

    The government is committed to protecting the rights of citizens regardless of their political affiliation, Nyamitwe says.

    “I, again, don’t understand that while we are using the language of openness, others are in the business of blackmailing the government, calling the government names, which I believe is not going in the right direction,” he said. “Now as far as we are concerned, it is up to the AU monitors through the AU military experts to tell their part of the story. But as far as we are concerned, we have done our best.”

    Nyamitwe’s comments follow criticism by opposition groups that the government has been engaged in violating citizens’ rights. Fueling this claim is the March 31 death of former Rwandan Ambassador Jacques Bihozagara in prison in Bujumbura.

    Critics of the government say the death is an example of the administration’s disinterest in protecting the rights of citizens. They demand an independent inquiry into Bihozagara’s death, as well as complete access to international human rights monitors and the United Nations police in investigating rights’ violations in the country.

    Nyamitwe dismissed critics’ claims.

    “These are the same people who … asked the Security Council to get involved in Burundian affairs,” he said. “Now that the Security Council has come up with a resolution, they are the very first people to reject the resolution. … they don’t know what they are talking about.”

    Burundi Foreign Minister Alain Nyamitwe, shown June 24, 2015, says the administration welcomes an investigation by African Union officials.

  • U.S. Criticizes Congo Republic’s `Flawed’ Presidential Election

    The U.S. said it was “profoundly disappointed” by what it called the flawed electoral process in the Republic of Congo that extended President Denis Sassou Nguesso’s 18-year rule.

    “Widespread irregularities and the arrests of opposition supporters following the elections marred an otherwise peaceful vote,” the State Department said in a statement. It urged Congo’s government “to correct these numerous deficiencies before scheduling legislative elections.”

    Nguesso easily won March’s elections in the Central African oil-producing nation. His candidacy was contested by the opposition, which led protests against a referendum last year that allowed him to change the constitution and run again.

    The U.S. also expressed concern for the welfare of thousands of Congolese who fled their homes after gunfire and explosions in the capital earlier this week. Congo’s government said at least 17 people died as gunmen opened fire on police stations and checkpoints in Brazzaville. It accused former militia member of orchestrating the attack.

    “A climate of fear works against the national unity and peace that the Congolese people deserve,” the State Department said.

  • Turkey warns it may ditch migrant deal

    Turkish President warned the EU that Ankara may not implement a key deal.

    Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday warned the European Union that Ankara would not implement a key deal on reducing the flow of migrants if Brussels failed to fulfil its side of the bargain.

    Mr Erdogan’s typically combative comments indicated that Ankara would not sit still if the EU fell short on a number of promises in the deal, including visa-free travel to Europe for Turks by this summer.

    Meanwhile, the Vatican confirmed that the pope would next week make a brief, unprecedented trip to the Greek island of Lesbos where thousands of migrants are facing potential deportation to Turkey under the deal.

    “There are precise conditions. If the European Union does not take the necessary steps, then Turkey will not implement the agreement,” Erdogan said in a speech at his presidential palace in Ankara.

    The March 18 accord sets out measures for reducing Europe’s worst migration crisis since World War II, including stepped-up checks by Turkey and the shipping back to Turkish territory of migrants who land on the Greek islands.

    TURKEY BENEFITS

    In return, Turkey is slated to receive benefits including visa-free travel for its citizens to Europe, promised “at the latest” by June 2016.

    Turkey is also to receive a total of six billion euros in financial aid up to the end of 2018 for the 2.7 million Syrian refugees it is hosting.

    Marc Pierini, visiting scholar at Carnegie Europe, described the visa-free regime as one of the “biggest benefits for Turkey” in the migrant deal.

    He told AFP that Turkey still has to fulfil 72 conditions on its side to gain visa-free travel to Europe’s passport-free Schengen zone and that the move would also have to be approved by EU interior ministers.

    “We shall see if that is a realistic prospect,” he said.

    Turkey’s long-stalled accession process to join the EU is also supposed to be re-energised under the deal. But Pierini said there were many conditions still to be fulfilled here.

    “The worst reading of the EU-Turkey deal would be to imagine that Turkey is about to get a ‘discount’ on EU membership conditions just because of the refugees,” he said.

    Migrants and refugees walk towards a refugee center in Sentilj, Slovenia, after arriving by train on November 4, 2015.

  • Zuma’s ex-wife touted as possible president

    Ms Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, 67, is a long-standing heavyweight in the ANC.

    With South African President Jacob Zuma facing growing calls to resign over a series of corruption scandals, attention is turning to one potential contender to succeed him – his former wife.

    Ms Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, 67, is a long-standing heavyweight in the ruling African National Congress (ANC) party, holding several ministerial positions since the end of white-minority rule in 1994.

    Confirmation last week that Ms Dlamini-Zuma will not run for re-election as head of the African Union (AU) Commission fuelled rumours that she may position herself for a shot at the top job back home.

    Her high-profile term running the executive branch of the AU, which is headquartered in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, comes to an end in July after four years in the international spotlight.

    “There is no doubt that some behind-doors lobbying on her behalf is already underway,” Mcebisi Ndletyana, associate professor of political science at the University of Johannesburg, told AFP.

    DLAMINI-ZUMA ADVANTAGES

    After failing in their bid to impeach him this week, Mr Zuma’s opponents now hope to prosecute him on graft charges after he leaves office, and the advantages of having his ex-wife – with whom he remains on good terms – succeeding him are clear.

    “It may provide a bit of comfort, because I don’t think that she would like to see the father of her children jailed,” Prof Ndletyana said.

    But Ms Dlamini-Zuma’s name recognition also presents a dilemma to the ANC, where some factions want a clean break from her ex-husband’s tarnished reign.

    “Although she is an accomplished politician, those who are opposed to Zuma may not be too happy with another Zuma taking over,” Prof Ndletyana said.

    The ANC normally puts forward its party leader as the presidential candidate, so Ms Dlamini-Zuma would first have to climb her way to the summit of the party in order to succeed.

    If she does make a bid for power, her big moment would be the ANC’s elective conference next year where the new party president will be chosen and lobbying for positions is likely to be a bruising exercise.

    Mr Mavuso Msimang, a former senior official under Ms Dlamini-Zuma when she was minister for home affairs, described her as “an extremely intelligent person”.

    “It’s a real possibility that she would become president,” Msimang told AFP.

    He said she should be “considered on the merit of her experience in the ANC” over years of service.

    “I don’t think she would continue the legacy of her former husband,” said Msimang, who added that he was in favour of a female president.

    A medical doctor by training, Ms Dlamini-Zuma, like her polygamist ex-husband, hails from the eastern province of KwaZulu-Natal.

    The couple met in exile in Swaziland, during the depths of the apartheid era. In 1972, Ms Dlamini-Zuma became Mr Zuma’s second wife and the couple went on to have four children.

    They divorced in 1998 but still enjoy good relations, often shaking hands and hugging in public at ANC events or government conferences.

    ANTI-APARTHEID CREDENTIALS

    Ms Dlamini-Zuma boasts anti-apartheid struggle credentials as an underground member of the ANC when it was still banned.

    She went on to become democratic South Africa’s first health minister between 1994-1999, appointed by Nelson Mandela.

    Mandela successor, Thabo Mbeki, put her in charge of foreign affairs, where she worked to implement his much-derided “quiet diplomacy” with neighbouring Zimbabwe as it sank into a deep crisis under President Robert Mugabe.

    In Zuma’s administration, she served as home affairs minister, where she was credited with limited reforms to a department mired in bureaucracy and corruption before she took the African Union Commission posting in 2012.

    The soft-spoken Dlamini-Zuma is a loyal ANC member and is seen as relatively scandal-free after being out of domestic politics during the turmoil of recent years.

    But she appears to lacks the easy charm and common touch that her former husband has used so effectively to shore up support, and she still must overcome widespread prejudice over her gender.

    The ANC in its 104 years of existence has never had a female leader. In any leadership bid, her main rival will be Zuma’s deputy Cyril Ramaphosa, a business tycoon and former trade unionist who is the second-in-command in the ANC.

    Zuma’s term as ANC leader is set to end in 2017. Under the constitution he must stand down as state president after serving a maximum two terms that end in 2019.

    African Union Commission Chairperson Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma (left) poses with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker during the European Union - Africa Summit on Migration, on November 11, 2015 in La Valletta, Malta.

  • Libya’s new PM seeks to entrench power

    Libya’s new unity leaders took over the website of a rival authority in the capital.

    Libya’s new unity leaders worked to tighten their hold on Tripoli Friday, taking over the website of a rival authority in the capital whose head is refusing to stand aside.

    A week after arriving by sea with a naval escort, the UN-backed unity Cabinet appears to be winning the support of key institutions that control Libya’s wealth and, crucially, militias in the capital.

    But a call by Tripoli’s unrecognised prime minister Khalifa Ghweil on Wednesday for his ministers not to cede power, contradicting an earlier announcement, highlighted the still-chaotic situation.

    It was unclear how much influence Mr Ghweil, an engineer from the port city of Misrata east of Tripoli, still wields in the largely tribal nation.

    Libya’s warring rivals have come under intense international pressure to rally behind the unity government at a time when the country is grappling with a growing jihadist threat.

    The Islamic State group has exploited the turmoil in Libya since the overthrow of dictator Muammar Gaddafi five years ago, raising fears that it is establishing a new stronghold on Europe’s doorstep.

    WEBSITE TAKE-OVER

    In a sign of its widening influence, the UN-sponsored administration of prime minister-designate Fayez al-Sarraj took over the website of the unrecognised Tripoli authorities on Thursday.

    The site now bears the logo of the unity government, and the names of Ghweil’s cabinet have been replaced by those of a presidential council created under a power-sharing deal in December.

    That agreement was inked by some lawmakers from both sides but not endorsed by the country’s two rival governments.

    The other administration, which has long claimed international legitimacy because it was appointed by the parliament elected in the last polls in 2014, has so far refused to back the unity government.

    The reason behind Ghweil’s apparent U-turn was unclear but it hinted at divisions within the Tripoli authorities that were installed by a militia alliance that seized the capital in 2014.

    A statement issued a day earlier in the name of his so-called National Salvation Government had said that it was ready to step aside.

    FRESH VIOLENCE

    The fear is that a new power struggle could spark fresh violence in a country that has been in turmoil since the 2011 uprising that toppled and killed Gaddafi.

    Much now depends on the support of powerful militias that overran Tripoli two years ago, forcing the government backed by the international community to take refuge in the country’s far east.

    A politician close to the unity government said money was a key factor because some of the militiamen who brought Ghweil to power are no longer being paid by his authorities.

    According to a security source in Tripoli, there were talks between the unity government and armed groups for weeks before Mr Sarraj’s arrival to ensure it went smoothly.

    “There is no security body or armed group now opposed to the unity government, and they are holding back while the situation, and this government’s actions, become clear,” he said.

    Libya's UN-backed Prime Minister-designate, Fayez al-Sarraj, speaks during a press conference on March 30, 2016 in the capital Tripoli. In a sign of its widening influence, Fayez al-Sarraj's administration took over the website of the unrecognised Tripoli authorities on Thursday.

  • Panama Papers: Iceland names new PM amid poll calls

    New PM appointed amid calls for early elections later in the year, after Panama Papers led previous leader to step down.

    Iceland’s government has named a new prime minister and called for early elections later in the year, a day after Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson quit, becoming the first politician brought down by the “Panama Papers” leaks.

    The two coalition partners, the Progressive Party and the Independence Party, agreed after talks on late Wednesday to hand the prime ministerial post to the agriculture minister Sigurdur Ingi Johannsson, 53, of the former.

    “It is a big burden in this situation. It is not the most happy situation when I am taking the prime minister’s seat but I will try to do my best and I am hoping that the people of Iceland will see that the new government will increase the stability both in politics and in governance,” Johannsson told reporters.

    The government said the decision to hold elections in autumn would give it time to follow through on one of the biggest economic policy changes in decades – the ending of capital controls introduced to rescue the economy from the 2008 financial crisis.

    The opposition has been trying to force a new election with a vote of no confidence in the government, which could lead to a radical political shift.

    Undisclosed firm

    Gunnlaugsson quit as prime minister on Tuesday after leaked documents from a Panamanian law firm showed his wife owned an offshore company that held millions of dollars in debt from failed Icelandic banks.

    The Panama documents revealed that Gunnlaugsson’s wife owned a previously undisclosed firm with what the government says is $4.1m in claims on the island’s collapsed banks. His opponents have said that represents a conflict of interest, because the government is negotiating the value of such claims.

    “I feel that it is proper on this night to let the new prime minister have the stage, that the next prime minister is a solid and a good man so there is a good reason to congratulate Icelanders,” he said before Johannsson spoke to the press.

    Iceland has struggled to recover from the 2008 collapse of its highly indebted banks, which led to popular protests, the fall of a government and the jailing of many bankers. Many Icelanders still harbour a strong distrust of their leaders.

    A few thousand demonstrators gathered for another evening of protests in front of the parliament building on Wednesday, some pelting parliament with yoghurt and eggs.

    Former leader Gunnlaugsson quit as Icelandic prime minister on Tuesday