Category: Rubrique

{{In Nigeria, Abuja High Court Friday declared President Goodluck eligible to contest the 2015 presidential election if he so desires.}}

Delivering a judgment in an action brought by Mr. Cyriacus Njoku challenging Jonathan’s eligibility to contest the election, Justice Mudashiru Oniyangi held that the president’s assumption of office in 2010 as a result of the death of then President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, was caused by “doctrine of necessity” motion adopted by the National Assembly.

Njoku, who is also a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), had filed the action against Jonathan, PDP and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), seeking an order to prevent Jonathan from contesting the 2015 presidential election, having taken the oath of office and oath of allegiance twice.

The plaintiff, who is a card carrying member of PDP from Zuba Ward in Abuja, also prayed for a perpetual order of injunction to stop PDP from nominating Jonathan for another presidential election and INEC from accepting any nomination of Jonathan as a presidential candidate.

However, Justice Oniyangi declined Njoku’s request as he held that since Jonathan did not emerge president through a by-election after late President Yar’Adua’s death, he could contest.

“After the death of Umar Yar’Adua, there was no election or by-election. President Jonathan was merely asked to assume the office of the president in line with the doctrine of necessity.

He was not elected as the president but was made to assume office by virtue of Yar’Adua’s death.

“Having exhausted the late president’s tenure, he sought for his party’s ticket and ran for the office of the president successfully in 2011 general election.

He is therefore currently serving his first tenure of office and if he so wishes, he is eligible to further seek his party’s ticket through the party’s primary election and to run for office in 2015,” Justice Oniyangi said.

The Judge ruled that President Jonathan’s tenure as president started running in May 29, 2011 when he took the oath of office and not on May 6, 2010, when he assumed office after Yar’Adua passed away.

Nguardian

{{Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe has said that opposition party MDC-T has gone on a crusade accusing his party Zanu-PF of fomenting political violence ahead of harmonised elections slated for this year in a desperate bid to cover up for the defeat the party is likely to suffer at the polls.}}

He said this in a wide-ranging interview with ZTV at State House on the occasion of his 89th birthday.

The full interview will be aired at 9pm tonight on ZTV.

“You can see the way it is happening now. The others think that purely by demonising us, this will make them win an election or making a forecast that elections would not be free and fair.

“They are building a false picture of violent acts which we do not know anything about . . . anyway, they are sponsored by liars vana (Tony) Blair ndovakavazvara.

So you think you are working together, as honest performers asi vamwe varikutofunga zvavo zvenhema . . . just going around telling lies about Zanu-PF.

“Anyway, we will take care of that, we will go to the people. By now the people know where they are, we spend our time thinking of plans, of how we can improve the performance of yesteryear, how certain deficiencies we are likely to face like shortages of maize can be prevented,” he said.

The President’s remarks follow the death of a Headlands boy, Christpower Maisiri (12), who died in an inferno last Saturday.

Christpower was buried at the family homestead in Headlands yesterday at an emotional funeral attended by MDC-T leader Mr Morgan Tsvangirai, secretary-general Mr Tendai Biti, organising secretary Mr Nelson Chamisa and other senior party officials.

Added the President: “Those are the kind of things we are thinking of, asi vamwe varikufunga kuti how can we diminish or tarnish Zanu-PF before the elections and even after the elections. To them Zanu-PF cannot win an election fairly.

“They say the ground was uneven, asi ndekupi kwawakamboona even ground? Kana vanhu havasi even, vamwe havana experience ine vamwe, havana maideas ane vamwe, even pafundo makasiyana, pamaitiro takasiyana, even mapolicies, zvamunofunga imi nezvandinofunga ini takasiyana.

“Iwe unofunga zveparty yako wozoenda kumba kune mukadzi wako vamwe vanofunga ndirikuenda kune upi nhasi ndozonhanira kune upi nhasi, zvino ungavapedza? (You think of your party and go home to your wife, but others debate over which woman to see. But will you finish all the women?)”

On Christpower’s death President Mugabe said police had said they did not suspect any foul play in their preliminary investigations and urged the public to wait for the law enforcement agents to complete their enquiries.

The MDC-T has hijacked the death of Christpower and has since made unsubstantiated claims accusing Zanu-PF supporters of causing the fire that killed the 12-year-old boy.

The party has also gone on a regional tour using the death as a sign of an upsurge in violence and called for Sadc intervention.

Speaking at the burial of Christpower yesterday Mr Biti accused a senior Zanu-PF official in the province and party supporters of causing the death of the boy.

Christpower died in inferno that gutted the hut he was sleeping in and police have since launched investigations into the incident.
Mr Biti claimed MDC-T ministers confronted the senior Zanu-PF official during a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday and he gave no satisfactory answer over the allegations.

Christpower’s father Shepherd Maisiri is the MDC-T deputy organising secretary for Headlands.

MDC-T leader Mr Tsvangirai also said the named senior Zanu-PF official “must answer for his actions”.

Mr Tsvangirai sounded happy that the boy’s death made international headlines.

“The blood of Christpower is defining an end to the struggle we have waged. Never again should this happen in our land of Zimbabwe. Zanu-PF has got a spirit of shooting itself in the foot. You kill a 12 year-old, it is international news,” he said.

Mr Tsvangirai confirmed sending an envoy into the Sadc region to update Heads of State on the insurgence of political violence in the country.

“I have already sent Minister (James Timba) in the region to tell them that you are the ones who midwived this arrangement. It’s time for you to deliver,” he said.

Mr Tsvangirai said he was happy that SADC and the African Union (AU) were now alive to political development in the country.

“I will do anything in my power to ensure that people of Zimbabwe have free and fair elections. I am not going to be part and parcel to a process that subverts the will of the people,” he said.

He said pictures of a burnt Christpower were circulated in Cabinet on Tuesday and it was agreed that those behind the incidents be arrested.

Mr Tsvangirai said he discussed comprehensively with President Mugabe the need to have peaceful elections during their Monday meeting.

Without elaborating what he meant Mr Tsvangirai said: “When my wife died, I was given a matchbox to burn the country but I refused. The death of Christpower is a game changer.”

MDC-T national organising secretary Mr Nelson Chamisa and the party’s Manicaland provincial chairperson Mr Julius Magaramombe also blamed the death of Christpower on the senior Zanu-PF official

Mr Maisiri, father to the deceased, is closely related to Mr Tsvangirai.
The Manica Post newsmen were harassed by MDC-T thugs who were at the funeral who barred them from covering it although some members of the private press were given transport and access to the funeral.

Meanwhile, forensic scientists and experts have started carrying out an analysis on the evidence they gathered in Headlands to ascertain the cause of fire that killed Christpower.

Following the fire incident police summoned forensic scientists and a team of experts from Harare to ascertain the cause of the fire.

Chief police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Charity Charamba said investigations on the case were in progress.

“Police are working tirelessly to ascertain the cause of the fire and once the findings are out we will let you (the public) know,” she said.

James (17), Munashe (15) and Panashe (11) and their sister Tinotenda (9) Maisiri survived the inferno that killed Christpower.

In a statement yesterday the Joint Monitoring and Implementation Committee (JOMIC) said it was saddened by the death of Christpower.

“The JOMIC’s team in Manicaland which includes the police is on the ground to assess the situation.

We, however, want to appeal to all political actors and Zimbabweans to heed the message of peace from the political leadership especially as we head towards the referendum and elections,” said JOMIC.

ZIM Herald

{{In Ghana’s Parliament, the minority say the president’s fumbling with the energy crisis is the most dramatic failure of any leader in Ghana’s history as far as the management of power crisis was concerned.}}

According to the Minority, the current power problems should be blamed squarely on the government because the situation could have been averted if the President acted swiftly and prudently.

Minority Leader Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu made these statements when he presented what the Minority called the “True State of the Nation Address” Wednesday.

The energy crisis unlike previous ones, Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu explained, was caused by shortage of gas and financial difficulties on the part of the Volta River Authority (VRA).

He said the VRA was unable to procure the right quantities of crude oil and diesel because the government was starving the power generator of badly needed funds.

“These factors… are within our control and we should not have allowed them to bring the level of energy crisis that we now have…”

The minority leader stated that government could have improved on the liquidity of VRA to enable the energy generator procure alternative light crude oil to generate power.

“The NPP government used to support VRA to procure light crude oil by about 40 million dollars every month.

This support was withdrawn by the NDC government, in addition to the 400 million dollars of government’s indebtedness to VRA has crippled the company and made it difficult to procure the fuels for power generation…”

He said instead of resolving these problems, the president “is promising additional new generation capacity … [which were all started by the NPP government].”

“At this point we need to ask the NDC, what new investments they have made since they came to power in 2009,”?

{{Corruption involving immigration stakeholders is to blame for escalating trend of illegal immigrants in the Sub Saharan region.}}

To curb the alarming trend, collective efforts by the East African Community (EAC) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) are instrumental in addressing the problem.

Speaking to journalists in Dar es Salaam yesterday after he officiated the identity management workshop, the Home Affairs deputy minister, Mr Pereira Ame Silima, investment from EAC and SADC was needed to identify the syndicate and corruption methods used by the culprits.

“Member countries should be encouraged to fight corruption in their respective countries so as to completely dismantle the network,” said Mr Silima.

According to Mr Silima, the network was huge with roots in almost every country considered to be the corridor for illegal immigrants and payments were effected after completing the human trafficking process.

He said Tanzania has been unlucky as reports showed that unfaithful immigration officials from neighbouring countries have been facilitating entry of illegal immigrants in the country.

“Among many countries named to facilitate the illegal business include Ethiopia…They distribute money to stakeholders available in various countries including Tanzania who ultimately support the culprits,” he said.
Explaining further, he said the culprits went on getting support till the illegal immigrants enters the targeted country of destination, preferably South Africa due to its socio-economic achievements.

He expressed his optimism that the three-day workshop that gathers officials from Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia and Tanzania, will address various challenges and propose mitigation strategies for the benefit of the region.

According to Mr Silima, the countries are facing a challenge of having tribes that have ethnic interconnectivity with others in a neighbouring country, something that posed difficulty in smoothening cross border movements.

Giving examples, Mr Silima said Makonde and Makuwa are found in Tanzania and Mozambique, Nyasa exists both in Tanzania and Malawi, Maasai, Luo, Digo and Kurya between Tanzania and Kenya whereas Nyamwanga has cross border ethnic nexus in Tanzania and Zambia.

He said implementation of the project to issue identity cards to Tanzanians and plans under way to introduce the electronic immigration (e-migration) were among measures undertaken by the government to address challenges and facilitate smooth cross border movements.

“Hopefully, participants from Malawi and Zambia will learn something by the end of this workshop especially in implementing the national citizen identity project for their countries” he said.

He added: “It will benefit the region if Zambia and Malawi start a process of issuing national identities to their citizen… Mozambique has identification system adapted from the colonial era, something that puts them at a better position in implementing these strategies.”

Emphasizing on the significance of migration in today’s world, Mr Silima said the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) estimates that some 214 million people have migrated from one place to another.

Therefore, Mr Silima said governments need not to discourage people from migrating, instead create conducive environment that will smoothen the interaction process of people from different countries.

The IOM chief of mission, Mr Damien Thuriaux, said the capacity building workshop intended to empower immigration officials from the region to fully understand the opportunities and challenges facing their responsibilities.

“Since free market and the signed EAC Common Market protocol calls for unrestricted movement of goods and people, the workshop is aimed to facilitate smooth movements but maintaining security and cultural norms of respective countries,” he noted.

Citizen

{{A spokesman for Guinea’s opposition says that it has withdrawn from the upcoming legislative election set for May 12.}}

Faya Millimono said the opposition coalition was pulling out to protest the government’s administration of the election procedure.

He said the opposition is unhappy with preparations for the election, especially the selection of a South African company, Waymark, to draw up the list of registered voters.

The company was approved by the National Electoral Commission last week and the opposition immediately protested, saying they suspected the company was open to manipulation by the government.

The election was to solidify the West African country’s transition to democratic rule, after rule by the military since 2008.

President Alpha Conde was elected in 2010, but the vote for the legislature has been delayed.

wirestory