Tag: GreatLakesNews

{South African President Jacob Zuma will arrive in Kenya Monday for a State visit.}

President Uhuru Kenyatta and his visitor will discuss trade, security and immigration.

Also among the issues set to be discussed will be the candidature of Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed for the post of chairperson of the African Union Commission.

Kenya has nominated Ms Mohamed to succeed Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, who will be seeking an elective post in South Africa.

Ms Dlamini-Zuma is President Zuma’s ex-wife.

“President Kenyatta reached out to a number of his colleagues, including President Zuma, before and after the candidature of CS Mohammed was made public,” said State House Spokesperson Manoah Esipisu during a press briefing at State House Sunday.

President Zuma will be accompanied by a large business delegation for the three-day state visit.

The two presidents will then have one-on-one talks before holding a joint press conference, which will precede a Kenya-South Africa business forum in the afternoon.

The two leaders will also discuss trade and look into a plea by Kenya that costly tea levies be waived and restrictions on processed Kenyan products such as soda ash and processed meat be removed.

AVOCADO MARKET

President Kenyatta will also seek the reopening of the South African market to avocados from Kenya.

“What President Kenyatta will now be seeking is to fast-track implementation of the favourable immigration regulations agreed upon earlier in the year, whereby visa service fees will be reduced to Sh 4,900($49) from Sh7,100 ($71),” said the statement.

Kenya is pushing for three-year multiple entry visas for ordinary Kenyans and 10-year visas for businesspeople visiting South Africa.

Other issues earlier agreed upon and which are yet to be implemented include a request that Kenyan students attending South African universities be granted student visas covering the duration of their stay and extending permanent residency to those studying within the critical skills category.

Kenya does not charge any visa fees for visiting South Africans or those passing through the country.

On security, President Kenyatta will be looking for South Africa’s backing in consolidating and expanding counter-terrorism efforts to stop violent extremism.

They will also discuss Kenya’s progress on refugee repatriation, and President Kenyatta will be seeking President Zuma’s support towards expediting a safe, voluntary and humane process.

{The British Archives have released an interesting 63-page “Top Secret” file on the doyen of Kenyan politics, Jaramogi Oginga Odinga.}

It is interesting because, unknown to Jaramogi, the British intelligence used to secretly open his travel bags and take photographs of his documents at the airport.

It is this information that would inform the British intelligence’s view on Jaramogi — and perhaps his role in Kenya’s politics later on.

The file KV2/40 covers the 1960s period, a time Jaramogi describes as “difficulty” in his autobiography because of “concerted world press campaign to elevate Tom Mboya to the unchallenged leadership of Kenya Africans”.

The first entry in the file is dated November 10, 1960 and this was a covering letter written by the Director of Intelligence and Security, Mr B. E. Wadeley, to colonial Security Liaison Officer in Kenya and Uganda.

“As you are aware,” he wrote, “an operation was mounted on this person (Oginga Odinga) when he arrived at Nairobi Airport on October 26, 1960 on completion of a visit to the United Arab Emirates and London.

“Without his knowledge, 356 documents on his person at the time were photographed. We are now examining these and will be letting you have a report on their contents in due course.”

That now explains — for the first time — an incident that happened on Wednesday, October 26, 1960 when Jaramogi’s passport was impounded at the airport and he was kept busy arguing with Immigration and security officers.

On that day, and the press reported as much, Jaramogi had flown back to Nairobi via Cairo where he had met officials of a Kenyan lobby group — Kenya Office in Cairo — which was bankrolled by the Socialist Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser.

For that, and his dalliance with Communist leaders, Jaramogi was on the radar of intelligence officers and the British MI5 who wanted to know what he was up to.

Although Jaramogi was the first off the plane, he was kept waiting at the Customs and Immigration for more than 30 minutes and had his passport impounded.

He perhaps died without ever knowing what was happening to his luggage as he argued over the passport.

Actually, that evening, he called a press conference and said he would never use the parliamentary term “honourable” and he wrongly thought the withdrawal of his passport had nothing to do with his visit to Communist countries.

CONTACT PERSON
He told the press: “One of the officers was very rude and insolent especially that man who was destined to search me,” said Jaramogi.

“It confirms that there exists a plan from certain quarters to oust me from politics. To this I say: It has never and never will it be my intention to betray my people by using soft words and church manners in order to enjoy the respect of this colonial settler-inspired government.”

Of interest to the intelligence officers was an “address book and numerous scraps of paper bearing the names and addresses of his contacts, either established or intended”.

While forwarding the names of Jaramogi’s contacts to MI5, the Director of Intelligence wrote: “It would be appreciated if your London office could provide us with a thumb-nail sketch of all these overseas contacts known to be of security interest … We are, of course, particularly anxious to find out if any of these contacts have connections with a foreign intelligence service.”

The next letter was comprehensive and was referenced: Oginga Odinga/Communist Activities and dated October 24, 1960.

It is this letter that reveals the kind of dealings Jaramogi was pursuing.

It says that since Jaramogi’s return on August 27, 1960 from a tour of China, the USSR, East Germany and Czechoslovakia, “he has been very active in furthering what appears to be the Communist short-term aim of attracting as many Africans as possible into the Sino-Soviet orbit, either for educational purposes or to undertake tours and visits.”

The British also managed to identify Jaramogi’s link in London – a man called Stanley Ngumbu Njururi – whom they described as “a Communist suspect” and secretary of the Kenya Students Union in the UK.

In later years, Mr Njururi, a journalist, was twice elected Mukurweini MP between 1983 and 1992.

It was Mr Njururi who was to become the London contact person for all the students selected by Jaramogi to receive training in Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, East Germany, Russia and China.

Others were to travel via the Kenya Office in Cairo.

The secret letters indicate Jaramogi had sent Mr Hesbon Otieno Oyoo on October 10, 1960 to Leipzig, East Germany, to set up a new office whose purpose was to “route Kenyan students to destinations behind the Iron Curtain”.

It was in this town that Jaramogi took his young son, Raila Amolo, now Cord leader, to study among other Kenyan students.

SCOLARSHIPS
Jaramogi — in his Not Yet Uhuru autobiography — says it was not easy for the students to leave Kenya to take up the scholarships because if the authorities had known their destinations were socialist countries, the students would have had their passports impounded and they might have also faced arrest.

But from the top secret letters, it is now clear the colonial government knew about Jaramogi’s clandestine operations.

They wrote in a briefing: “All available information points to the fact that Oginga will pay the expenses of prospective students and there is little doubt that he has received considerable funds from Communists to enable him do this.”

The intelligence briefing says they did not know what the amount was and where the money was banked.

“(Jaramogi) is reported to have said that students who have no passports or little prospects of obtaining them should make their way overland to Cairo through either the Sudan or Ethiopia where arrangements for their onward journey can be made.”

It is now known that many students left to socialist countries with Egyptian passports thanks to Odinga’s friendship to President Nasser.

The intelligence service also managed to infiltrate an Odinga meeting held on September 18, 1960 in Kisumu where Odinga proposed that steps should be taken to select one African student from each district for studies in communist countries.

By that time, he had only three names: Msanifu Kombo (he later became a powerful Mombasa mayor), Stanley Mwithiga (then Nakuru branch Kanu secretary) and Mr Musa Nyandusa, a member of the Kanu choir.

But the first people that Jaramogi sent to study were his two formidable allies: Arthur Aggrey Ochwada and Hesbon Otieno Oyoo who left Nairobi on September 19, 1960 “on tickets supplied by Jaramogi”.

The intelligence managed to trace Mr Oloo to East Germany while Mr Ochwada had also taken up a scholarship in East Germany.

Also, they got to know how Jaramogi used to dupe the system with his scholarships.

For instance, two students, Boniface Lawrence Karanja and John Casius Sianda, were issued with passports to study in the US.

UNDER SCRUTINY

They had been issued with letters by the Kenya African Education Society “which is managed by Oginga certifying that they had been awarded scholarships”.

This was, of course, a lie and the intelligence got to know what happened.

The intelligence brief says that “on arrival in London, both contacted Stanley Ngumbu Njururi. Karanja has now left for Communist Europe via Berlin, while Sianda is known to be desirous of reaching a Communist country and is likely to be leaving London at any time”.

Other students who managed to get passports to either go to UK or London but ended up in the Communist countries were Joshua Ondiek Okello, Gideon Silas Owela and Zebedeo Pius Omwando.

The intelligence brief says they did not know whether Jaramogi paid their fares “but it is strongly suspected that he did so”.

It continues: “At the time passports were issued to the persons named in this report, it was not known that they intended going to educational establishments behind the Iron Curtain. On the contrary, it appeared that they intended to go to the USA or the UK.”

With the Odinga documents, the intelligence officers were able to crack a secret that was tightly held by Jaramogi: students destined for Communist countries would apply for passports as if they were destined to the UK or USA.

The Kenyan intelligence told MI5 that there would be an increase of Kenyans applying for passports to study in Western countries “to reach places where travel to the Communist bloc is comparatively easy”.

On Odinga, the Director of Intelligence, Mr B.D. Wadeley, said: “It is also likely that, if they are denied passports, they will attempt to leave the colony clandestinely. Either way, Oginga may be expected to be the prime organiser.”

From the Odinga suitcase, the intelligence also found a list of Kenyans who he had sent to Communist educational institutions or who were in his waiting list.

From then on Jaramogi’s bags and movements were closely monitored together with his allies.

Cards written “Trace Requests” were sent to several intelligence services on the various contacts that had been retrieved from Jaramogi’s papers.

The director of intelligence was largely interested in their Communist leanings.

SOURCE OF FUNDS
Of importance was Prof Gerhard Harif, a former dean of students at Leipzig University, and a member of East Germany’s scientific delegation to China — a man who seemed to be organising the scholarships.

Another was Heinrich Rau, East Germany’s Deputy Prime Minister and a powerful member of the ruling Socialist Unity Party.

He was also a member of the party’s Central Committee Politburo.

The list of addresses in Jaramogi’s address book was impressive. It had 161 international contacts.

“It is of interest that the addresses appear to have been written in the person’s own handwriting indicating that Oginga actually met them,” said the intelligence brief.

The “operation”, as they called it, also managed to know that after the end of the 1960 Lancaster Conference, Jaramogi left for East Berlin and took with him letters from Mr Njururi, Othigo Otieno and Mr Burudi Nabwera to Prof Harif of Liepzig University regarding the Kenyan students.

A final analysis of the Odinga documents indicated that he had opened an account with Barclays Bank, Oceanic House London, and was receiving huge amounts of money.

He had deposited £1,385 on July 13, 1960 after meeting with WPC, meaning World Peace Council, a body set up by the Soviet Communist Party in 1948.

On October 24, 1960, he banked £10,000 “believed to have been brought to London from Cairo by Oginga and one of his couriers”.

“In all probability, the source of the money in both instances was Communist, but it is not known if it is Russian or Chinese,” a brief dated December 14, 1960 says.

Other documents were lists of his appointments and letters, which revealed his connections to Communist groups.

For instance, he was to use a company known as Fields (Eastaf) Limited which was then printing Sauti ya Kanu newspapers to get capital from East Germany and set up business in Kenya.

“Amongst Odinga’s documents was a letter of introduction from Brahm Datt, a director of Fields (Eastaf) Limited to O. Holcraft of Alfred Field & Co Ltd … In the note, Oginga was described as a good business friend of Fields Ltd and was authorised to discuss business on their behalf …”

It was these letters that indicated that Jaramogi was receiving lots of money from Communist countries — but he never got to know that his travelling bags and documents were always secretly opened.

This intelligence would later be used against him.

{Five members of the same family died on the spot on Thursday afternoon in Muleba District shortly after eating hard porridge (ugali) which is suspected to contain poison.}

The Chairman for Nyamilanda village of Kyebitembe ward, Trasias Baltholomeo, identified the deceased as Julitha Julius (35) and her four children – Haujen Julius (14), Steus Julius (10), Debora Julius (4) and Paschazia Julius who was five months old. According to Mr Baltholomeo, the five family members took lunch of cassava ‘ugali’ at around 3 p.m. on Thursday.

However, shortly after eating the poisoned ‘ugali’, they started vomiting. Efforts were made to rush them to Rubya District Designated Hospital (DDH), but they died on the way.

Kagera Regional Police Commander (RPC), Augustine Ollomi, confirmed the incident, adding that samples of the ‘ugali’ have been sent to the government chemist to establish the type of poison. Nobody has been arrested so far in connection with the incident, he said.

Shortly after Congo President Joseph Kabila came to power in 2001, the U.S. embassy in Kinshasa sent cables to Washington exuding quiet confidence in the 29-year-old who had replaced his recently assassinated father, Laurent.

In one, released later by Wikileaks, the ambassador described an articulate but shy man, seemingly weighed down by the burdens of leading Democratic Republic of Congo. Days later, Kabila spoke on television for the first time.

“Kabila’s address is encouraging, reflecting a shift toward the reform and moderate elements in the Congolese power structure,” the ambassador wrote.

Fifteen years later, with an election due but Kabila showing little sign of being ready to relinquish power, an incident at Kinshasa’s airport highlighted how much has changed.

Tom Perriello, the U.S. envoy to Africa’s Great Lakes region, was accosted on the tarmac by several angry, finger-wagging Kabila supporters, including a member of parliament. One of the men shouted, “Be careful of the Congolese. We no longer need you!”

For years one of Kabila’s firmest backers, Washington is now driving international efforts to prevent any bid to extend his time in power when his second term runs out in December.

Last month, the U.S. government imposed further sanctions on Congolese security officials after dozens of people protesting against election delays were killed in Kinshasa.

“At this point it, is clear the government has not been willing to move towards an open or participatory democratic election,” Roger Meece, a former U.S. ambassador to Congo who also ran the U.N. peacekeeping mission there, told Reuters.

“Private discussions are not working so you get to the point where public comment is the only way forward. The tools are pretty limited but we should be doing more with sanctions and specific actions.”

U.S. determination to see Kabila stand aside is rooted in a constitutional ban on him seeking another term. But the unprecedented intensity of the pressure stems from changes in both the United States and Congo.

For years, many in Washington saw Kabila as Congo’s best bet.

His 2006 election win against ex-rebel Jean-Pierre Bemba was credible, despite the street battles that followed. A 2011 election was widely criticized but Washington held its nose and recognized Kabila as winner over Etienne Tshisekedi, a veteran opposition leader whose fervent popularity at home is often matched by deep distrust among Kinshasa-based diplomats.

“American policymakers appear to have concluded that accepting Kabila, although ignoring democracy promotion, was the wiser course,” Anthony Gambino, a former head of USAID in Congo, wrote in 2012 for African Futures, a digital forum.

“It is not at all clear that accepting the fraudulent outcome leads to longer term stability.”

“OIL ON THE FIRE”

Coming from the Swahili-speaking east, Kabila has always been seen as an outsider in mainly Lingala-speaking Kinshasa, surrounded by political and family groups competing for access and influence.

Augustin Katumba Mwanke, one of his closest advisors, juggled these networks for years. But after he died in a plane crash in 2012, advisors multiplied and diplomats say it has become harder to decipher Kabila’s plans.

Many of those in Kabila’s close circle now appear mainly preoccupied with holding on to power, rather than ruling in a coherent way, some diplomats say.

As a result, issues have often been handled clumsily. For example, in 2015, security forces broke up a press conference organized by a small band of pro-democracy activists and partly sponsored by the U.S. government. A U.S. diplomat was caught in the swoop, angering Washington.

Accusations of U.S. interference have become increasingly common from the Kabila camp.

“We don’t need people throwing oil on the fire to try to blow up Congo,” Jean Thierry Monsenepwo, head of a pro-Kabila youth organization and one of Perriello’s airport critics, said to the cameras. “That is why we told this man that he is not welcome in this country.”

Kabila’s drift toward authoritarianism has also splintered his ruling alliance, the most significant loss being Moise Katumbi, the millionaire former governor of the mining province Katanga. In him, the opposition has someone with deep pockets and a favorable reputation in Washington.

{{REGIONAL SILENCE}}

The tough U.S. line is also an attempt to arrest a broader trend of regional leaders clinging power, after heads of state in Republic of Congo, and Burundi tweaked or sidestepped laws to extend their mandates.

Crucially, Congo has caught the attention of a number of senior U.S. officials, many of whom are becoming increasingly open about their frustrations over Kabila.

Senators of both major U.S. political parties have worked together on sanctions legislation. The creation of a special envoy post has seen administration officials with high level support jet in and take a more robust approach than when they relied solely on resident diplomats.

The U.S. Department of Justice also announced results of a long investigation that exposed how a U.S. hedge fund funneled $100 million in bribes to top Congolese officials in return for access to mining concessions.

In the case, the first U.S. foreign bribery case against a hedge fund, a subsidiary of Och-Ziff Capital Management Group pleaded guilty in federal court in Brooklyn last week to participating in a scheme to bribe Congolese officials. Och-Ziff will pay $412 million to resolve U.S. probes into its actions there and in other African countries.

With commodities prices low, U.S. businesses are less interested in Congo than they have been in the past. Phoenix-based Freeport-McMoRan Inc agreed earlier this year to sell its stake in Congo’s Tenke Fungurume copper and cobalt mine, part of efforts to cut its debt load. That means there are no longer any major U.S. economic interests in the country.

But Washington provides more than $400 million in aid every year to Congo on top of $300 million for the U.N. peacekeeping mission, bringing it clout. U.S. diplomacy has been active in the region, especially cracking down on Rwanda for backing rebels in eastern Congo.

For now, the U.S. position toward Kabila is far more hard-line than Western and African counterparts. Europe has ratcheted up rhetoric against Kabila but not yet found a common position on sanctions.

Jason Stearns, a Congo expert, said there was a reluctance in Europe to follow such an aggressive approach but the mechanics of pushing sanctions through the bloc were also a factor in EU foot-dragging.

In previous crises, Kabila has also been able to rely on the support of regional African powers such as Angola and South Africa for diplomatic and military support. So far, leaders have stressed the need for calm without stating a clear position.

Stearns questioned how much regional countries will appreciate Washington throwing its weight about on their patch. Meanwhile, emboldened by U.S. policy, Congo’s opposition is threatening further protests unless Kabila stands aside.

“People are growing more worried and lowering their expectations for what might be possible in terms of an orderly change of government there,” a U.S. Congressional staffer told Reuters, asking not to be identified. “In Congo, we are trying to avert a worst-case scenario.”

{Two women were shot dead by police in Daraja Mbili market, Kisii County, in evening chaos after boda bodas blocked Kisii-Kisumu highway.}

According to Dennis Ogero, an eyewitness, police officers driving along the highway stopped to disperse boda boda operators parked alongside the road.

A fight between the police and the operators broke out leading to the women getting shot.

Edna Osoro, 27, was selling tomatoes when she was struck and killed.

The officers had a hard time trying to retrieve the body.

Her death, along with another woman yet to be identified, sparked off chaotic scenes as stone throwing protesters engaged police in running battles.

Kisii Teaching and Referral Hospital (KTRH) chief executive Enoch Ondari said the woman died on arrival at the facility.

Edna’s father, Mr John Osoro, was inconsolable as he wept over the death of his daughter.

“I have just seen the worst day of my life. How could my daughter die in such an unnecessary manner?” He said.

Police finally managed to retrieve Edna’s body at 9:30 p.m. They also partially removed the fiery barricades along the highway before taking the body to the KTRH morgue.