Tag: GreatLakesNews

{It has been a second major post-dusk robbery in less than five months. It was also different from previous major bank heists in the country as this time around the bandits had targeted the police and their weapons.}

CRDB Microfinance Bank, Mbande Branch, in Temeke Municipality, Dar es Salaam Region, had just closed for business less than 30 minutes back when disaster struck, according to residents and local leaders.

Four on-duty policemen were killed while two civilians sustained injuries when well-equipped armed robbers surrounded the microfinance facility and started firing shots at a police van that had just arrived at the bank.

The Commissioner of Operations and Training of the Police Force, Mr Nsato Mssanzya, confirmed the incident that occurred at around 7:00pm at Mbagala-Mbande area. some 40 metres from the Mbande police post.

He named the deceased as Corporal Yahaya E.5761, Corporal Hatibu F.4660, Police Constable Tito G.9524 and Police Constable Gaston G.9996.

“The civilians, Mr Ally Chiponda and Mr Azizi Yahaya, were injured on the leg and arm respectively,” the commissioner of police told reporters.

Mr Chiponda was rushed to Temeke District Hospital where he was admitted, while Mr Yahaya, who was discharged after receiving medical treatment, is recuperating at his Mtongani residence in the municipality.

Eyewitnesses said the bandits arrived at the scene a few minutes before the change of guard at the bank.

“Shortly after the police car arrived with on-duty cops, a suspected bandit who had been eating chips at a nearby chips joint fired shots at the vehicle.

Two other gunmen who were on either side also went on opening fire at the vehicle,” a witness said.

Mr Abdullah Salum, who runs a restaurant adjacent to the building that houses the bank, told the ‘Daily News’ that one of his workers was shot in the arm while out preparing the fries for evening customers,” he narrated.

According to Mr Salum, the bandits maintained the shoot-out for nearly seven minutes before disappearing.

“There were countless gunshots. We were all stunned it all,” a businesswoman, Ms Salma Msuya, added.

Home Affairs Minister, Mr Mwigulu Nchemba, who toured the scene on Tuesday night, wrote in his Facebook page; “We will not end up just cursing.

I urge all those responsible to surrender to the police.” He called on the general public to cooperate with the police force in the war against bandits.

The Police Crime Scene Investigation (CSI) Unit arrived early in the morning yesterday where, among other things, interviewed bank officers and neighbours.

According to the police, the bandits did not target the bank as they escaped without breaking in.

They took away two Sub-Machine Guns (SMG) and 60 rounds of ammunition belonging to the police force.

Observers and security experts described the police killing ‘as indeed disgusting’ urging thorough investigations into the matter, including taking precautions on terror-related threats.

Mbande, a neighbourhood bordering Dar es Salaam and Coast Region, had no full-time operating police station, a glaring omission given its growing population and trade.

Magengeni Street Chairperson, Mr Sadick Makanwa, told reporters that the armed robbers had two unlicensed motorcycles, which they had parked near the police post prior to the attack on Tuesday evening.

Outlining immediate measures to be taken, the Temeke District Commissioner (DC), Mr Felix Jackson, said the district will immediately start construction of permanent police station in the area.

He said residents had so far contributed 45,000 bricks, 33,000 bags of cement while the District Executive Director’s office had issued roofing materials for the planned station.

Parliamentary Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Security Chairperson, Ambassador Adadi Rajabu, said the Bunge committee will hold a meeting this week with the Ministry of Home Affairs and that of Defence and National Service to deliberate on the matter.

{From April 2015, Burundi has fallen gradually into conflict. Starting with peaceful demonstrations against the candidacy of Pierre Nkurunziza in the presidential elections, more than 200,000 people have now fled the country, thousands have been arrested, a failed coup d’état has taken place and hundreds of people have been killed. While international actors are trying to bring different parties to the negotiating table, Burundi is mutating into an ever more complex situation with no straightforward solution in sight. But one should first understand the background to the 2015 electoral crisis outlining the causes and the drivers of the current conflict. It begins with a discussion of the positions at the two ends of the Burundian political spectrum with regard to the electoral process and the resulting violence. Then the discussion on how the current political and security struggles in Burundi have affected the relationship with its immediate neighbor Rwanda. }

Over a year ago on the 26th of April 2015, thousands of Burundians took to the streets of Bujumbura following the announcement of the ruling CNDD-FDD party that the incumbent president Pierre Nkurunzinza would run for a third term despite a two term constitutional limit (International Business Times,2016).This attempt by the government to revise the country’s constitution signaled trouble because such revisions eliminated restrictions on the number of terms an individual can serve as president, conveniently allowing the incumbent President, Pierre Nkurunziza, to go beyond the current two term limit. Hence it directly challenged the concessional power-sharing system agreed on at Arusha that ended Burundi’s civil war, less than a decade ago in 2006 undermining the delicate and carefully-designed ethnic balance it set for Burundi’s institutions and which have brought the country 10 years of peace after decades of Hutu-Tutsi massacres (Yahoo news, 2015).

The president’s announcement of a third term did not as quickly bring a resolution. Instead, Burundi’s unrest has evolved into a crisis with street clashes between government forces and armed opposition groups, grenade violence targeting police, militia violence against IDPs attempting to flee, and security agents conducting searches and arrests of suspected rebels throughout the country. In the beginning of the crisis, attacks on civilians were centralized in and around the capital Bujumbura. As time went by, these attacks and civilian fatalities have become prevalent across the country. Local reporting indicates that violence against civilians has largely been carried out against opposition supporters and civilians trying to flee violence; this violence was carried out by government forces or affiliates of the government (ACLED 2016).

The current Burundian crisis has been monitored closely by local, regional and international media. Calls have been made by various actors both State and non-state actors to implore the government of Burundi to stop the violence in the country.

Rwanda is one of the parties concerned about this crisis.

According to Radio France International-Africa (RFI-Afrique), on 8th November 2015, President Paul Kagame of Rwanda was worried about the situation in Burundi. He noted that the problems in Burundi fall back on Rwanda and that Burundi should take sole responsibility in the crisis, instead of blaming Rwanda. He advised that Burundi should learn from what happened in Rwanda and insisted that Rwanda should preserve and keep fighting for its peace.The emission also indicated that relations between the two countries had dwindled as Bujumbura accused Kigali of 7 the latter’s opponents.(wwwrfifr, 2015)

By

Cyuzuzo Henriette

Emmanuel Tabi Ebot

Hazel Nelima Were

Joyflo Wanjiru Wanjiku

Ng’eno Weldon

Yussuf Abdinoor Abdullahi

{{[Click here to read the full version->http://en.igihe.com/IMG/pdf/burundi_crisis-regional_ramifications.pdf] }}

{The thugs, who were reportedly armed with machetes, descended on the villages in the wee hours of the night and badly stabbed the victims on heads, legs and hands, while others were cut in the chest and back.}

Bukomansimbi. Residents of Kanyika and Kayonja villages in Kitanda Sub-county in Bukomansimbi District are living in fear after unknown thugs attacked six families on Sunday night injuring eight people.
The thugs, who were reportedly armed with machetes, descended on the villages in the wee hours of the night and badly stabbed the victims on heads, legs and hands, while others were cut in the chest and back.

Police identified victims as Vincent Kayemba, 24, John Kangave, 38, Evelyn Nantumbwe, 32, Noel Namanda, 50, John Nteza 21, Robert Damulira, 56, Nasibu Ssemanda, 23, and a lady only identified as Maama Anasi.
All the victims were rushed to Kitanda Health Centre III, but were not attended to since the centre lacked equipment and they were later referred to Villa Maria Hospital in Masaka District.

However, Kayemba who was in a critical condition, was referred to Mulago National Referral Hospital in Kampala.
The attackers whom residents at first thought were thieves, never took anything from the victims’ homes, leaving all residents under fear.
“If this was theft, they could have taken some property from their houses, but nothing was taken and this leaves a number of questions,” Mr Paul Kato, the Kitanda Sub-county chairperson said yesterday
He added that Kitanda Police Post is understaffed with only two officers who cannot protect the more than 40,000 residents.
Bukomansimbi District police commander, Mr Micheal Ongana, said his team has mounted a hunt for the suspects. “ We have started investigating the matter and any time, the invaders will be traced and arrested,” he said by telephone yesterday.
He also promised to increase police presence in the area to avert further attacks.

{{Background}}

Two weeks ago, a mob in the same sub-county killed a suspected thief and residents suspect the attackers could have come to avenge his death. Recently, a mob in the area also burnt two brothers suspected to have killed their mother.

{The gunman demanded to be given money.}

A businessman is admitted to MP Shah Hospital in Nairobi after he was shot in a robbery attempt on Uhuru Highway.

Mr Jitendra Chevda, 49, was driving his car at 6.30 p.m Tuesday when he was attacked by a lone gunman.

The gunman demanded to be given money.

“He refused to give money and was shot on the lower abdomen,” a police report stated.

He was rushed to Nairobi West Hospital and later transferred to MP Shah Hospital.

Crime scene investigators recovered a spent cartridge and a bullet head from the vehicle.

Four people, who were in the vehicle during the incident, are assisting police with investigations.

In another incident, a man was hacked to death by gangsters at Mukuru Kayaba slums on Tuesday night.

Mr Aggrey Ouma was declared dead at Kenyatta National Hospital where he was rushed for treatment after the 9 p.m incident .

He was walking home in the company of Mr Mark Omondi when two gangsters, armed with pangas, confronted them.

“They were ordered to stop but they started running away. The gangsters pursued them. Omondi managed to escape with minor injuries on the left ear,” according to a police report.

“He later returned with relatives and found Aggrey with injuries on the forehead,” the report stated.

In yet another incident a nine-year-old boy was electrocuted in Kiambiu slums in Nairobi.

The boy touched a naked electric wire near their home.

{The government has started giving special consideration to Tanzanians living abroad to exploit various opportunities available in the country as it contemplates on duo citizenship.}

Foreign Affairs and East African Co-operation’s Head of Communications, Mindi Kasiga revealed this in Dar es Salaam yesterday when briefing journalists about the 3rd Diaspora Conference scheduled for today in Zanzibar.

Ms Kasiga said that the government decision follows a number of challenges for the country to adopt duo citizenship. She said that the government’s intention is to see Tanzanians living abroad or those who have changed their citizenship continue to enjoy some rights from their country of origin.

Ms Mindi explained that such opportunities given to Tanzanians who have changed their citizenship include reducing the number of restrictions imposed to them when they are required to work in Tanzania.

“This is done in collaboration between my ministry and the Ministry of Home Affairs especially when an expert with Tanzania origin is highly needed in the country ,” Ms Kasiga said. She further said that Tanzanians living abroad can also be facilitated to purchase lands in Tanzania for either personal use or investments.

“The issue of duo citizenship has not been concluded but the special consideration given to Tanzanians living abroad can lead us to fresh discussion although we have a long way to go,” Ms Kasiga said.

Ms Kasiga, however, said that the two-day conference will bring together more than 300 Tanzanians living abroad and will be officiated by Zanzibar President, Dr Ali Mohamed Shein.

Themed “Bridging Tanzania Tourism and Investment: A New Outlook,” the conference is crucial for the Diaspora to look on various investment opportunities for personal and national benefits.

Ms Kasiga said that during the conference the government will recognise Tanzanians living abroad who have contributed positively to the countries development. “We had no this system of recognising the contribution of some Tanzanians living abroad in the past, but through these conferences more of them will be known.”

Mr Emmanuel Onasaa, a Tanzanian living in Spain is among the people who will be recognised for his personal efforts to support the sport sector.

Speaking in Dar es yesterday, Mr Onasaa commended the government for its initiatives to enable Tanzanians living abroad to continue enjoying some rights in their country of origin.

Mr Onasaa said that due citizenship has been a challenge to most Tanzanian Diaspora, thus being denied some rights. He called upon the government to work on the matter to enable many Tanzanians living abroad to contribute to the country’s economy.

{Despite the conflict and threat to media freedom, Burundian radio journalist Eloge Willy Kaneza has risked his life to report the news from the troubled country ranked 156 out of 180 countries in the 2016 World Press Freedom Index.}

34-year-old Eloge Willy Kaneza has been named the 2016 Peter Mackler Award recipient for his commitment to asserting the right to air his stories where independent media is under threat.

“Not only does Eloge Kaneza embody the journalistic values the Peter Mackler Award (PMA) seeks to honor, he and his colleagues have also found creative ways to push back on repression using online technologies,” the Project Director of PMA, Camille Mackler said.

“His work with the collective is notable for its creativity in circumventing the restrictions that otherwise curtail accurate reporting in the country.”

After the 2015 attempted coup in Burundi, the media suffered from the President Nkurunziza’s closure of all independent radio stations in the country for “enabling the coup plotters”.

While reporters were fleeing the country for fear of being arrested, Eloge Willy Kaneza joined others to stay in Bujumbura to continue reporting on social media.

Eloge Kaneza, who stayed home in Bujumbura, became the only public face and the essential local link for the online news network eloquently baptized SOS Media Burundi, PMA said on its website.

SOS Media Burundi published local information on Facebook, Twitter and SoundCloud anonymously and in isolation moving from one Wi-Fi hotspot to another as they discussed on WhatsApp.

“Equipped with smartphones, its journalists report what they see in their neighborhoods, covering violence against civilians, arbitrary arrests and shelling,” PMA explained.

Kaneza, who is not anonymous among the collective, has furnished international media with objective information from trusted sources from both the government and opposition as well as the security services.

“His work with the collective is notable for its creativity in circumventing the restrictions that otherwise curtail accurate reporting in the country … As one of the named reporters of this otherwise anonymous collective, he is a role model whose courage deserves recognition,” Louise Roug, a member of the PMA advisory board said.

The Peter Mackler Award was founded in 2008 by family and friends of Peter Mackler who wanted to continue his work upon his passing. Mackler was a chief editor of AFP who has covered conflicts extensively.

{NPSC chairman Johnston Kavuludi said the ongoing vetting will soon come to an end.}

The National Police Service Commission (NPSC) has assured Kenyans that all police officers who will be deployed to monitor the 2017 general elections will be vetted.

NPSC chairman Johnston Kavuludi said the ongoing vetting will soon come to an end.

However, he did not indicate when it will be concluded.

“We shall complete vetting of all police officers very soon because we are through with the senior officers and we are now employing a different mechanism to vet the junior officers.

“We hope that by the time we go to the polls we shall have completed the process,” said Mr Kavuludi who spoke in Nakuru on Monday.

The NPSC boss said at least 1,556 officers from the rank of assistant superintendent of police to the senior assistant inspector-general have been vetted.

Out of those, 1,501 were successful while one opted not to be vetted and has since retired, he added.

He said 80 were removed from the service for failing to show competence and capability, but after appeals some 47 officers got back their jobs but 33 officers were found not suitable to be in the service.

Mr Kavuludi had paid a courtesy call on the Rift Valley Regional Coordinator Wanyama Musiambo ahead of the vetting of 330 traffic police officers in the region which starts Tuesday at Hotel Kunste.

The vetting will be go on until September 3, 2016.

{Police have gunned down two people in a robbery attempt while an unidentified person was killed by an angry mob after hurling a hand grenade in a failed attempt to kill community policing officials at Mabibo in Dar es Salaam.}

At the same time, police are holding a businessman Yoram Mbyellah, 42, for allegedly selling T-shirts branded ‘Ukuta,’ a slogan used by members of the opposition party Chadema, to popularise their planned countrywide demonstrations, to push for what they have been describing as democracy.

Addressing a news conference yesterday, Dar es Salaam Special Zone Police Commander, Simon Sirro described the word ‘Ukuta’ printed on the seized T-shirts as seditious.

“We received a tip-off from our informer, saying there was a shop selling T-shirts, bearing the seditious word and statement. We seized all the 47 T-shirts and arrest the businessman who was selling them,’’ he said.

Some T -shirts carried a statement in Kiswahili: ‘Tujipange kukataa udikteta uchwara (literary meaning, let us prepare to reject petty dictatorship). According to Mr Sirro, the suspect is currently being grilled and he would appear in court immediately after interrogation.

On the robbery incident, Mr Sirro said two people were killed by the police at Chiwanda area in Tandika, Temeke municipality in a cross fire with a special anti-robbery unit of the police force. He said the incident occurred in the wee hours of Saturday.

He said five suspects who were using motorbikes without registration numbers were about to rob from a certain house, but the police swiftly thwarted the incident, where two of them died during the exchange of fire while three others escaped unhurt.

“One of the suspects was found with a Browning pistol loaded with six rounds of ammunition…we have launched a manhunt for the three suspects who fled before they were arrested,’’ he added.

Another unidentified person according to Mr Sirro was killed by an angry mob at Loyola in Mabibo. According to him, the deceased was killed after he was found carrying in his bag 10 magazines of a Sub-machine gun rifle loaded with 300 rounds of ammunition.

In another development, police are holding Mr Omary Gilliad, 35, who is believed to have stolen a motor vehicle with registration number T 612 AUJ, Toyota Hiace, belonging to one Kaisari Yusuf, 26, a resident of Sinza in Dar es Salaam.

“The car theft suspect hid the motor vehicle in Masasi District, Mtwara region. A special car theft unit of the police force launched an operation to recover the vehicle and arrested the suspect who will soon appear in court after investigation.”