Tag: GreatLakesNews

Kenya:Al-Shabaab attack leaves one dead, three injured

{Two of the injured were taken to the Mandera Referral Hospital where they were admitted.}

A woman was killed while three others were critically injured when suspected Al-Shabaab gunmen attacked a vehicle between Fino and Lafey at around 7pm on Saturday night.

Two of the injured were taken to the Mandera Referral Hospital where they were admitted while the driver of the ill-fated vehicle, a Toyota Hilux, Mohammed Abbey was airlifted to Nairobi for specialized treatment.

Lafey MP Shaban Ali Issack said that another herdsman was last week abducted from Alango and it is suspected that he was taken across the border to Somalia.

July 10, 2016
Dar-India ties for upward trend as Modi jets into Dar

{Indian Prime Minister, Mr Narendra Modi, jetted into Dar es Salaam last night to start a two-day visit aimed at boosting ties between the two countries.}

This is his second official visit to Africa as head of government – nine months after the Third India-Africa Summit, attended by about 50 African heads of state, as India eyes to ramp up its Africa engagement.

Foreign Affairs, East Africa, Regional and International Cooperation Minister Augustine Mahiga told reporters in the city that during his visit, Mr Modi will meet with a group of rural women from poor communities trained by a college in India as solar technicians to help light-up their villages.

“The aim of the visit is to further deepen India’s engagement with Africa and provide opportunities to build close contacts at the highest political level and enhance mutual cooperation and understanding on major issues of common interests,” he said.

Dr Mahiga said before he departs to Kenya, Mr Modi will meet with the Indian community living in Tanzania. At the India-Africa summit in October, India pledged 10 billion US dollars in soft loans over the next ten years and 600 million US dollars in grants.

According to Dr Mahiga, the Indian premier will hold talks with President John Magufuli and sign agreements on various areas including industry, water, education science and technology.

Mr Modi is accompanied by 50 big and potential business people from India, some of whom have shown interest to invest in the construction of steel, cement, pharmaceutical and fruit juice factories.

The Indian delegation will also hold talks with local businessmen engaging in agriculture, manufacturing, infrastructure, health, education, energy and water sectors. They will also get an opportunity to take part in a conference, which will be hosted by the Prime Minister of Tanzania, Mr Kassim Majaliwa.

Other activities lined up for Mr Modi include taking part in the Tanzania-India Business and Investment Forum, which will be hosted by Tanzania Investment Centre (TIC), Tanzania Private Sector Foundation (TPSF), India Business Forum Tanzania (IBF) and Federation Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI). The forum is expected to take place on July 10 at the Bank of Tanzania (BoT)’s Kilimanjaro Auditorium in the city.

India is Tanzania’s largest trading partner in Africa, with bilateral trade in 2013-14 reaching more than 4 billion US dollars. The maiden visit by Mr Modi in the country opens a new epoch of Indo-Tanzania relations, which both countries stand to benefit, in terms of fulfilling their ambitions.

As India is working to achieve over 8 per cent growth in the coming years, Tanzania is equally ambitious to embark on industrialisation, which makes India a potential partner to that end.

Being one of the world’s most populous nations, the vast sub-continent has a lot to offer in terms of imparting expertise in various fields. It is a science, technology, agricultural, arts hub all rolled into one.

The technological advancements it has made are surely an area where we stand to benefit. India is the largest trading partner of Tanzania in Africa, with bilateral trade in 2013-14 being more than 4 billion US dollars.

Tanzania and India have a long history of cooperation at political, social and trade levels. According to TIC, a record, from 1990 to June, this year, the centre has registered a total of 442 Investment projects with Indian interest valued at 2.1 billion US dollars.

Large inflows were recorded in the industrial sector, which accounted for almost 53 per cent of registered projects during the period.

July 10, 2016
Activists challenge African presidents on ICC pull-out

{A few days to the 27th African Union Summit in Kigali Rwanda, a group of activists from across the region, have united to get African leaders to support the International Criminal Court (ICC)}

A few days to the 27th African Union Summit in Kigali Rwanda, a group of activists from across the region, have united to get African leaders to support the International Criminal Court (ICC).

The 21 African and international non-governmental organisations in a video which features 12 activists released on Thursday, want African governments to reconsider their views on the court when they meet from July 10 to July 18.

President Museveni is one of the African leaders leading the onslaught on the court which they (African leaders) accuse of “unfairly targeting Africa.”

President Museveni has severally attacked the court, including at his swearing in for a fifth elective term in office in May.

“To say that the ICC is targeting Africa, I think, is a misrepresentation of the situation,” says Angela Mudukuti of the Southern Africa Litigation Centre. “It’s more Africans making use of the court they helped to create.”

Ms Stella Ndirangu of the International Commission of Jurists, Kenya, says the reasons why Africa supported the establishment of the court have not changed.

“The only thing that has changed is that now leaders are being held to account.”
The move by some African leaders to reject the court pits them against the majority who want justice, according to Mr Ibrahim Tommy of the Centre for Accountability and Rule of Law, Sierra Leone.

“The big clash [these days] is over African leaders, the powerful few, who really want impunity for themselves, versus the vast majority, in fact all of the victims of Africa’s continent, who want justice every day,” he said.

In January 2016, the African Union (AU) gave its Open-Ended Committee of African Ministers on the ICC a mandate to develop a “comprehensive strategy” on the ICC, including considering the withdrawal of African member countries from the court. The committee met in April and agreed on three conditions that needed to be met by the ICC in order for the AU to agree not to call on African countries to withdraw from the court. These include a demand for immunity from ICC prosecution for sitting heads of state and other senior government officials. This is contrary to a fundamental principle of the court.

President Omar al-Bashir of Sudan has had an ICC arrest warrant on him since 2009 for crimes he allegedly committed in Darfur.

It is not clear if the AU will consider any of the open-ended committee’s assessments and recommendations at the Kigali summit.

July 9, 2016
Kenya dismisses UN report on killings in Somalia

{The air strikes were in response to the devastating raid on the El Adde base on January 15.}

Kenyan air strikes in Somalia killed 29 civilians following January’s Al-Shabaab attack on an Army base at El Adde, the United Nations has said.

In a report reviewed by the Security Council on Thursday, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said wells and houses were also reportedly destroyed and livestock killed in the strikes by Kenyan fighter jets and helicopter gunships.

“In this regard,” he told the Security Council, “allegations of cluster munitions were reported by the media and local communities. However, the government of Kenya has officially denied this”.

Kenya is among 108 nations that signed an international agreement prohibiting use of cluster munitions.

The air strikes were in response to the devastating raid on the El Adde base on January 15. The Kenyan government has not said how many of its soldiers were killed but CNN reported in May that as many as 141 died.

A resolution on Somalia adopted by the Security Council on Thursday dealt a setback to Kenya’s push for a UN takeover of the African Union Mission in Somalia (Amisom).

President Uhuru Kenyatta had presented the request to the secretary-general on behalf of the AU when the two met in Brussels on June 15.

The resolution, approved by all 15 Security Council members, says simply that the council agrees with Mr Ban that “conditions in Somalia are not appropriate for the deployment of a United Nations peacekeeping mission”.

The council’s action authorises Amisom to continue operating in its present form to next May.

In his report, Mr Ban offered a mixed assessment of the status of Amisom’s campaign against Al-Shabaab.

It called attention to a shortage of ammunition and to the EU’s 20 per cent cut in stipends to Amisom personnel, resulting in a financial deficit for the AU and Amisom.

July 9, 2016
Dar may not sign EPA protocol

{As East African Community (EAC) members countdown to the signing of the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA), the government yesterday said that it is not the right time to endorse the said protocol.}

The Permanent Secretary (PS) in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, East Africa, Regional and International Cooperation, Dr Aziz Mlima, told reporters that the decision was meant to protect the economic interests of the country.

However, this follows the international economic tremor that hit the world following Britain’s referendum that saw it leaving the European Union (EU). “We have all witnessed what happened in the EU in the past few days.

“We think it is not the right time for us to sign the agreement. There are still contentious issues which need to be settled to ensure Tanzania is not turned into a source of raw materials and markets for European goods,” Mr Mlima noted.

The PS further said that the protocol scheduled for signing on July 18 will have a devastating effect on the economy of low income countries turning their economies into market peripheries for industrial nations, while destroying some of the prospective industries.

The fifth phase government’s priority is to create an industrialised economy. The PS further clarified that by dropping EPA, Tanzania has nothing to lose because it would continue trading with other countries in the world.

Dr Mlima further said that safeguarding the economy of the country was the core reason. He added that the way the agreement was crafted did not meet the country’s objective in becoming an industrialised nation.

Though EAC partner states proposed the EPA signing ceremony to be in the first week of August, this year, some recommended 18th July 2016. EPA intends to enhance regional integration and economic development in the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries.

The agreement is based on the principle of asymmetrical market opening, meaning that it provides a better access to the EU market for ACP partners. EPA notably offers unprecedented market opportunities for agricultural and fisheries products.

EPA replaces the previous market access regime of unilateral preferences for ACP countries. Negotiation for EPA between EAC and EU started in 2007 initialing the framework on November 27 of that year. But the two blocs failed to agree, resulting in postponement of the deadline several times.

In October 2014, after nearly one decade of gruelling negotiations, the EAC finalised negotiations for a region-to-region comprehensive EPA, covering trade in goods and development cooperation with EU. The deal, which is in line with the EAC Common External Tariff, supports the EAC’s ambitious regional integration project.

July 9, 2016
Burundi Intelligence Services Torture Detainees, Report Says

{Human Rights Watch says Burundi’s intelligence services have tortured scores of suspected government opponents at their headquarters and in secret locations.
}

The rights group reported Thursday that abuses often have been carried out in collaboration with members of a pro-government youth militia group known as the Imbonerakure.

Burundi has been chaotic since April 2015, when President Pierre Nkurunziza announced plans to seek a third term that he ultimately won. Hundreds of people were killed as security forces tried to quell protests.

Human Rights Watch says agents of Burundi’s national intelligence service have beaten detainees with hammers, driven sharpened steel rods into their legs and dripped melted plastic on them.

The right group urges the U.N. Security Council to deploy an international police force and set up a commission of inquiry.

July 8, 2016
UN Official: Congo Likely to Face Violence Without Talks

{The U.N. deputy secretary-general warned Thursday that Congo is likely to face violence and persistent instability unless political opponents hold talks to resolve an impasse over upcoming elections in the country.}

Jan Eliasson told the U.N. Security Council that “this tragic, and still preventable, outcome” would reverse political, security and develop gains over the past few years and require a response “beyond the capacity” of the U.N. peacekeeping mission in the country.

The opposition has expressed concern that the election set for November will be delayed so that President Joseph Kabila will stay in power longer. This is the president’s second and final term under constitutional limits.

Congo has never had a peaceful transfer of power and Eliasson said political tensions are rising.

“In the absence of dialogue there is a real risk that political actors could resort to unilateral decisions which may compound existing political tensions,” he warned.

Eliasson strongly backed efforts by the African Union, European Union, U.N., and the International Organization of French-speaking countries to try to arrange a national dialogue with all Congolese parties, preferably by the end of July.

He said the ruling majority and the opposition have expressed their support in principle but there is no agreement on participants and the terms under which a dialogue would be held.

In a speech last week, Kabila reiterated the need for dialogue, warned politicians against any attempts to destabilize the country, and said voter registration would begin this month. Opposition presidential candidate Moise Katumbi criticized Kabila for not promising that elections will be on time or that he will step down.

Eliasson stressed that “an inclusive and credible dialogue” that produces an agreement paving the way for presidential and legislative elections “is the only realistic way to defuse political tensions, overcome the electoral impasse and prevent violence.”

He urged the international community to “proactively engage” with all Congolese parties to defuse tensions and promote dialogue, stressing that what is at stake is the long-term stability of Congo.

Congo’s U.N. Ambassador Ignace Gata Mavita said Kabila last week expressed hope for a dialogue that starts quickly and “ends in consensus for the entire political class of my country.”

Kabila also “wants to have free elections … in a climate which is peaceful in order to keep the peace,” he said.

Gata Mavita said the government is carrying out “an awareness-raising campaign” ahead of voter registration.

July 8, 2016
Museveni- Opposition meet angers Besigye

{Former presidential candidate, Dr Kizza Besigye, is unhappy with members of the Opposition who met with President Museveni under the auspices of the Inter Party Organisation for Dialogue (IPOD) “posturing” to plead for him.}

Dr Besigye, who faces treason charges after he swore in himself as president following the disputed February general election, expressed his displeasure yesterday at a meeting with Opposition senior leaders at Luzira Upper Prison.

“I am discontented with some of the things I am reading in the press. I saw members of the Opposition who went to Mr Museveni claiming to plead for me. How can anyone plead before the oppressor for my freedom? This is unacceptable,” Dr Besigye told Kampala Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago and Kira Municipality MP Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda.

He shortly after thanked Mr Ssemujju, also the party’s spokesman for speaking against the move by IPOD members led by Democratic Party’s secretary general Mathias Nsubuga.

The team met Mr Museveni last week at State House Entebbe. Early this week, Mr Nsubuga said the meeting involved discussions on the status of Dr Besigye and Nakawa MP Micheal Kabaziguluka, who was separately charged for treason at the General Court Martial in Makindye.

The President is quoted to have said Dr Besigye, former coordinator of intelligence services Gen David Sejusa and MP Kabaziguruka were engaged in subversion and the courts would handle the matter.

At yesterday’s meeting, Dr Besigye said he had told FDC’s secretary general Nandala Mafabi to disassociate himself from the IPOD’s efforts to “implore Mr Museveni to give me freedom”.

Mr Ssemujju said the group was, “trading Dr Besigye’s freedom for their own selfish agenda. They cannot trade the people’s president with Museveni over tea.”

The two leaders were given a maximum of 15 minutes each to speak to Dr Besigye after watertight security screening that saw Mr Lukwago at one point nearly lost his head when an officer asked him to loosen his belt so he check his under garments in a locked room.

The prison authorities have now spared two rooms for males and females with a curtain and wire mesh where Dr Besigye’s visitors are ordered to remove their shoes, socks, belts and their inner clothing checked even after they have gone through the ordinary check points.

New visitors’ photos are taken and inputted into a system designed to specifically handle Dr Besigye’s visitors.
“Security matters are tighter now. Anything on Dr Besigye is beyond us,” one of the officers pleaded with Mr Lukwago and Mr Ssemujju before confiscating this reporter’s notebook for what the officer said was for censuring of the content.
Meanwhile, Nakawa Chief Magistrate James Ereemye Mawanda yesterday clarified his visit to Luzira prison was not specific to Dr Besigye but part of routine visits to detention centres under the Justice, Law and Order Sector (JLOS).

Mr Ereemye, who at Dr Besigye’s last appearance in court vowed to visit his detention facility due to numerous complaints that his life was in danger, instead blamed the media for quoting him out of context.

But the trend of events leading to the visit appeared to indicate as much. By 9am, the magistrate and Judiciary spokesperson, Mr Solomon Muyita’s phones were buzzing with telephone calls. Orders were given that journalists should not be allowed in.

When he arrived at Luzira prison at 10:25am, Mr Ereemye was led in with the Resident State Attorney, Nakawa who serves as the secretary of the district chain committee, an innovation under the JLOS to converge efforts by different actors in the administration of justice chain.

Mr Apollo Akankunda who represented the Commissioner General of Prisons, Dr Johnson Byabashaija, said in the impromptu meeting, “Please clarify because the perception out there is that you have come to see an inmate by the names of Dr Kizza Besigye.”

Before he could finish his statement, the magistrate said: “No, we are here on a routine visit. We have another DCC meeting at the end of the month and we shall present a report, we visit all detention centres. Besigye has always complained and I told him I would come to Luzira and see the issues he was raising as part of the DCC mandate but not to see him personally.”

But the conduct of the meeting gave a different picture. First, the regional prisons commander for Kampala, Mr Wilson Magomu, had to be called in abruptly by Mr Akankunda who persistently took calls from his handset.

July 8, 2016
Kenya:Uhuru’s rating up in new survey but Cord says results ‘doctored’

{Those who dismiss his performance cite his lackluster fight against corruption.}

President Uhuru Kenyatta’s approval rating has risen to 68 per cent over the last three months, up from 47 per cent last November, according to a new opinion poll published on Thursday.

The survey by Ipsos shows that only 31 per cent of those interviewed disapproved of Mr Kenyatta’s leadership.

The approval rating was highest among Jubilee supporters, at 85 per cent, up from 73 per cent in November.

The poll was immediately disputed by Senator Minority Leader Moses Wetang’ula, who described it as “a ploy to hoodwink Kenyans that Uhuru is still electable”.

“These are cooked figures to depict some imagined popularity on the part of Jubilee,” said Mr Wetang’ula, one of the three top Cord leaders.

According to Ipsos, the poll was conducted between June 4 and 18, around the time that the Cord leaders, was holding rallies to push for the resignation of the electoral commissioners.

The results did not take into account President Kenyatta’s “development” tour of Ukambani between June 10 and 12 or the agreement between the Teachers Service Commission and the Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) and the

Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) on salaries.

They also did not factor in the deal between Jubilee and Cord to nominate seven members each to a special parliamentary committee on the IEBC.

All these events, if considered, could have influenced the outcome of the survey one way or the other.

The poll indicates that opposition to President Kenyatta’s leadership has waned among Cord supporters.

In November, 75 per cent of Cord supporters interviewed in a similar poll said they disapproved of Mr Kenyatta’s leadership. Three months later, this has dropped to 60 per cent.

Mr Kenyatta’s approval was highest in Jubilee strongholds of central Kenya (88 per cent), Rift Valley (71 per cent) and Eastern (68 per cent).

However, in what is likely to generate some heated debate within the political class, the poll shows that the Cord strongholds of Coast and Western also approve of President Kenyatta’s leadership at 66 and 52 per cent, respectively.

On Thursday, Mr Wetang’ula said that Mr Kenyatta had not done anything to justify his supposed improved ratings in the two regions.

“What has he done in Western to boost his ratings in the Mulembe nation? Even in Coast, the ratings fly in the face of the recent Malindi by-election, where voters returned a resounding victory for Cord,” he said.

Mr Kenyatta also scores favourably in North Eastern (58 per cent) and Nairobi (57 per cent). His approval is lowest in Nyanza, at only 30 per cent.

Respondents who approve of his performance cite infrastructure development (31 per cent), education (15 per cent), the economy (13 per cent) and fighting corruption (eight per cent).

Those who disagree cite his lacklustre fight against corruption (39 per cent), poor economy (19 per cent) and lack of infrastructure (six per cent).

The poll shows that 90 per cent of those who feel that Kenya is headed in the right direction also approve of the President’s performance with only six per cent thinking otherwise.

“Yet, on the other hand, nearly half of those holding a negative view regarding the country’s direction likewise give the President approval (49 per cent). To put it another way, while nearly all of those who feel Kenya is headed in ‘the right direction’ also approve of his recent performance (90 per cent), not even half of those who feel the country’s direction is ‘wrong’ fault his recent performance (44 per cent),” the pollsters explain.

“Such a contradiction underscores two key questions raised earlier. One is, how much of the support enjoyed by such a political leader rests upon identity rather than (attributed) performance? The other is; given the reduced/shared powers of the presidency under the Constitution, how much credit or blame should the President be given for the (perceived) performance of the (national) government?”

JUBILEE GAINS

The poll shows that Jubilee has maintained its advantage over Cord with 46 per cent support against 32 per cent.

This represents a one per cent rise in Jubilee’s support which stood at 45 per cent last November against Cord’s 32 per cent.

Some 73 per cent of the respondents said they either have “a lot” or “some” confidence in the President, as opposed to 59 per cent, who said they had either “a lot” or some” confidence in Deputy President William Ruto.

Fifty per cent of those interviewed said they have “a lot” or “some” confidence in the current Cabinet.

Interestingly, whereas 72 per cent of Jubilee supporters have confidence in President Kenyatta as an individual, only 33 per cent have confidence in his government.

By contrast, only 13 per cent of Cord supporters have confidence in President Kenyatta, and seven per cent in the government.

July 8, 2016
Tanzania:Armed bandits invade Benaco village for five hours

{Police in Kagera Region are on a manhunt following a group of four armed bandits believed to have invaded Benaco village in Ngara District and robbed people of their properties at gun point.}

Acting Kagera Regional Police Commander (RPC), Abel Mtabwa told the ‘Daily News’ in a telephone interview that the incident happened on Wednesday night.

According to him, a group of about four bandits who were armed with sub-machine gun (SMG) and hand grenades stormed the village at around 8.00 p.m. “The bandits invaded M-Pesa shop and robbed 2,040,000/- and several mobile phones from the shop keeper who was not immediately identified.

“The bandits also shot and wounded a Form Two student identified as Nilson Simon (15), currently admitted to Murugwanza District Designated Hospital, but was in stable condition.

We are still looking for the criminals and appeal for cooperation from ‘wananchi’, “he said.

Bishop Severin Niwe Mugizi of the Rulenge Catholic Diocese also confirmed the incident, adding that the bandits tried in vain to raid a Convent of St Franciscan Order at Benaco. “Fortunately, the sisters heard commotion and raised an alarm.

The bandits fired several bullets but there were no injuries,” he said. Abdul Kashalaza (45) and Minani Masuhuko (35), both traders at Benaco, on the other hand, narrated that a group of ten heavily armed bandits terrorised the village for almost three hours firing shots and throwing hand grenades.

“It was a terrifying incident.

The bandits were firing bullets randomly. Everybody was very scared. The bandits ordered us to surrender money and valuables threatening to shoot any trouble maker. It took more than five hours before police arrived at the scene,” said Masuhuko while tears running down his cheeks.

July 8, 2016