Tag: GreatLakesNews

{Retired President Jakaya Kikwete and Chairman of Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) will hand over the party’s chairmanship to President John Magufuli next month, the Party’s Central Committee (CC) announced on Saturday.}

CCM Spokesperson Christopher Ole Sendeka told reporters in Dar es Salaam yesterday that the handing over will be done at a one-day special general meeting scheduled for July 23 in Dodoma.

He said the handing-over date was agreed upon at a meeting of the Central Committee (CC) held at the party’s Mainland sub-head office in Dar es Salaam yesterday, under the chairmanship of Mr Kikwete.

“The main objective of the meeting (general meeting in Dodoma) is to hand over the party’s chairmanship – from the current holder, Mr Kikwete, to President Magufuli,” he said. According to Mr Ole-Sendeka, the CC has finalised most of the meeting’s preparations. Some 2,430 party delegates are expected to attend.

He said that the meeting will be preceded by other sessions involving the party’s secretariat, Central Committee and the National Executive Committee (NEC).

On the other hand, Mr Ole-Sendeka said that the meeting would also be attended by invitees from sister political parties outside the country, heads of foreign missions accredited to Tanzania, party veterans and other political parties in the country.

In March, this year, CCM Secretary General Abdulrahman Kinana said that President Magufuli has accepted the responsibility. “CCM has a culture of handing over the party’s chairmanship to the next elected President … this is not in the party’s constitution but it is a culture that has been formed within the party,” he explained.

Mr Kinana explained that former President Ali Hassan Mwinyi handed over the position to former President Benjamin Mkapa in 1995, who in turn handed it over to Mr Kikwete in 2006.

“This culture is continuing and former President Kikwete has decided to hand over the chairmanship to President Magufuli, who has accepted. My work is to prepare the party’s National Congress for this purpose,” he pointed out.

{17 June 2016 – Concluding their second visit to Burundi, a team of United Nations independent human rights experts welcomed certain improvements in the country, but warned that the recent “calm should not be confused with long term stability,” and also called on all parties in the country to stop the use of violence as a political tool.}

The team reported a significant drop in the number of executions since the beginning of the year as a positive step, but also stated that the shrinking space for civil society actors remains a cause for concern.

Christof Heyns, one of the three independent experts and the Head of the UN Independent Investigation on Burundi (UNIIB) said that for the country to move away from conflict, an inclusive political dialogue addressing the roots of the political crisis is needed. He also called for the broadening of the recent talks in Arusha and Brussels to ensure that all actors of the crisis are included.

The team also expressed concern that many political prisoners remain in jail and that a new pattern of mass arrests has emerged, mostly affecting ordinary people, including children. “In various parts of the country, school children have been arrested or suspended from school because their books had scribbles on pictures of the Head of State. Some of them face the prospect of spending five to 10 years in jail. We will continue to closely follow these cases, including the actions taken by the National Human Rights Commission on them,” said Heyns.

The team said that it looked forward to working further with the Burundian authorities and society to strengthen human rights protection in the country.

The UNIIB was established by the UN Human Rights Council in December 2015 to investigate human rights violations and abuses in Burundi, make recommendations on the improvement of the human rights situation, and engage in a dialogue with the authorities and other relevant actors in the ongoing crisis. It is scheduled to submit its final report to the Council in September 2016.

Burundi was thrown into crisis more than a year ago when President Nkurunziza decided to run for a controversial third term that he went on to win. To date, it has been reported that hundreds of people have been killed, more than 240,000 have fled the nation, and thousands more have been arrested and possibly subjected to human rights violations.

{Democratic Republic of Congo could descend into a cycle of electoral violence similar to that seen in Burundi and presidential and legislative polls due in November are likely to be delayed, the United Nations warned on Friday.}

A group of senior U.N. experts put Burundi and Congo at the top of a list of risks to watch for in the next six months, along with Libya, the La Nina climate phenomenon, and drought in southern Africa.

“The most likely scenario remains delayed elections into 2017, a move which would likely trigger wide political unrest in a situation similar to that of post-electoral Burundi,” they said in a semi-annual report.

With little freedom for democratic opposition and the heavy-handed use of security forces, the risk of violent clashes was high, especially in the capital and in Lubumbashi, home of Moise Katumbi, the leading opponent of President Joseph Kabila.

“The government is likely to limit or shut down mobile networks, restrict the opposition’s rights through legal or violent means and increase intimidation and harassment,” the report said. “Such an outcome would lead to displacement from the capital and translate into several hundred thousand people being affected.”

Displaced opposition supporters were likely to flee into the Republic of Congo, “souring an already tense relationship between Brazzaville and Kinshasa”, the report said.

In Burundi, which has collapsed into chaos since President Pierre Nkurunziza pursued and won a third term in office last year, a move his opponents say is unconstitutional, things may get worse, the U.N. report said.

It said a “cycle of high-profile tit-for-tat targeted killings” of top officials was widening a rift in the army that could produce a bigger conflict between pro- and anti-government forces, fueled by ethnic overtones in the political rhetoric.

Regional and inter-Burundian dialogues were at an impasse, which would further radicalize the opposition, “setting the stage for guerrilla warfare, notably in the provinces bordering Rwanda and DRC”.

The U.N. report, which does not cover the biggest crises, such as Syria, Yemen or South Sudan, aims to alert aid agencies to potential shortfalls in upcoming emergencies.

Its worst fears are not always borne out: last November it warned of a potential coup in Burundi and possible Islamist advances in Mali, which did not come to pass.

The latest report refreshed its view of the risks in Libya, with a warning that the two main political camps could splinter, adding to rivalry between the rival armed groupings, the Misratan brigades and the Libyan National Army, and making a NATO intervention increasingly likely.

{A Special Police Constable, Mr Albert Muhumuza known for stalking or tracking Opposition Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) leader, Dr Kizza Besigye, has been arrested after shooting a Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) staff in the city centre on Thursday night.
}

The victim, identified as Henry Kakooza, was shot in the neck and suffered severe injuries.

By press time, KCCA officials and police negotiations were still going on between the two sides to resolve the matter amicably.

{{Detained}}

Mr Muhumuza is detained at Kampala Central Police Station as investigations into alleged attempted murder continue.

The victim was admitted to Kadic Hospital in Bukoto, a Kampala suburb.

The shooting happened as SPC Muhumuza allegedly attempted to engage a suspected thief at a busy junction near Fido Dido on Bombo Road at around 8pm.

Kampala Metropolitan Police spokesman Patrick Onyango confirmed the shooting, but declined to reveal further details before reading the police file.

“I have just heard about it. I haven’t been officially briefed, so I cannot comment until I have read the file,” Mr Onyango said.

However, a police source said Mr Muhumuza was in a police patrol car returning from a mission to recover his TV set, which had been reportedly stolen and sold to a shopkeeper in the city.

A source said SPC Muhumuza, while in a traffic jam at Fido Dido, a suspected criminal attempted to grab the TV set from the patrol vehicle. Mr Muhumuza jumped off the vehicle and fired several bullets at the direction the thug took. A stray bullet hit Mr Kakooza’s neck, who was driving back home.

{{Help come in}}

Passengers waiting for taxis at the stage fled in different directions.

The injured Kakooza cried for help and one police officer, who was seated in front of the patrol vehicle, responded to the victim’s cry.

SPC Muhumuza was immediately disarmed, arrested and put back on the patrol car.
The bleeding victim, who could barely speak, asked police officers to take him to Kadic Hospital since he had an insurance card.

He was put in the police car and driven to the hospital where, he was admitted.
SPC Muhumuza was driven back to Kampala Central Police Station, where he recorded a statement and detained.

{US official notes that “nuclear energy represents a huge decision for any country to make.}

Kenya and other countries aiming to produce nuclear energy should reflect carefully on the ramifications of taking that step, a senior US diplomat has said.

Thomas Countryman, assistant secretary of state for international security and non-proliferation, sounded a stronger note of caution specifically in regard to Sudan’s plan to build a nuclear power plant with Chinese assistance.

In an interview with the Nation, Mr Countryman also highlighted a US effort to persuade African nations to sever their military ties with North Korea.

Washington has no concerns in principle regarding development of civilian nuclear technology in East Africa, Mr Countryman said.

He added, however, that “nuclear energy represents a huge decision for any country to make.

In choosing this means of generating electricity, “you are committing yourself and future generations for hundreds and thousands of years to the nuclear fuel cycle and to the cost of maintaining safe disposal” of radioactive wastes, Mr Countryman noted.

“It’s not a decision to be taken lightly by any country,” he said, adding, “I am concerned about countries pursuing nuclear power because it looks like a good deal today.”

Kenya last month signed nuclear technology cooperation agreements with both South Korea and Russia. Kenya made a similar deal last year with China.

NUCLEAR POWER

These initiatives give concrete expression to the Kenyan government’s stated objective of producing nuclear power by the year 2030.

The country is taking preliminary steps toward the goal, a United Nations nuclear power monitoring group reported last year.

A team of experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said at the conclusion of an eight-day mission in August 2015 that Kenya has made “significant progress” in establishing a decision-making framework related to nuclear-power infrastructure.

The experts also offered recommendations for further preparations on Kenya’s part. They suggested creation of a “robust” regulatory regimen along with training and skills development programmes to bolster human and institutional capacity.

Kenya has also been participating in US-sponsored projects in East Africa to promote cooperation on technical matters related to the feasibility of nuclear power programmes.

“Kenya should utilise nuclear power for it to become a middle-income country in the future,” IAEA Deputy Director Mikhail Chudakov was quoted as saying in Nairobi two months ago.

Speaking with the Nation from South Africa, Mr Countryman explained that his State Department bureau seeks to “keep the world’s most dangerous weapons away from the world’s most dangerous countries.”

He specifically cited North Korea and Iran in that context.

The US diplomat made a recent stop in Angola, one of the African countries that has military ties to North Korea.
The Democratic Republic of Congo and Zimbabwe are also reported to maintain such links with North Korea in violation of UN sanctions.

TERMINATE RELATIONS

Mr Countryman welcomed Uganda’s recent announcement that it is terminating military relations with North Korea.

He said Washington looks forward to Kampala “fully implementing its promise” to cease those dealings.

No US welcome was extended in response to Sudan’s announcement last month that it has signed a framework agreement with China for construction of what would be the first nuclear power plant in Africa outside of South Africa.

Mr Countryman noted that the US “has a lot of issues with Sudan.”

He added: “I don’t think we want to add this as one more difficult issue in relations between the US and Sudan.”

Khartoum has “some work to do to convince the world they have done the necessary preparations to introduce nuclear power,” the non-proliferation specialist declared.

{Tanzania Albinism Society (TAS) has appealed to the government to allocate adequate fund to address skin cancer to people with albinism.}

TAS communication officer, Mr Josephat Tona, made the appeal in Dar es Salaam during an African forum to deliberate on the challenges facing people in Africa and come up with ways to address them.

“Life expectancy of people with albinism is 45 and below, therefore education on how to protect our skins is necessary for us to live longer. If we will not have better health, we will fail to contribute well to the country’s development,” he said.

On the other hand, he said, since 2006 people with albinism have been living miserably following reports of inhuman deeds some people do to the group, forcing many children with albinism to drop out of school due to fear.

Under the Same Sun Executive Director, Ms Vicky Ntetema, mentioned lack of national statistics of people with albinism, poor infrastructures to reach them especially those residing in remote areas, as some of the challenges facing her organisation’s efforts to protect them.

{At least nine people died in clashes in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo that erupted when government soldiers prevented former fighters from leaving a camp for demobilized militia groups, officials said on Thursday.}

The camp houses ex-fighters from M23, which participated in rebellions against the government of President Joseph Kabila in 2012 and 2013, and the Mai Mai militia, whose allegiance fluctuated during the conflicts, a U.N. official said.

Emmanuel Cole, president of the Bill Clinton Foundation for Peace, a human rights NGO in Kinshasa, said six ex-militia fighters and three soldiers died in Wednesday’s clashes.

Congo’s east has been plagued by instability and conflict for two decades. The region suffered the worst of the fighting during a war between 1996 and 2003 that sucked in half a dozen African countries and left millions of people dead.

World powers fear a repeat of that violence as Congo approaches a contentious election period with Kabila, in power since 2001, accused of seeking to delay the poll or change the constitution to extend his mandate for another term. Kabila has not commented.

One of the former militiamen, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said ten of them were killed and that a demonstration they held to demand to be allowed to go home was peaceful.

Government spokesman Lambert Mende acknowledged that the two groups had clashed but denied that soldiers had killed anyone. He said protesters killed one camp officer with a machete.

The incident also underscored existing tensions in a number of camps for former militia fighters across Congo, which rights groups criticize for inhumane conditions.

New York-based Human Rights Watch said in 2014 that more than 100 people died from starvation and disease at one camp in northwest Congo owing to inadequate food and medicine.