Tag: GreatLakesNews

{A royal guard of the Obusinga bwa Rwenzururu has been shot dead as he tried to arrest by police in fresh clashes in Kasese district that ensued on Saturday evening.}

The incident that took place at Bigando in Hima also left one police officer, identified as Amos Mutamba critically injured and was rushed to Kilembe hospital where he is still admitted. Another royal guard, Aloysius Ndungu was arrested and is in police custody.

According to residents, it all started about a fortnight ago when letters with a message threatening to attack the area LC I chairman, Mr Ezekiel Masereka and the Hima District Police Commander were circulated by unknown people.

Mr Masereka then alerted police who linked the two royal guards to the letters that were being circulated.

“This plan came true on Saturday when a group of six people including two royal guards at Bigando in Hima clashed with police,” said a witness.

“As police tried to arrest the two suspects in the trading centre on Saturday, one royal guard Julius Manda tried to fight back by stabbing a police officer in the back and in retaliation, police shot and killed Manda and arrested Aloysius Ndungu (also a royal guard),” said the witness.

There has been a spate of attacks in the Rwenzori region following the February 2016 presidential and general elections. The clashes have so far claimed tens of lives including police, army and civilians.

The Police spokesperson for the Rwenzori sub region, Ms Lydia Tumushabe confirmed Saturday’s attack saying, “Yes, there was an attack, we got earlier intelligence reports that there would be fresh attacks in Bigando especially targeting police, so we went ahead to quell the attacks before they took place, in our operations yesterday (Saturday), our officers were attacked as they tried to arrest the suspects, one was arrested and three are on the run,” said Ms Tumushabe.

{A security guard stumbled on device at the entrance of the church at around 6.30am.}

Fear gripped worshippers at Kianyaga Catholic Church in Kirinyaga on Sunday morning after a device believed to be an explosive was discovered in the compound.

Worshippers arrived for Mass early in the morning only to be informed that an explosive device had been planted in the church.

The panic-stricken worshippers scampered for safety as police, led by Gichugu OCPD Mohammed Huka, arrived and sealed off the scene.

According to the worshippers, a security guard stumbled on device at the entrance of the church at around 6.30am.

On seeing the device, the guard, Mr Ronney Kamanja, kept vigil and when the worshippers arrived for the Mass at 9am, he cautioned them against going close to the entrance of the church.

“I informed the worshippers that there was a dangerous object and they panicked,” Mr Kamanja said.

Baragwi Ward representative David Mathenge, who later visited the church, called on the police to beef up security in all churches and public places.

{{GOVERNOR SHOCKED}}

Governor Joseph Ndathi, whose home is about a kilometre from the church, said he was equally shocked.

“I was at home when I received information that an explosive had been seen in the church and I was really worried,” he said.

Mr Ndathi said the device would have killed many worshippers if it had exploded and called on worshippers to report any suspicious people seen in the area.

The county boss also said the matter was serious and told the police to get to the bottom of the matter.

Worshippers later regrouped, with Fr Simon Kanji saying Mass in the church compound.

Fr Kanji observed that terrorists were now targeting places of worship and asked Christians to be on high alert.

“It is by the grace of God that we are safe,” said Fr Kanji.

County Commissioner Erastus Ekidor and Gichugu MP Njogu Barua arrived at the church and condemned the incident.

Mr Ekidor told the worshippers that it was likely that some disgruntled characters wanted to cause bloodshed. He, however, called for patience as police investigated the matter.

Mr Barua called on the police to thoroughly investigate the matter and bring those responsible to book.

“This is a grave matter and the law enforcers should act very fast and expose those who had planned to cause bloodshed,” said Mr Barua.

Mr Huka confirmed that the object was highly explosive, adding that it could not be immediately established who had planted it.

“It is an explosive and we have launched investigations with a view of establishing who had planted it there,” said Mr Huka.

Mr Huka said ballistic experts from Nyeri had been contacted and would arrive at the scene to examine the device.

“We would like to know whether it is a grenade or a bomb,” he said.

Early 2016, another explosive device was found inside Kutus Catholic Church in the same county but it was safely detonated by the police.

{Growing up as an orphan in the war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo, Popole Misenga never imagined he would be competing in the Olympic Games in his adopted city of Rio de Janeiro, much less for a new refugee team.}

But on Aug. 5, the 24-year-old judo fighter will march alongside nine other refugees from Syria, South Sudan, Ethiopia and his native DRC at the opening ceremony. Then he will compete with them under the Olympic flag.

“I never expected this,” he told Reuters at the gym in a poor neighborhood of Rio where he trains. “In Congo, there’s a lot of violence, a lot of war, a lot of confusion … I decided to stay in Brazil to find a better life.”

Misenga came to Brazil in 2013 for a judo championship. The trip was an opportunity to leave his home country, where decades of war have cost millions of lives. His own mother died when he was 8 years old.

Along with compatriot Yolanda Mabika, who will also compete for the Olympic refugee team in judo, Misenga fled the hotel where they were staying. Knowing no one and speaking no Portuguese, he spent some time living on the streets before finding shelter among a small community of Congolese in a favela, or slum, in northern Rio.

After surviving on help from neighbors and occasional jobs, Misenga managed to register himself as a refugee and resumed practicing judo, a sport he had learned as part of a program for orphans in the Congo.

Now he has a Brazilian wife, Fabiana, and a young son. He still struggles a bit with Portuguese but says Brazil is now home.

“I have found a good life here, and I’m happy to stay,” he said, while admitting he still dreams sometimes of returning to DRC one day.

For International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach, Misenga and his teammates will raise awareness of the scope of the refugee crisis. The United Nations estimates there are more than 60 million forcibly displaced people worldwide, with a third considered refugees.

“These refugee athletes will show the world that despite the unimaginable tragedies that they have faced, anyone can contribute to society through their talent, skills and strength of the human spirit,” Bach said.

(Additional reporting by Thales Carneiro; Writing by Stephen Eisenhammer; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn and Nick Zieminski)

{Mr Odinga said they will resume protests on Monday to get their way.}

President Uhuru Kenyatta and Cord leader Raila Odinga on Friday dug in over the impasse on the electoral commission.

The President has made it clear the impasse can only be broken through Parliament but Mr Odinga says he does not want to go that way.

This prompted business and church leaders on Friday to appeal for dialogue.

President Kenyatta shut the door to Opposition demands to reconstitute the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission outside Parliament.

Mr Odinga said they will resume protests on Monday to get their way since there was “no dialogue in sight”.

The President also dealt a blow to mediation efforts by the clergy to bring the two sides together when he told them that the provisions of the Constitution — which require Parliament to approve the changes — must be followed.

Speaking during the Friday’s national prayer breakfast at Safari Park Hotel in Nairobi, he said he would not be party to any agenda that seeks to undermine the constitution and that he was not ready to go to “tea rooms” to strike a deal.

After the prayers attended by Mr David Horsager, a US-born motivational speaker, the President and his deputy William Ruto met with religious leaders for about an hour and reiterated the need to respect the law in the reconstitution of the electoral body.

“We want dialogue like yesterday but it must be held within the confines of the law. Dialogue is not about going to the streets or meeting in tea rooms,” he told the leaders.

They included the Supreme Council of Kenya Muslims Secretary-General Adan Wachu, National Council of Churches of Kenya general-secretary the Rev Canon Peter Karanja and Bishop Alfred Rotich of the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops.

ADDRESS IEBC MATTER

He said the protesters were on the right side of the law and that Jubilee leadership was engaging in doublespeak since they removed the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission Chairman Mumo Matemu through coercion and cajoling.

“They blackmailed them, tried to entice them, bribed them with jobs to leave office. To date, Kenyans have never been told what crime he (Matemu) committed to be hounded out of office. The same administration that is saying we should use the constitution to remove IEBC commissioners did not do that, they abused it,” he said.

Mr Odinga said: “We are invoking Article 1 of the Constitution and that’s why we are asking the people to speak and ask for its disbandment.

We have tried Article 237, the popular amendment, but it was frustrated by the same electoral commission. We are on the side of the law on this issue,” he said.

And church leaders have vowed to soldier on with the mediation route until an amicable solution was found to the impasse.

The leaders who spoke to Saturday Nation after Safari Park prayers said though the President’s stand on the Parliament route was legitimate, the concerns raised by the Opposition and other sections of the society could no longer be wished away.

“The religious leaders implored on the President on why the softening of his stand is beneficial as well as looking for other avenues to avert what is an IEBC situation that’s fast getting out of hand is the best thing for the nation now,” a source told the Saturday Nation on Friday.

He said the President promised to meet them soon.

Speaking in Narok, the new head of the Anglican Church, Bishop Jackson ole Sapit, said the problems facing the country could neither be solved through demonstrations or threats, and that church leaders will work round-the-clock to ensure that the two teams are brought together for the sake of peace in the country.

“As the church, we will root for dialogue among leaders and let’s be open and sincere to each other on these issues affecting us.”

President Kenyatta favours the parliamentary approach, which has been taken up by a joint Justice and Legal Affairs Committee comprising of Members of National Assembly and Senate.

Another section of MPs led by Mukurwe-ini member Kabando wa Kabando are pushing for the formation of a select committee to handle the matter.

PEACEFUL SOLUTION

During the breakfast meeting, President Kenyatta made it clear that he would not negotiate with the Opposition outside the parameters provided for by the supreme law saying he took an oath to defend it.

“The constitution will outlive all of us. Let us go by its teachings. The oath I took was to defend and protect the constitution and I shall because that is the consistency of my word. I shall obey and shall follow that constitution whether it is convenient or inconvenient for me,” he said.

Mr Odinga, who met with the President last Tuesday at State House, is demanding talks outside Parliament to remove the commissioners because of fears that Jubilee might use its numerical advantage in both Houses to frustrate them.

Claims by Mr Odinga that a deal had been struck to form a 10-member team of MPs to draft the changes have been vehemently denied by State House while Mr Ruto has termed it “deceit”.

When Kiambu Town MP Jude Njomo asked God to intervene in the crisis, the President said God had already helped the country to have a constitution and that it was time “for us to follow it”.

“God gave us a way forward when he helped us put in place a new constitution. God has done his part it is now us to do our part. It is as simple as that. God has more important things to do for us, including to helping us deal with poverty, ignorance, unemployment and unity. On the electoral commission read the constitution,” President Kenyatta said.

The MP had asked God to intervene in the matter when he prayed for national cohesion.

Mr Ruto assured that they would find a solution to the crisis but assured Kenyans that the next elections will be peaceful.

{The Secretary General of the East African Community (EAC), Ambassador Liberat Mfumukeko, has instituted stringent expenditure reforms in the EAC organs and institutions with immediate effect.}

Mr Mfumukeko, noted that the EAC organs and institutions had been experiencing liquidity challenges as a result of delays in disbursement of contributions by both the partner states and development partners.

This being the case, he is taking steps to whittle down expenses, borrowing a leaf from President John Pombe Magufuli. The era of bureaucratic globetrotting, living in jets and sampling airports seems to be over.

More than 25 per cent of EAC meetings shall use video conferencing facilities. The community is working towards improvement of video-conference facilities both at Secretariat and partner states level, to accommodate as many meetings as possible, at the same time.

But should the need to travel arise: “As meetings are well planned on the EAC calendar of activities, meeting forms indicating the budget line to be charged shall be issued one month in advance and tickets two weeks prior to the date of the meeting.

This will help to avoid the high costs that may arise from late bookings. All air tickets shall be booked and issued basing on the most direct route,” said Mr Mfumukeko.

In a Financial Management Circular dated 18th May, 2016, aimed at addressing the financial crunch at the Community, Mr Mfumukeko says the EAC management has introduced cost cutting measures and reforms on key expenditure items. Article 67 of the Treaty for the Establishment of the EAC says that the Secretary General shall be the Accounting Officer of the Community.

The Secretary General said the measures and reforms are a product of intense consultations he had with executive staff, heads of institutions, directors, professionals and general staff of the Community over the past few weeks.

The duration of the meetings shall be rationalised. Technical meetings shall be conducted for a period not exceeding four working days. The number of delegates from partner states facilitated through the EAC budget shall not exceed two for each meeting.

Partner states have been told that delegates should be nominated from relevant sectors who can actively contribute to the success of the meetings and that they consult widely with relevant stakeholders in partner states prior to coming to the meetings.

In order to reduce conference costs, where possible, the use of free of charge government-owned facilities should be encouraged. The procurement unit shall also negotiate for corporate conference and accommodation rates in each partner state and the EAC delegations to technical meetings shall not be more than three members of staff.

For meetings involving partner states’ delegates and staff held out of station, but within a radius of less than 150 km of two hour’s drive from the duty station, the travel days for the staff shall be the actual first and last days of the meeting.

Meetings involving staff members only or with consultants shall be held at EAC premises using conference halls or meeting rooms within the duty station.

Where an assignment, activity, training and retreat require more concentration, justification shall be provided to support taking the staff members outside the duty station. This decision shall be taken by the Secretary General or the officers with sub-delegated authority of the accounting officer.

Members of staff will only be allowed to be away from their respective duty stations for not more than 50 per cent of their time. Exceptions shall be considered on individual basis provided that the cumulative number of days for a particular month does not exceed 65 per cent of the time.

Travel clearance by the respective director and DSG or equivalent authorities in other organs and institutions, prior to travelling, is mandatory. Prior to budgeting procurement of consultancies, which are not implementing a particular council directive; a request shall be submitted to management and considered by a multi-disciplinary advisory committee.

This is to save expenditure on short-term studies, trainings, which can be undertaken or facilitated by the EAC professional staff. The Partnership Fund MoU between EAC and Development Partners shall be amended to reflect the application of travel policy as contained in the PRAG (EU Per diem rates), with effect from July 1, this year.

During the negotiation of financing agreements with development partners, EAC shall be flexible to apply development partners’ travel policies with a view to attracting more support.

Thus there will be No Top Up claim by a staff when implementing an activity funded by development partners under these terms. A projects coordination unit will be established by July 1, this year, to enhance effective communication and reporting to partner states, EALA and development partners, ensuring that EAC has a one stop desk and repository for information on all projects.

The unit will ensure joint planning and budgeting, timely and coordinated implementation, reporting and auditing of projects.

{President Denis Sassou-Nguesso’s new term in office, a continuation of his decades in power after a murky re-election, has gotten off to a rocky start since violence in the Republic of Congo has left his political opponents fearing for their lives.}

On April 4, the day that final election results were released, shooting broke out in the southern districts of the capital, Brazzaville, which are considered to be opposition strongholds. Military barracks and checkpoints and two police stations were targeted in a gun battle that lasted nearly two days, according to the International Federation for Human Rights.

Human right groups have also reported that airstrikes and a ground offensive took place in Pool, another area known for harboring opposition figures, starting the next day.

The violence comes after protests last year over the constitutional referendum that extended the eligibility of presidential candidates beyond age 70, which allowed Mr. Sassou-Nguesso, 72, to run again. Mr. Sassou-Nguesso, often considered one of Africa’s so-called presidents for life, has governed the country for 32 of the last 37 years.

He was re-elected in March after winning more than 60 percent of the vote. Opposition candidates denounced the victory as a sham. In the days around the vote, internet and television networks were shut down in the capital as a security measure, the government said.

The French Ministry of Foreign affairs still does not recognize the election results in its former colony, citing a lack of transparency surrounding the election. Other countries, like Canada and the United States, have also expressed dismay. After sharp criticism from the European Union over the credibility of the results, Brazzaville asked the European Union to recall its ambassador.

Mr. Sassou-Nguesso first came to power in 1979 and governed for 13 years before losing an election in 1992. In 1997, he again assumed power after a civil war killed 10,000 people and displaced thousands more. He enjoys little popularity outside of the northern districts of Brazzaville and the remote northern region where he grew up. He was sworn into his new five-year term in April.

The federal government has blamed a group called the “Ninjas,” former militiamen active during a civil war in the 1990s and again in the early 2000s, for the violence after the election. In particular, officials have blamed the former Ninja leader Frédéric Bintsamou, known as Pastor Ntumi, which means “the messenger” in Lari, a local language. In April, the government issued an arrest warrant for him in connection with the recent unrest. He denies any direct involvement in the shootout or violence in the Pool region.

Some of Mr. Sassou-Nguesso’s political opponents who contested the election results, including Gen. Jean-Marie Michel Mokoko, who also ran for president in March, have been arrested or put under house arrest after the outbreak of violence in Brazzaville. Mr. Mokoko’s house has been surrounded by government armed forces since April 5, preventing him from going outside. Other members of opponents’ campaign teams have been arrested on the grounds of “endangering the security of the state,” according to the International Federation for Human Rights.

Various witnesses report that the day after the shooting began in Brazzaville, the government bombed the southern Pool region, destroying one of Mr. Bintsamou’s former houses. The government denies targeting civilians and has not issued an official body count. Access to the most sensitive areas of the Pool region has also been denied to local journalists and nongovernmental groups.

The bombings affected residential areas and damaged public and private properties, including one primary school, said Ilaria Allegrozzi, a researcher with Amnesty International.

“Because it occurred early morning, it is unlikely that children were struck, but we have no confirmation of this,” she said.

Shelling with heavy weapons and bombardments in Pool stopped in mid-April, but ground offensives are still taking place in various villages in the region, humanitarian groups have reported. One woman who fled to Brazzaville told Amnesty International in April that she saw at least 30 bodies in one area and described heavy damage in the Pool region caused by airstrikes. However, the organization stressed that because they were denied access to the areas in question, cross-checking witness reports remained impossible.

In April, the Congolese branch of the international aid organization Caritas Internationalis said more than 2,000 people had fled the Pool region and gone into the bush. Ghys Fortuné Bemba Dombe, a local journalist whose newspaper was shut down by the government, said many people were still in hiding, afraid to return to their villages.

The United Nations said in an April news release that there had been “reports of mass arrests and torture in detention” in Pool.

In May, United Nations secretary general Ban Ki-moon urged Mr. Sassou-Nguesso to “ensure that humanitarian and other relevant actors are granted access to the affected areas.”

The authorities have denied hitting any residential areas. The minister of communication, Thierry Moungalla, has been quoted as saying that the government had ordered “targeted” and “proportionate” strikes on the “command centers” of the former Ninja leader, Mr. Bintsamou, located in remote and sparsely populated areas of the Pool region.

Groups like Amnesty International and the International Federation for Human Rights have been denied access to the Pool region. “There is no official reason for this, but authorities claim this is due to insecurity there” said Tresor Nzila, the director of the Congolese branch of the the International Federation for Human Rights.

Speaking after the release of an Amnesty report, the minister of communication, Mr. Moungalla, told reporters that access to the Pool region had been denied to organizations whose aim is to “criticize national authorities and conduct biased and one-sided investigations.”

In Brazzaville, witnesses say the arrests of opposition members have continued and residents are being plucked from the streets and detained.

“There is a climate of generalized psychosis,” said Mr. Dombe, the journalist.