Tag: GreatLakesNews

Burundi general killed as ICC opens probe into atrocities

{The initial ICC probe is aimed at determining whether there is enough evidence to proceed to a full-blown investigation.}

A top general was gunned down in Burundi on Monday, as International Criminal Court prosecutors announced they were launching a preliminary probe into a litany of atrocities in the troubled central African nation.

A wave of unrest, targeted assassinations and alleged torture has left hundreds dead and forced more than 270,000 to flee the country since last April, and some analysts warn Burundi may be on the brink of a new civil war.

General Athanase Kararuza, a security advisor to one of Burundi’s vice presidents, was killed along with his wife in a gun and grenade attack as they were dropping their daughter off at school in the capital Bujumbura.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon led international condemnation, saying: “All such acts of violence serve no purpose other than to worsen the already volatile situation in Burundi.”

A family source said General Kararuza’s daughter was seriously injured but her life was not in danger, contradicting a Burundian security source that earlier said she too had died.

General Kararuza was a former commander of the African Union-led peacekeeping force in the Central African Republic. It was not clear who carried out the assassination.

“Those who killed my colleague General Kararuza and (carried out) other similar attacks are trying to sow divisions in the army and the police,” presidential spokesman Willy Nyamitwe wrote on Twitter.

On Sunday a police colonel was also seriously wounded in an attack, while Human Rights Minister Martin Nivyabandi and his wife had a close escape from a grenade assault as they left church.

ICC PROBE

The latest spasm of violence in a country with a troubled ethnic history was triggered when President Pierre Nkurunziza decided last year to run for a third term in office.

His move sparked weeks of street protests and a failed coup, but he went on to win an election in July that was slammed as anti-constitutional by civil society and the opposition.

Shortly after Monday’s killing, ICC Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda announced she was launching a preliminary probe into the crisis.

Ms Bensouda said she had warned that “those alleged to be committing crimes falling within the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court could be held individually accountable”.

Her office had reviewed reports “detailing acts of killing, imprisonment, torture, rape and other forms of sexual violence, as well as cases of enforced disappearances”.

“All these acts appear to fall within the jurisdiction of the ICC,” she said.

The initial probe is aimed at determining whether there is enough evidence to proceed to a full-blown investigation, which could result in charges against any alleged leaders of the violence.

Former Tanzanian president Benjamin Mkapa said he wanted to re-launch moribund peace talks in May.

The European Union described Mkapa’s announcement as a “step in the right direction”.

The international community — still traumatised by the 1994 genocide in neighbouring Rwanda in which an estimated 800,000 people died, mostly Tutsis — has grown increasingly alarmed by the unrest in Burundi.

There have been calls to avert a possible genocide and a repeat of its 1993-2006 civil war, which left some 30,000 people dead.

The EU has even suspended its aid to Burundi’s government, a vital lifeline for a country the IMF deems the world’s poorest with a per capita annual income of just $315.2.

The opposition, as well as civil groups and some of Nkurunziza’s own supporters, accuse him of violating the constitution and the Arusha peace deal that ended the civil war.

April 26, 2016
Kenya:Police stop Ranguma, Cord supporters from storming Kisumu IEBC offices

{Mr Fred Ouda of Central Gem Ward was arrested by the police at 6pm Monday.}

Kisumu Governor Jack Ranguma and Cord supporters were Tuesday Morning tear gassed near the county offices as they marched towards IEBC offices in Milimani in a bid to kick out the commission’s officials.

Meanwile, a member of the Siaya County Assembly was arrested after he chained himself to the gates of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) offices in Kisumu.

Mr Fred Ouda of Central Gem Ward was arrested by the police at 6pm Monday.

The MCA, who made news recently for stripping following a social media stunt alleging that Deputy President William Ruto had insulted members of the Luo community, had gone there as part of protests by the Opposition to remove the electoral commission from office.

Dozens of General Service Unit (GSU) personnel Tuesday morning threw a heavy cordon around the electoral commission’s offices as youths matched in an attempt to kick out the officials.

ODM supporters in Kisumu who were agitated by the teargasing of party leader Raila Odinga in Nairobi on Monday marched to the commission’s offices in Kisumu on Tuesday chanting slogans.

“IEBC must go. We don’t want Hassan and his team,” they chanted as they marched along Nairobi Road.

April 26, 2016
Tanzania:Malaria treatment, drugs free in public hospitals

{The government has scrapped off all charges for treatment and medicine provided to malaria patients in government hospitals in the country.}

Health, Community Development, Gender, Elderly and Children Minister Ummy Mwalimu told a news conference here that patients would be required to pay consultation fees only. “Other charges like malaria diagnosis and medication will be free of charge effective from now in all government hospitals.

I direct all regional and district medical officers to supervise this new government policy effectively,” the minister stressed. She was giving a government statement on the World Malaria Day 2016 when she declared further that the efforts to eliminate the deadly disease have started showing positive results as there is a significant decrease of malaria cases.

The analytical report on HIV and Malaria indicators, the minister said, has shown that transmission of the disease has decreased by 50 per cent from 18pc in the 2007/2008 year to 10 pc for 2011/2012 financial year.

Ms Mwalimu said, however, that despite such decline of transmission cases, statistics show that malaria was still a big problem especially in villages as compared to urban centres. According to the minister, the transmission rate in rural areas was 10.7 per cent as opposed to 3.4pc in urban areas. She pointed out further that there was a hard task ahead despite such positive steps in fighting the disease.

The minister noted that the statistics also show that 12 million people get malaria each year in the country with pregnant women and children under the age of five years being the most vulnerable.

“Our aim is to reduce transmission of the malaria by 5pc in 2016 and 1pc by 2020. This is possible. Each one of us has a duty of taking part in the war against malaria,” the minister emphasised.

Ms Mwalimu took the opportunity to congratulate retired President Jakaya Kikwete for his efforts to combat the deadly disease both inside and outside the country, which led him to be awarded a “White House Summit Award,” in April, this year.

She pledged that her ministry would continue with other stakeholders to implement other strategies to reduce the transmission of the disease and later eradicate the same in the country.

She named the strategies as preventing the mosquitoes using different methods, notably using long term treated bed-nets, indoor residual spraying, cleaning of environments and destroying insecticides.

According to the minister, there would be speedy malaria diagnosis using Malaria Rapid Diagnostic Tests (RDTs) and using Artemether/Lumefantrine (ALu) as the first line drug for treatment for patient proved to have diseases’ parasites.

She said that Sulfadoxine/ Pyrimethamine (SP) would be provided to pregnant women in special periods. The minister further encouraged the people to continue using treated bed nets to contain the disease.

Ms Mwalimu further pointed out that the exercise of distribution of the nets countrywide was going on well as 18 regions in Tanzania Mainland have been covered with over 20 million nets have already been distributed at a ratio of one net per two persons.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), since 2000, malaria mortality rates have declined by 60 per cent globally. In the WHO African Region, malaria mortality rates fell by 66pc among all age groups and by 71pc among children under 5 years.

The advances came through the use of core malaria control tools that have been widely deployed over the last decade: insecticidetreated bed-nets, indoor residual spraying, rapid diagnostic testing and artemisinin-based combination therapies.

In 2015, all countries in the WHO European Region reported, for the first time, zero indigenous cases of malaria, down from 90,000 cases in 1995.

The Global Technical Strategy for Malaria 2016- 2030, approved by the World Health Assembly in 2015, calls for the elimination of local transmission of malaria in at least 10 countries by 2020. WHO estimates that 21 countries are in a position to achieve this goal, including six countries in the African Region, where the burden of the disease is heaviest.

April 26, 2016
My family fled Ireland as refugees, says George Clooney as he presents $1m prize to humanitarian worker

{George Clooney has described his own family’s flight from famine as he urged the world to remember that refugees are “people, just like you and me”, during a humanitarian conference in Armenia.}

He presented the inaugural Aurora prize, worth $1.1m (£760,000), to a Burundian humanitarian worker who saved thousands of orphans’ lives in the middle of a civil war

But the Oscar-winning actor, who has campaigned for an end to violence around the world, also addressed the global refugee crisis.

“The simple truth is that all of us here tonight are the result of someone’s act of kindness. We all stand on the shoulders of good people who didn’t look away when we were in need,” he said.

“The Clooney family fled a famine in Ireland to come to the United States where their very survival required a room, a meal, a helping hand. We call them refugees, but they’re just people, like you and me.

“And if you stand right in front of them and take a look deep into their eyes, you might just see an Irish farmer fleeing a famine. If we are to survive as a people, we simply can’t look away. Not from the people of Syria or South Sudan or the Congo.”

The first recipient of the award was Marguerite Barankitse, who was forced to flee Burundi last year and is credited with saving the lives of 30,000 children after ethnic tensions exploded into civil war in 30,000.

Ms Barankitse, a member of the Tutsi tribe, set up Maison Shalom – house of peace – during the war to provide a place of safety for orphans.

Burundi has been rocked by violence during the past year after Pierre Nkurunziza, the president, sought a controversial third term last year.

She said she planned to share her prize money with other groups working with orphans and child refugees.

Clooney said her work served as a “reminder of the impact that one person can have even when encountering seemingly insurmountable persecution and injustice”.

Another finalist was Tom Catena, the only resident doctor in the Nuba Mountains in southern Sudan serving 750,000 people, constantly facing aerial bombardment and providing desperately needed healthcare. “I’d feel like I was giving up if I left,” the doctor said.

Because of his work in difficult conditions, Dr Catena was unable to attend the prize ceremony.

The third finalist was Father Bernard Kinvi, a Catholic priest, whose work in Central African Republic was praised by the Aurora Prize selection committee.

Father Kinvi helped both sides in the country’s civil war, including refuge and health services to Muslim Seleka rebels and the anti-Balaka Christian militia. As he received a prize for being nominated, Father Kinvi told the audience: “This celebration is proof that only love can destroy hatred.”

The other finalist was Syeda Ghulam Fatima, the founder of non-profit organisation against slavery, the Bonded Labour Liberation Front, which has saved 80,000 people from a life of forced labour despite the constant danger she faces.

She told the award ceremony in a pre-recorded film that she had been fighting against brick kiln owners to free slaves for 35 years and they have attempted to kill her several times. Tens of thousands of children have been saved from slavery thanks to her.

The winner of the award, known fully as the Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity, will be given a $100,000 grant together with a $1 million award for the individual to donate to other organisations.

In the words of Aurora, it is a “unique opportunity to continue the cycle of giving” and will be given annually to those who save lives and advance humanitarian causes.

The judges included Clooney, Mary Robinson, the former president of Ireland, and Elie Wiesel, a Nobel peace prize laureate.

“We were bowled over by the four finalists. It was humbling, very special to be able to recognise the achievements of the four finalists. I hope it will be a wonderful celebration of humanitarian concerns,” said Ms Robinson.

April 25, 2016
Papa Wemba: ‘King of Congo rumba’ dies after collapsing on stage

{Papa Wemba, one of Africa’s greatest music stars, has died after collapsing on stage during a festival in Ivory Coast.}

The Congolese world music legend, renowned as the “king of Congolese rumba” for the fusion of Cuban and electronic rock that he pioneered in the 1970s, was 66.

He died after falling ill during a set at the Urban Musical Festival Anoumabo (FEMUA) in Abidjan, the first major cultural event in the country since a jihadist attack on a beach resort last month.

Video footage broadcast live on television showed the dramatic moment that Papa Wemba — wearing a bold black and white patterned tunic and oversized bowler hat — slumped to the floor behind a group of dancers, before performers rushed to his aid.

FEMUA organisers expressed “deep sorrow” at the death of a man who has been at the forefront of African music for more than four decades.

“Papa Wemba wanted to die on stage, that’s what he told me two weeks ago when I spoke to him on the phone,” said festival promoter and singer Salif Traore, known as A’Salfo.

YOUTUBE: Papa Wemba released ‘Nandimi’ in 2015.
A’Salfo, lead singer with the Ivorian group Magic System, said he understood Papa Wemba died on the way to hospital and that a journalist who interviewed him earlier in the day had noticed that he appeared unwell.

“[The journalist] told me that Papa Wemba was showing signs of fatigue. He was drinking water between every sentence,” A’Salfo said.

The festival was held just over a month after the Islamist attack on the beach resort of Grand-Bassam on March 13 that left 19 people dead.
Papa Wemba’s death ‘great loss for music’

Papa Wemba was born Jules Shungu Wembadio Pene Kikumba in June 1949 in what was then Belgian Congo, now the Democratic Republic of Congo.

He won international acclaim when the fashion for African and world music took hold in Europe and the United States in the 1980s, and recorded with British rock star Peter Gabriel.

The Democratic Republic of Congo’s Culture Minister, Banza Mukalay, described Wemba as an “icon”.

“He was an artist of talent … it’s a great loss for music,” he said.

Mr Mukalay added that the singer’s body would be brought back from the Ivory Coast to his homeland.

“We are not going to let him rest there for eternity. He will be buried here in the DRC.”

April 25, 2016
Uganda:Guard hangs self at Jinja State Lodge

{A special police constable who had been deployed to State Lodge in Jinja town was found hanging near the kitchen.}

Jinja District police commander Felix Mugizi said Abas Muwaira hanged himself last Thursday afternoon using some joined pieces of wire mesh.

Mr Mugizi said police are still investigating the circumstances under which the man decided to take his life, but hastened to add that there are indications that he had done it out of fear, having been away from the lodge, which serves as the President’s official home in Jinja, on the night of Wednesday when thieves accessed the premises.

However, other police officers who talked to Daily Monitor accused the Force’s top brass in Jinja of having mishandled the deployment plans for the State Lodge.

One of the officers who preferred not to be named as he is not authorised to speak on behalf of the Force, said the deceased had been deployed to singly man security at the State Lodge for more than five years. “If there had been many security officers deployed at the premises, I think this would not have happened.

The thieves must have known that he would at some point be forced to leave and they took advantage,” the officer said.

Mr Mugizi declined to comment about reports that the deceased had been the only officer manning security at the premises. He also declined to reveal what was stolen.

April 25, 2016
Kenya:Parties fail to provide source of their billions details

{It also exposes a veil of secrecy on who finances the outfits.}

Billions of shillings raised by political parties to finance their General Election campaigns are not reflected in their audited accounts – signaling lack of transparency and accountability and creating a veil of secrecy on who finances our politics.

Documents filed with the Registrar of Political parties show that political parties are not only underreporting their incomes – but are also not capturing the billions of shillings that they raise privately and from million-a-plate dinner public parties held to finance their campaigns.

While the government spent approximately Sh350 million last financial year to finance major political parties, a legal ban on cash funding by foreigners have left individual politicians to control any funding given to their political parties by private entities.

As a result, political party leaders are not only the new titans of extravagance – but also the symbol of opaqueness, too.

While party presidential candidates are known to hire helicopters, buy fleets of four-wheel drive cars, and splash cash around during campaigns– that expense is not reflected in the party’s accounts filed with the Registrar of Political Parties.

“The political parties and their leaders know they are under-reporting but there is no law to control them,” says Omweri Angima, a Senior Programme Officer in charge of Political Parties Strengthening at the Centre for Multi-Party Democracy (CMD).

CMD estimated that during the 2007, President Kibaki’s PNU and Raila Odinga’s ODM used a total of Sh6 billion in their campaigns in the months of November and December.

In the last General Election, it is independently estimated that the two main contestants, Uhuru Kenyatta of Jubilee Alliance and Raila Odinga of Coalition for Reforms and Democracy used in excess of Sh10 billion.

This money is not reflected in their party audited reports although the law demands that it includes donations in “cash and in kind”.

“Individual politicians can get as much funding as they want as long as it doesn’t go to the political party accounts,” affirms the registrar of political parties, Ms Lucy Ndung’u.

REGULATION

Because the Political Parties Act bars an individual or organization from contributing more than five per cent of the total expenditure of a political party in any year, pundits say that politicians retain the money donated to their party lest they break the law.

Though the law bans foreigners from making cash contribution to a political party, it still allows parties to get “technical assistance” from a “foreign agency, or a “foreign political party which shares an ideology” with the Kenyan-registered party.

“This can be in form of vehicles, computers and other equipment and the amount of aid is not limited. It also consists of trainings,” says Ms Ndungu.

While this is supposed to be captured in the audited reports, none of the major political parties lists any such donations.

Although the Campaign Finance Act was passed in 2013, to provide for the regulation, management, expenditure and accountability of campaign funds during election there are still no regulations in place to cap any spending.

Last week, the Independent Elections and Boundaries Commission invited the parties to discuss the regulations but they didn’t.

“At the moment there is very little we can do about that. We hope that with the regulation in place, the IEBC will be able to monitor the spending” says Ms Ndungu.

Although Section 28 of the Political Parties Act says that a political party which receives funds from a non-citizen commits an offence, the “technical assistance” clause has opened the door to foreign agents and wealthy donors to influence Kenya’s politics via such donations.

Kenya is not alone in this. In 2006, a scandal emerged in Britain after it was established that its three largest parties were too dependent on a handful of wealthy donors.

During the 2005 UK General Election campaign, Labour party was found to have secretly received a £14m loan while the Conservatives had received £16m.

The Liberal Democrats said they borrowed £850,000 from three backers.

PRIVATE ENTITIES

While some countries have banned candidates from receiving donations from private corporation and public sector companies, this is not the same in Kenya.

France, for instance, has since 1995 banned candidates and parties from receiving such funding but this has not deterred corrupt dealings since funds could still be channeled through private citizens.

The problem in Kenya, according to political scientists, is that political parties are still “owned” by their political financiers and by their leaders.

“The initial thinking was that Political Parties would evolve into institutionalised bodies, but they are still personal outfits run like private companies,” observes Prof Karuti Kanyinga of the Institute of Diplomacy at the University of Nairobi.

It now appears that private technical funding of political parties is almost wholly unregulated and public disclosure of party incomes and expenditures from this kitty has become entirely discretionary. At best, it is disclosed.

When the BAT scandal broke out this year, Narc Kenya leader Martha Karua admitted to receiving Sh2 million from a BAT man – which she took as a “personal donation” to her presidential campaign.

Yet, in the party’s comprehensive income statement, there is no information of that donation.

Narc Kenya lists its source of income as from a government grant and membership contributions.

Paul Hopkins, the man who gave the money to Narc Kenya, says it was a “bribe” to influence policy and the British Independent newspaper claimed that the amount paid by BAT to the party leader, a former Justice minister, was £50,000 (Sh7.6 million).

The aim: to prevent a rival company supplying Kenya with technology to combat cigarette smuggling.

CONCEALED DETAILS

What that means is that senior politicians do not disclose all donations or that political parties run other parallel accounts for their presidential campaigns which are never disclosed to the Registrar of Political Parties.

“This is because cash donations given to individuals cannot be captured in the party’s annual filings,” says Ms Ndungu.

Narc Kenya is not alone.

Major political parties are not willing to disclose the amount of money they receive from local well-wishers – and such donations running into hundreds of millions are not reflected in audited reports too.

Political parties indicate that their main cash-cow is the nomination fees received ahead of general elections and the government funding. They also tend to receive money from undisclosed well-wishers.

From the party audited reports, in our possession, The National Party (TNA) of President Uhuru Kenyatta indicates that it received Sh151 million from well-wishers ahead of the 2012 elections, while nomination fees raked in Sh114 million. By the end of the financial year, June 2013, the party had only Sh71,000 at the bank – an indicator of the cost of running a political party campaign. The TNA income for the election year was Sh345.5 million.

“That was beside the presidential campaign kitty which was run separately,” says a source familiar with Uhuru’s presidential campaign.

Insiders say that the Jubilee Coalition presidential campaign was bankrolled by the larger Kenyatta family and other wealthy supporters who donated campaign gear worth millions of shillings and money. The cost of freebies forms a huge chunk of campaign financing.

Kenya’s second largest party by parliamentary strength, the Raila Odinga-led Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) had an income of Sh244.6 million and is silent on any funding received from well-wishers.

It states that it gets its money from membership contribution and government funding.

CORRUPTION

In previous election, the source of funding for Kanu was via scandal such as Goldenberg and swindling of major parastatals.

In the on-going Samuel Gichuru case in the Island of Jersey, the British tax-haven, one of the companies said it provided money to fund the elections. “Gichuru asked one contractor to put something…which would support our next elections. That contractor records indicate the money was paid to SG Mafia.”

Account books of the once giant coffee miller, Kenya Planters Co-operative Union (KPCU) show that the farmers body donated cash to Kanu for its 2002 campaign.

According to Kenya’s 2011 Political Parties Act, direct public funding is available to eligible political parties and at the moment only The National Alliance (TNA), United Republican Party (URP) and ODM are eligible.

At the moment, Kalonzo Musyoka’s Wiper, Moses Wetang’ula’s Ford Kenya, United Democratic Forum and New Ford-Kenya have returned to court seeking a share of the Sh205 million political party kitty.

They are challenging a legal requirement that a party must garner at least five per cent of the total votes cast in a preceding general election to qualify for the funds.

Centre for Multiparty Democracy (CMD-K) have however indicated that to-date, only about 10 per cent of the amount provided for by law is being provided to the parties, and only three out of 60 registered parties receive (share these public funds).

April 25, 2016
ILO hails Tanzania’s transformation drive

{The government is on the right track in its plans to bring about transformation in the country, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Country Director (Tanzania, Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda), Ms Mary Kawar, has said.
}

She told the ‘Daily News’ during the recent national forum on the ‘Future of Work in Tanzania’, that the country has enjoyed massive economic growth in the past decade – only that the growth has not been inclusive.

“Although the economy has grown in the past decade, the informal economy, low wages and a large number of young people without the right skills, still persist. She pointed out that Tanzania has the opportunity to change this trend through the nation’s vision 2025 and the second Five-Year Development Plan.

Both being focused on transforming Tanzania into a middle-income country through economic transformation, hand in hand with human development, Ms Kawar noted that to achieve the objectives, understanding, perseverance and consistency of policies over a long period of time were needed.

“I do think that Tanzania today has the vision. We are here to partner with them, what is required is perseverance, consistency of policies over a long period of time, because you will not get the desired change immediately. And in the short time, there might be some negativity,” she explained.

According to the ILO Director, a common understanding for all of what economic growth, human development, inclusiveness and equality of opportunity mean is important as people have different views.

Another important factor, Ms Kawar added, is consensus building, saying all sections of society — the private sector, the government and workers — need to have trust in each other. “Without trust and dialogue, consensus will not be build that will actually bring the transformation needed.

This is very important. What is needed is not to have programmes and projects, but a complete comprehensive transformation and that requires so many people, thinking together, working together and trusting each other,” she explained.

We must ensure no one is left behind, informal economy is upgraded to formal economy, young people have the appropriate skills and the right institutions to help them have the skills and to help them find employments and that there is equality of opportunities between those in the region and those in the cities,” she noted.

She added: “The future of work discussions are extremely important because they tell us what we want the future to look like and if we know what we want it to look like, then we can plan what to do in the meantime to arrive at the final picture,” she explained.

According to her, to create enough good jobs, a nation needs a vibrant economy, for the case of Tanzania the economy was vibrant but the private sector is small to generate the required amount of good jobs to satisfy the informal sector and the growing number of young people entering labour markets.

“So the government and the private sector need to think big and create employment or good jobs on a massive scale.

I think the government is on the right track by focusing on the agro business. We would then need laws and regulations to reflect the intentions,” she explained. She said often times, societies and governments around the world tend to blame the vulnerable workers, noting that they were inactive and cannot help themselves. She stressed that it is the responsibility of the government to help them.

“If you are a parent and have a child that sways away, you don’t blame him or her, but help him/her to get back on track and give him a good opportunity … so it is the role of the government to take care of the youth through short-term plans in public investments.

While the long term plans should focus on labour laws, vocational training system, and all forms of reforms in the labour market institutions that govern the world of work need and have a modern perspective on managing the labour market,” she explained.

When unveiling the 2016/17, 30 trillion/- national budget early this month, the Minister for Finance and Planning, Dr Philip Mpango, mentioned industrial development, integrated economic and human resource development, health and social affairs, energy and agriculture as priority financing sectors in the coming financial year.

The government plans to inject some 967bn/- in the energy sector to execute various power generation and distribution projects in support of the industrial revolution that President John Magufuli’s administration has vowed to pursue.

In a move to empower young people with the right skills, the higher education will get a big boost in the coming fiscal year, with over 100bn/- budgeted for the renovation and expansion of 12 high learning institutions while 270,000 students at tertiary level will have 450bn/- to share as loans for their higher learning needs.

April 25, 2016
People hate the truth and it’s why I am hated

To start with, do you know you are one of the most hated men in this country right now?

First of all, I must thank Allah for creating a human being like Kiggundu who can stand the storm: A man who has unlimited understanding and who doesn’t go off his head easily. We all see things and interpret them differently. We perceive events, and still interpret them differently.

I don’t hate anybody; If there is anybody who hates me, it is their own choosing. Some people expected that I could make them winners, I cannot make anybody a winner, they have to do their work of convincing the voters who in turn do as they perceive.

If the results turn out this way, there is no way I can or could have made them turn out that way. It is not only unethical, unprofessional but I would also be an uncultured scientist. The truth is bitter, people hate it, and that is what I am hated for.

I am not a lawyer, but an engineer who has mastered the principles of organising elections. I have been very truthful to myself for all this time, and that is how I will be until my last hour.

Talking of organising elections, the Commonwealth and European Union observers from their findings have summed EC as not only incompetent but lacking independence to organise any credible polls. What do you make of the assessment?
Actually, it is us [EC] who accredited them. We should have said no, but we went ahead anyway.

We did not accredit them so that they make creamy observations; they had to make their own findings subject to their own interpretation. But like I said before, we are human beings whether Black, White or yellow. We will look at events and interpret them differently.

Let’s assume you don’t agree with the observers’ conclusion, but even the Supreme Court, much as they declined to overturn the polls you organised, obviously took exception with EC’s handling of the polls.

First of all, I do acknowledge the work done by the Supreme Court judges. I hold them in high esteem because they have never failed this country in judging us on issues within the provisions of the Constitution. Elections can never be perfect; I don’t know of any country that has what you call a perfect election. If you know one, let me know. I am a student and I will remain one.

Where concerns were raised, the Commission still strives to improve in the coming years because we are building a democratic process, which is not a canned product that you pick from the shelf and serve it perfectly.

There are bound to be shortfalls here and there, not necessarily designed by the Commission. But also remember the Commission is run by human beings, and we have always taken stock of these issues which we strive to rectify at every opportunity.

But there are some shortfalls whose explanation has not been convincing by far, and this has been the fodder for the Opposition and observers. The scenes that we saw in Kampala, Wakiso and Mukono –largely Opposition strongholds – an arm’s reach from your office but voting material arrived late .

No, Mukono was not part of them. But even then, what is their [Opposition/observers] main claim? I don’t find it convincing.

The claim is that this was an attempt to deliberately disenfranchise voters in these areas.

That is an unsubstantiated claim. We had more voters this time around than we had in 2011 in spite of the late delivery of logistics in only parts of those districts, not wholly. Voters were persistent and waited unreservedly for the opportunity to cast votes; there wasn’t a single voter in Kampala or Wakiso who can claim, despite of what happened, that they were denied the opportunity to cast their votes. So that side of complaint doesn’t hold water to it.

When you say voter turnout this time round was high, certainly there was a reason. What do you think accounted for it?

The enthusiasm was high. We also did our best to improve the outlook of the elections by introducing newer technologies which attracted especially the young people. These were not necessarily enticements, but that is my take.

The incumbent has also claimed that EC cost him votes by declaring many of his votes as spoilt ballots and that if it was not the case, he would have scored a higher tally
Well, I could not create any voters. I could only count what was in the ballot boxes and sum the total.

Of the three elections you presided over, which was the most difficult and why?
It is not a question of hardest. Look at it in terms of life of a human being. From one year to another the variables around change and complexities are different.
Every election cycle of five years brought its dynamics, like this time round people were very enthusiastic, more learned and aggressive – things I cannot control but all carried a load.

So you mean there was never a hardest?

No, like I said each had its own complexities. For example, the more people are educated, the more informed they become. With more technology people become more zealous. With more opportunities we had more challenges than we had in 2011. There is so much that goes into a political process that you never know, but all [that] feeds into the process. I’m sure 2021 will have its own challenges as well.

Did it ever occur to you, or did you ever get any fear that EC’s decision could plunge the country into disorder?
No, it doesn’t have to do with fear and I don’t have it. If you have fear you are bound to fail, you get concerned and concern is different from fear.

So were you ever concerned?

Of course, I got concerned. But you get concerned and strategise that if such and such happens how shall we handle it.

That, for example, if some people are unhappy about election results they will got to courts of law. It is very good for our democracy that people channel their grievances through a court system, and Ugandans should be happy about the prevailing legal framework.

There are countries where [election] petitions are unheard of, and if they are there they don’t take a short time for redress.

Justice Kanyeihamba, one of the nine justices who heard the 2006 petition, weighed in recently on the ruling. He said the current bench did a poor job, saying they limited their scope of work yet their mandate is unrestricted on such a serious matter. Given the experience of the 2006 petition, many Ugandans did not expect otherwise. Doesn’t that make petitions just a formality?

Which Ugandans? I don’t think it is the whole population. It was just a small percentage. But even then, the other question “what was/is the alternative?” Is going to street an option? Definitely no. We must learn to address our grievances through a civilised judicial system and it’s the only way we can be regarded as a civilised nation.

Yes, you may not be 100 per cent solid on the judgement issued by this judge, but that is it. I respect the thinking of the judges and the judgement.

In the heat of events you lamented onetime that you regretted having approved the nomination of Dr Kizza Besigye as a presidential candidate. This seemed to give credence to the Opposition claim that EC is a mere extension of the ruling NRM party rather than a national electoral bod.

I have been asked that question numerous times. At the onset before nomination, my brother Dr Besigye came through saying he is not going to abide by rules. If the laws were strong with such kind of background it was a ground for exclusion.

Given Besigye’s experience with elections you have presided over, I’m sure you two would have a lot to discuss. Have you ever tried reaching out to him?

Well, he has never expressed interest in wanting to meet me. If he ever writes to me wanting to do so, I will call him here. He is a citizen of this country with divergent views, yes but we have never denied him because he has never requested for opportunity.

The other thing that left Besigye and many other Ugandans confused was you announcing the winner before all results were in. In fact, results broadcast by one TV station on polling day at one time showed Besigye and Museveni in the lead intermittently.

What is the absolute concern with that? We have a legal framework: Article 103 of the Constitution is very clear. Let them read what the law, Clause 7 provides. I have done the same in 2011, 2006 and in 2016 applying the same principles, and if I had the chance I would do the same.

Did you ever come under political pressure?
Political pressure? I don’t accept it. I ask ‘tell me the law under which you are pressurising me’.

April 24, 2016
Kenya:We are ready to account for every Eurobond cent, DP Ruto tells opposition

{He accused Cord leaders of senselessly attacking President Uhuru Kenyatta and his government.}

Deputy President William Ruto has dismissed persistent claims by the opposition that the Jubilee administration misappropriated Eurobond funds as empty talk saying the government was ready to account for every single cent if the opposition leaders cared to listen.

He accused Cord leaders of senselessly attacking President Uhuru Kenyatta and his government for allegedly condoning embezzlement of the funds which were specifically borrowed to finance initiation of key development projects across the country.

He termed the opposition leaders “dangerous and reckless economic saboteurs who are bent on giving the government nonstop headaches instead of affording us an enabling opportunity to deliver our promises to Kenyans.”

Mr Ruto opined that Cord was only interested in politicising the Eurobond debate instead of seeking detailed information from the relevant government departments on how the monies were spent.

He said he could not understand what opposition leader Raila Odinga was really driving at as he had even declined an invitation by the National Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich to have the air surrounding the “Eurobond saga” cleared.

STOP INCITING PEOPLE

“The National Treasury is the custodian of all records regarding expenditure of all state revenues collected locally and those borrowed from international financiers.

“Let them ask their questions right and they will get answers instead of traversing the country inciting people against the government,” said Mr Ruto.

He was speaking Saturday in Mutomo Town, Kitui South, during a public rally. He later led a fundraiser at the same venue as the chief guest.

The DP was earlier on laid the foundation stone for Mutha Teacher’s Training Institute (TTI) and Kenya Medical Training College (KMTC) Mutomo campus.

He was joined by Kitui South MP Rachael Kaki Nyamai and dozens of county and national leaders.

Mr Ruto also challenged Mr Odinga and his team to make public their agenda to Kenyans instead of playing blame games without offering viable and substantial solutions to problems facing the people.

“Ask them what their agenda for Kenyans is. Unlike the Jubilee government, the opposition has been keen on propagating empty talk that bears no benefit for the citizens. Kenyans needs leaders who serve them instead of playing void politics,” he pointed out.

He said that Jubilee had performed remarkably well since it assumed power in 2013 as it had undertaken life-changing and economy-boosting development projects.

JUBILEE HAS DONE A LOT

“We have done a lot to take the country’s economy a notch higher. Construction of the standard gauge railway is at an advanced stage.

“We are also setting up state-of-the-art healthcare facilities across the country as well as putting up mega water supply projects to support irrigated agriculture.

“Another flagship project is the ongoing electrification of all public schools in every part of the country in readiness for the standard one laptop initiative.

“Only a few schools are yet to be connected to the national electricity grid. Ask the opposition what they have done for Kenyans,” he posed.

The Deputy President also beseeched Wiper party leader and Cord co-principal Kalonzo Musyoka to cross over to Jubilee from the opposition as it was doing him more harm than good.

“Tell my brother Kalonzo he is welcome to work with us to better this nation. The people he has been associating himself with are backstabbers who are only interested in using him to achieve their selfish ends and dump him at the eleventh hour as they don’t care about him,” he said.

ROAD TARMACKING

Mr Ruto also asked Kitui residents to be patient with the government as it had already laid down the necessary plans to initiate the long-awaited tarmacking of the Kitui-Kibwezi road.

He said procurement processes had commenced and promised that the president would launch construction works on the major road in two months’ time.

“Let those who planned to use the undone road as a campaign tool find something productive to do because we are not going to let anyone politicise the road which is already slated for tarmacking,” said Mr Ruto.

While seeking Kitui votes for Jubilee in the 2017 general elections, the deputy president further urged the residents and Kenyans at large to support President Kenyatta’s administration saying it was committed to continue serving them despite noise from its detractors.

He was accompanied by MPs John Munuve (Mwingi North), David Munyaka (Machakos Town), Kabando wa Kabando (Mukurweini), Moses Kuria (Gatundu South) and William Kisang (Marakwet West).

Others were Chuka/Igambang’ombe MP Muthomi Njuki, Abdullahi Banticha (Isiolo South) and The Independent Party (TIP) leader Kalembe Ndile, among others.

April 24, 2016