Tag: GreatLakesNews

{A total 139 Somali soldiers were passed out on Wednesday at Bihanga in the western district of Ibanda.}

The training was conducted by personnel from 9 European Union countries. The European Union has trained Somali soldiers in urban combat skills in preparation for deployment back to Somalia to maintain peace and order.

The aim is to build capacity of the Somali Armed forces and improves security in Somalia.

Ever since it plunged into chaos in the 1990s, Somalia has destabilised the region, serving as a hub for Islamic extremists and pirates who plunder some of the world’s busiest shipping lanes.

The Somali Armed Forced backed by AU peace keeping mission have chased al-Shabab, the Somali militia affiliated with al-Qaeda, out of Mogadishu and solidified control of the capital

New Vision

There was disagreement in the East African Community Council of Ministers Thursday over the way Uganda, Kenya and Rwanda were “fast-tracking” towards a political federation, monetary union and other projects, leaving out others.

In a heated closed meeting Thursday, Tanzania and Burundi took exception to their three counterparts forming a “coalition of the willing”, incorporating South Sudan to agree on a cross border railway and customs arrangements. South Sudan is yet to join.

The high level meeting at Imperial Royale Hotel was convened by EAC minister Shem Bageine to reach a consensus on a number of issues.

Bageine’s communication that he was set to hand over the chair to Kenya, and that 80% of the decisions in the report had been agreed upon, attracted questions from Tanzania’s EAC minister Samuel Sitta .

“The charter says the chair is on one year rotational basis. As far as we are concerned, Rwanda is the next chair. The rest of us don’t know about this arrangement of Kenya taking over,” he charged.

He castigated the “strange behaviour” of some countries, saying in the spirit of cooperation, Tanzania had deregistered 22 companies, which were not conforming to treaty provisions on customs.

“But we are concerned with the actions of Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda. What we thought was a normal state visit by President Kenyatta to Uganda, [but] having reached there, it seems President Kagame was invited and they started this socalled ‘coalition of the willing’, which in itself is an insult to Tanzania,” Sitta said.

He said at the last meeting in Ethiopia, a side meeting of EAC was called, with the exclusion of Tanzania and Burundi.

“When my foreign affairs minister asked whether we were welcome, we were told no,” he said.

Burundi’s EAC minister Leontine Nzeyimana wondered what precedent was being set, given that Rwanda might want to regain its chair after Kenya again leading to more sidelining of other members, but Bageine said it would already have foregone its turn.

“I think you need to tell us the truth because we are duplicating processes by having parallel discussions. Why do we sit here together and agree on common decisions, but on the other side other meetings are going behind our backs?

“Are we, therefore, wasting our time on issues like the political federation on which others are ahead of us?” she asked.

At some point, the Tanzanian minister asked why Bageine was seated so quietly amidst the accusations like “a cat satisfied with the milk”, an accusation Uganda’s foreign affairs minister Sam Kutesa did not take lightly.

“That’s an insult to us, honourable minister.”

Sitta said: “Sorry, if it’s an insult, I withdraw it”.

Kutesa explained that the model the EAC was following was agreed upon at the 14th ordinary summit, which considered the road map to the federation.

The Kenyan delegation wondered why Sitta was hijacking the whole debate, when countries are allowed to agree among themselves and come up with joint positions even at summit level.

“When we agreed with Tanzania on promotion of joint tourism opportunities without other member states, why didn’t Uganda or Rwanda complain?” asked a member from Kenya.

Kutesa quipped: “We as Uganda are not in the EAC to search for jobs either as presidents of the federation or secretariat. If anybody is harbouring any such sentiments it is unfortunate. We have a right to discuss with any member on trade and infrastructure.”

This did not stop Sitta from continuing to wonder which model of political federation the three were fast-tracking towards.

“Everybody knows there is a two-track traction of the federation one of which includes a non-member South Sudan and the three member states. It will collapse if we don’t tell each other the truth.”

Tanzania, he added, is against fast-tracking the political federation because “we think it is a disaster with some people wanting to take over the leadership and tag their people along,” he said.

He also wondered where the Secretariat of the “coalition of the willing” was in order to hold talks with it. “It’s no use just inviting Tanzania and Burundi to the normal process when we don’t know what the coalition agreed upon last night,” he said.

New Vision

KINSHASA-{ Due to serious resource constraints, the United Nations World Food Programme will have to reduce or interrupt some of its activities as from this month in the Democratic Republic of Congo , leaving thousands of people with no food assistance.}

To continue its operations in DRC over the next six months, WFP, which is funded entirely by voluntary contributions, urgently needs US$75 million to see it through May 2014.

In the last six months, funding shortages have meant that WFP has already had to halve the rations distributed to displaced people in North Kivu province, at a time when the overall food security situation is deteriorating in that part of eastern DRC. Indeed, according to a recent survey conducted jointly by the provincial government of North Kivu and WFP, six out of ten families are food insecure, against three out of ten two years ago.

In North and South Kivu and in Orientale provinces, some 500,000 food-insecure displaced people will be affected by the funding crisis. The provision of daily hot meals to thousands of schoolchildren is also in jeopardy, as is life-saving nutritional support to some 180,000 malnourished children, pregnant women and nursing mothers across the country.

“We are very worried about the fate of thousands of people who depend on WFP food assistance,” said Martin Ohlsen, WFP Representative in DRC. “At a time when the Congolese Government and the international community are intensifying their efforts to stabilize the eastern DRC, a suspension, even a reduction, of humanitarian assistance could seriously compromise our long-standing investment in improving food security, restoring livelihoods and building resilience.”

“It’s hard not to think that the tremendous needs in the Philippines and Syria are overshadowing cries for help from less visible, under-reported parts of the world,” added Ohlsen, stressing the need for predictable funding over coming months.

Meanwhile, there is growing awareness about the threat of sexual violence in areas of conflict and WFP is working closely with its partners to ensure that the greatest possible measures are taken to protect women in the DRC, where rape and other violent attacks against women are rife. Food distribution sites are chosen in close consultation with women to limit their exposure to attack and, where possible, use is made of electronic vouchers for food and ‘mobile money’ to minimize friction between beneficiaries and the communities in which they live.

In DRC, one out ten children suffers from acute malnutrition and 6.3 million people are facing hunger and need food assistance. There are currently 2.7 million internally displaced people in DRC.

WFP is the world’s largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide. Last year, WFP reached more than 97 million people in 80 countries with food assistance.

TRUST

{Onyango “Omar” Obama, an uncle to US President Barack Obama, has been allowed to stay in the country by an immigration court during a deportation hearing on Tuesday.}

US Immigration Judge Leonard Shapiro allowed Onyango, 69, to stay in the US and avoid deportation to Kenya saying that he meets the criteria for obtaining a Green Card.

The judge in his ruling said he believed Mr Onyango was a gentleman, a good neighbour and dutifully paid his taxes.

Judge Shapiro said that he was applying a law that entitles immigrants who are “out of status” to become permanent residents if they arrived in the US before 1972, maintained continuous residence and are of good moral character.

Mr Onyango has been living in the US for the last 50 years having arrived in the country in 1963. He had been ordered deported in 1992 but defied the order and remained in the country.

ARRESTED FOR DRUNKEN DRIVING

He remained undetected until he was arrested for drunken driving in 2011 in the city of Framingham just west of Boston.

After the arrest, his immigration status became public with details of his deportation orders surfacing.

He was arraigned in court for the drunken driving arrest but a judge continued the case for one year without a finding, saying the charge would be dismissed if Onyango did not get arrested again during that time; a programme he successfully completed.

When asked in the immigration court if he had family in the US, Onyango said, “I do have a nephew. Barack Obama, he’s the President of the United States.”

Mr Onyango is now eligible to apply for permanent residence which will grant him the right to legally work in the US and travel outside the country.

In May 2010, Onyango’s sister Zeituni Onyango was granted asylum in the US after claiming that she would be in danger if she was deported to Kenya.

Daily Nation

{Details of how the trials facing the President will be conducted were released on Sunday.}

The ICC Trial Chamber presiding over President Uhuru Kenyatta’s case indicated that some sections of the charges will not be read loudly in court.

Judges Kuniko Ozaki, Robert Fremr and Chile Eboe-Osuji ensured that the country will not face a leadership vacuum when they said the cases facing the President and his deputy will alternate on a four weekly basis.

In the countdown to the first trial of a sitting President in the history of The Hague-based court which has been ferociously fought by the African Union (AU), the three judges said the document containing the charges will not be read in full during the opening of the trials.

The decision, they said, was reached during the status conference between the prosecutors and judges held in September.

“As agreed by the parties, only the “charges” section of the document will be read out at the opening of the trial for the purposes of fulfilling the requirements of the Statute (establishing the ICC),” said the judges.

This means that the parts containing the President’s official title, the events which led to the crimes against humanity he is accused of, the position he used to hold at the time and the previous events at the ICC which resulted in the trials set for February 5, 2014 will not be read out in court by the officers.

They were however directed his lawyers to ensure that the President had read the entire document containing the charges and understood the details it contained with his signature as the seal of approval.

While the cases will proceed, they ruled that President Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto will fly to the Hague at alternating four weeks.

This will also ensure that Judges Fremr and Eboe-Osuji who also preside over Mr Ruto’s case have adequate time to prepare.

“In the light of parallel proceedings in ‘Ruto and (Joshua) Sang’ in which two judges of this chamber also participate, the chamber announces that, in principle, the present case will be heard in alternating four week blocks with the Ruto and Sang case,” they ruled.

Mr Ruto’s case, alongside former journalist Sang, started in September and will resume in January.

Daily Nation

Effective 2015, citizens of Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Burundi and Rwanda will be travelling using the new generation East African Passport, a modern regional travelling document likely to replace their national ones.

A communiqué from the Heads of State Summit, taking place in Uganda, which was made available here via the Arusha-based East African Community (EAC) Secretariat, quoted the five presidents agreeing to launch the new passport by November 2015.

The communiqué was signed by presidents Jakaya Kikwete of Tanzania, Yoweri Museveni of Uganda, Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya, Paul Kagame of Rwanda and Pierre Nkurunziza of Burundi at the weekend in Kampala.

The current East African passport apparently is only valid within the five countries and thus holders also had to depend on their respective national passports when travelling abroad.

However, the new regional travelling document, to be released in 2015, will be an international one which means is likely to replace national passports.

According to the official release, the heads of state had during their ordinary summit also discussed the prevailing security situation in the region and the need for concerted efforts towards combating terrorism and negative forces in the region and reaffirmed its commitment to peace and security in the region.

The summit noted with concern the recent political and security developments in Somalia and urged all parties to embrace dialogue and create an environment conducive for the implementation of Somalia’s vision 2016 and facilitate the country’s elections slated for 2016.

During the summit, the five presidents signed a monetary- union deal, pouring the sands-of-time on a 10-year marathon for the establishment of a single currency to apply within the five East African states and possibly beyond.

The agreement came after nearly a decade of talks after which Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania Burundi and Rwanda will now try to establish institutions— including a regional central bank and a statistics body—to support the single currency which will sail in 2023.

The deal marks an important touchstone in the region’s transition from a collection of conflict zones to one of the world’s most promising destinations for investment.

President Uhuru Kenyatta on the other hand became the new Chairman of the EAC Heads of State Summit and in assuming the role, the new leader stated that ‘’East African Community is now fully embarked on enormous, ambitious and transformational initiatives for our people.”

After establishing the Customs Union in 2005 and the Common Market in 2010, East African countries have reached the third stage toward a united political federation: The Monetary Union Protocol.

With a combined population of nearly 140 million people, East Africa is becoming a potential destination for foreign investment especially with the discovery of natural-gas and oil.

Uganda and Kenya have discovered huge amounts of oil, while Tanzania boasts of huge natural gas reserves.International companies have already started surveying these potential resources and the region is in future set to become the next major energy hub in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Member states will also establish the East African Monetary Institute, which will take charge of all the monetary and exchange-rate policies, while the statistics body will produce regular inflation figures to guide price stabilisation.

On the other hand, Mr Shem Bagaine, Uganda’s minister in charge of the EAC, said that all member states including Tanzania ‘have reaffirmed’ their commitment to the integration following the heads-of-state summit in Kampala.

{{ Tanzania Daily News}}

{A man is selling his left testicle for Sh.3m ($35,000) to afford a Nissan 370 sports car because he is desperate to own one of the vehicles. }

Mark Parisi wants a Nissan 370 motor so much he is willing to sell the intimate body part for scientific research, and admitted he didn’t even negotiate the fee, accepting the first offer.

Mark revealed his intentions on US TV show ‘The Doctors’ and appeared to be at ease with his decision, despite the intimacy involved, however several females in the audience looked shocked when he spoke about what he was prepared to do to get his dream vehicle.

{{Daily Nation}}

{Pioneering Doctor Denis Mukwege has called for a red line to be drawn on rape in his native Democratic Republic of Congo, where tens of thousands of women are brutally attacked by the army and militia.}

“Everyone is scared of genocide today after what happened in Nazi Germany. Everyone is scared of chemical weapons and I think we have drawn a red line… but when it comes to using rape as a weapon of war we equivocate,” Mukwege told AFP in Sweden.

Mukwege, who is in Stockholm to receive a prize from the Right Livelihood Foundation, has set up a hospital and foundation to treat rape victims, and has for several years been considered a favourite to win the Nobel Peace Prize.

Women are frequent targets in conflict-torn eastern DR Congo, and the doctor recounted harrowing stories of women who have been raped in public in front of their husbands and children and arrive at the clinic with their genitals burnt and tortured.

Mukwege said rape as a weapon of war had dramatic consequences for women and for the country.

“It destroys women and society, it produces children without filiation… women who can no longer give birth. This constitutes a genocide because when you destroy the female genital organs you diminish her and prevent population growth,” he said.

Every year, his hospital’s main programme for victims of sexual violence takes in more than 3,500 women and provides them with reconstructive surgery.

“The inability of DR Congo to sort out its problems followed by the silence of the international community is a major drama of our time,” the doctor said.

“We are in the 20th year of atrocities and I think that the more the years go by the more we see the groups, the militias improve their tool of torture,” he said.

Mukwege pointed to a United Nations resolution adopted in 2000 as an example of good intentions. “But there is not a solid red line yet which says: this limit can not be passed,” he said.

UN resolution 1 325 calls on all member states to take specific measures to protect women and young girls, especially against rape.

Mukwege’s work has earned him numerous nominations for the Nobel Peace Prize, and he has also been honoured with an award from the UN for his human rights activities.

Last October Mukwege narrowly escaped being murdered after a group of armed men broke into his home in Bukavu. He was forced into exile in Belgium and returned to his hospital in January this year.