Tag: GreatLakesNews

{{ICC trial against deputy President William Ruto and former radio broadcaster Joshua Sang enters day two on Wednesday with Sang’s legal team defending their client on crimes against humanity charges.}}

Sang is accused of using his former position at KASS FM to broadcast false news that some Kalenjin people had been killed in order to fan the already volatile situation.

He was also accused of using his show ‘Lenee Emet’ to mobilise young men and urge them to attack perceived enemies of the Kalenjin people for political gain.

In his defence through lawyer Katwa Kigen, Sang faulted Prosecutor’s investigation pointing out that the source of prosecution material against him is perplexing and the case has kept mutating.

“None of the people accused have been approached by the prosecution to tell them their side of the story,” he said. “The prosecution did not want to meet Sang as it would not be consistent with what they wanted,” he added.

In his defence Sang through his lawyer Kigen also alleged that former ICC Prosecutor Moreno Ocampo while in Kenya met political brokers and desperate Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs) looking for donors.

“In return, some people decided to register as witnesses for material gains because funds were channeled to NGOs.”

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{{Kenya is ready to host the forthcoming international ecotourism and sustainable tourism conference later this month.

East African Affairs, Commerce and Tourism Secretary Phyllis Kandie says the event will take place between September 24 and 27, 2013.}}

Over 300 participants from 38 countries are expected to attend the conference.

Kandie says the event will draw impetus to ‘destination Kenya’ as a country that has come of age in promoting best practices in ecotourism.

“The conference will provide a unique opportunity for industry practitioners from around the world to experience first-hand how businesses and destinations can utilize tourism to support these sustainable development agenda both at the local and regional level,” she said.

Of the many anticipated gains for Kenya from hosting the conference Kandie said, is the opportunity to showcase the diverse and progressive tourist products that make up a vibrant Tourism sector related to sustainable tourism, which is a key pillar of the country’s Vision 2030 agenda and the new Tourism Act.

She noted there are over 100 private and community conserved areas and most are popular tourist destinations.

“It is a fact that over 70 percent of Kenya’s wildlife lives in the private and community conserved areas generating a substantial income for land owners through tourism,” Kandie said.

The conference has 50 confirmed speakers focusing on different aspects addressing ecotourism and sustainable tourism globally.

On the eve of the event, Kenya will also host about 700 conference delegates and stakeholders in the Kenya’s Tourism Industry to mark Kenya Night.

Kenya Night seeks to celebrate historic Kenyan experience and help the delegates experience the best Kenyan delicacies, music, culture and heroes.

The night will also culminate in awarding organizations and Individuals that have demonstrated outstanding commitment towards promoting ecotourism and sustainable tourism best practices under the Eco-Warriors Awards.

Going forward, Kandie said more emphasis will be put in nature conservation, community development and improved livelihoods wildlife and tourists in remote areas.

Our intention is to encourage the development of unique products that brings in sustainability in the country it will also develop the Small and Medium sized Enterprises (SMEs) sector especially at the county level

Kandie urged players in the tourism industry to invest in environmental conservation and preservation of culture in their respective areas of operation.

“This can be achieved by through ensuring that all the players in the sector are involved in conservation of the environment and culture in the process of conducting their businesses,” said Kandie who explained that a five-year strategic plan of the tourism sector will be launched in the coming weeks.

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{{A section of Zanzibaris living in Tanzania Mainland are worried of being side-lined in the constitutional making process, demanding that their status be categorically stated in the Supreme Law.}}

They want to be recognised as a special group, with citizenship rights for both Tanzania Mainland and Zanzibar.

They claimed Zanzibar origin although they have lived in the Mainland for over 40 years. They said they were being side-lined when it comes to acquiring resident identification for Zanzibari (ZanID) or a passport in the Mainland.

Speaking during a symposium on the Draft Constitution and the future of Zanzibaris living in the Mainland, one of the speakers, Mr Saleh Al Miskiry, said the Draft was silent on their status and that they were worried about how the new Mother Law will identify them.

He said people of Zanzibari origin in the Mainland were currently estimated at a million in number.

Mr Ibrahim Gulam, another descent of Zanzibar said the Draft makes him feel like he does belong anywhere.

He said after living in the Mainland for several years, still he cannot possess a passport or a ZanID. “We feel neglected. The Draft Constitution is silent about us, and therefore we are suggesting that our status be clearly stated in the new Constitution,” he opined.

The symposium also supported the formation of a three-tier government system saying it would be a solution to the on-going problems and challenges facing the Union.

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{{Over 100 participants are meeting in Nairobi to share experiences on how to reduce youth unemployment in East Africa.}}

Drawn from government ministries, employers and workers’ organisations, the private sector, local and international non governmental organisations, business development services (BDS) providers and youth organisations, participants are meeting under the auspices of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) to share experiences on creating opportunities for income generation, job creation and unleashing the potential of young men and women, a statement said.

With the global youth population reaching an historical high of 1.5 billion, economies worldwide are increasingly unable to provide young people with jobs.

The situation has reached critical proportions in developing countries where 1.3 billion young people reside, with youth employment growing by only 0.2 per cent over the past decade. Meanwhile the global youth population grew at a rate of 10.5 percent.

About 40 participants from Tanzania are participating in the meeting which started yesterday and ends tomorrow.

The forum, which is one of the efforts to arrest the growing youth unemployment in the region, is a joint effort by ILO’s “Youth Entrepreneurship Facility (ILO/YEF)” programme, the Africa Commission and the Youth Employment Network (YEN).

“The meeting will also be used as an opportunity to showcase and disseminate some of the main results achieved by the project so far, facilitating policy dialogue by regional level stakeholders based on some of the key results and initiatives that can be taken forward to support holistic programmes to support and engage young people through employment,” the statement released by the ILO Dar es Salaam office noted.

This occasion is designed for stakeholders to learn and share experiences in youth entrepreneurship in East Africa and beyond, the statement added. While there is a growing gap between the number of youth seeking employment and the opportunities available to them, there is also a growing recognition of the need to support and invest in young people as key resource in socio-economic development, the statement noted.

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{{A 21-year-old woman was gang raped and a watchman killed on Monday night in an attack at a compound in Nairobi’s Ruai estate.}}

The gang of four had scaled a wall and entered the compound before breaking into the house where they raped the woman.

Police said the gang hacked to death the guard after he tried to raise alarm as they left.

According to Kayole Police boss Samuel Mukinda, the gang’s motive was to rob from the family.

“We are yet to arrest the attackers but we are pursuing them,” said Mukinda.

The thugs are reported to have stolen few household goods and money before escaping.

The body of the guard was later taken to the mortuary.

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{{Kenyan Deputy President William Ruto appeared at the International Criminal Court on Tuesday for the opening of his trial on charges of co-orchestrating a post-election bloodbath five years ago.

The trials of Ruto and of Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, which will start in November, will test the stability of a country seen as vital to security in East Africa.

They have split public opinion, and witness testimonies of the violence in 2008 that killed more than a thousand people could stir tension}}.

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{{The authorities in Somalia are launching a campaign to get one million more children into schools.}}

The Go 2 School initiative started simultaneously in the capital Mogadishu and in the main cities of Somaliland and Puntland.

It is being supported by the UN children’s agency, Unicef, at a cost of $117m (£75m).

After two decades of civil war, aid agencies say Somalia’s formal education system has almost completely collapsed.

School enrolment rates are among the lowest in the world. Only four out 10 Somali children currently attend school.

Girls are particularly badly affected. Only one in three are at schools in south and central Somalia, where the militant Islamist group Al-Shabab still controls many areas.

{{‘Lost generations’}}

Unicef says the project will give a quarter of young people currently out of education a chance to learn.

“Education is the key to the future of Somalia,” Unicef’s Somalia Representative Sikander Khan said.

In June the Somali prime minister, Abdi Farah Shirdon, promised that his government would give education the same priority as defence and security.

“We have lost two generations of children to war,” Somalia’s Education Minister Maryam Qasim told media. “The Somali child cannot wait for another generation.”

She said she was undeterred by the security threat from al-Shabab saying that education would prevent children joining the militant group.

Al-Shabab was driven out of Mogadishu in August 2011 and other main towns after that but still carries out attacks and suicide bombings.

President Mohamud took office a year ago in a UN-backed bid to end two decades of violence.

BBC

{{A commercial airline in South Sudan on Sunday began to operate flights to long-time foe Sudan, state media said, in a new sign of a thaw between the African neighbors.}}

Last week, at a summit of presidents, Sudan dropped its threat to stop oil exports from its landlocked neighbor, opening a new chapter in rocky bilateral ties. Oil is the lifeline for both.

Both leaders also agreed to revive trade across the border, which mostly came to a halt last year when tensions over disputed territory and oil fees escalated.

South Supreme Airlines, one of the few airlines in the new African nation, started flights from Juba to Khartoum on Sunday, Sudanese state news agency SUNA said.

Two Sudanese airlines already fly to Juba.

South Sudan seceded from Sudan in 2011 under a 2005 peace deal which ended decades of civil war. Both countries yet have to sort the ownership of several disputed border regions.

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