Tag: GreatLakesNews

Two US military fire experts have arrived in Kenya to assist in investigations of the fire at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, the State Department said on Thursday.

The US is also providing immigration equipment to help restore regular international service at JKIA, a State Department spokeswoman told the media.

In addition, personnel from the US embassy in Nairobi are on the scene to assist Kenyan authorities with preliminary investigations into the causes of the fire.

The State Department had no comment on reports that FBI agents are also taking part in the investigations.

On Thursday, detectives from the American FBI and Israeli Mossad joined investigations into the fire which destroyed the international arrivals section of Kenya’s main airport.

Their involvement suggests that investigators are keen to confirm or eliminate the theory that terrorism could have been responsible for the inferno that temporarily shut the airport and caused massive disruptions to air travel to and from various destinations in Africa, the Middle East, Europe and Asia.

Another line being pursued by investigators is whether internal sabotage could have been the cause of the fire.

Questions were raised about the slow response by workers when the fire started. Witnesses said they saw smoke followed by a small fire which could have easily been extinguished had the response been faster.

nation

{{An Ethiopian military aircraft carrying ammunition crash-landed at Mogadishu’s international airport on Friday, bursting into flames and killing at least one crew member, airport staff and security officials said.}}

The plane got into trouble in the air and then missed the runway, crashing into the ground nearby.

Ethiopian troops are supporting Somalia’s fight against al Qaeda-linked militants in the Horn of Africa country, although they are not part of an African Union (AU) peacekeeping force.

“We can hear explosions as it burns. It is burning like hell,” said one security source at the airport shortly after the accident.

Yusuf Nur, an airport worker, said rounds of ammunition exploded in the fire.

A convoy of empty Somali military trucks had earlier been seen at the airport.

The fire, which was initially too intense for firefighting crews to tackle, was put out about two hours after the plane crashed. Witnesses said only a blackened shell remained.

Military aircraft regularly land at the city’s airport, which also serves as the headquarters for the AU peacekeepers.

Authorities closed the airport, which has received a growing number of passenger flights over the past two years after African troops and Somali government forces flushed Islamist al Shabaab rebels from their bases in the capital.

Somalia’s aviation record is among the worst on a continent which has a history of plane disasters. Until recently, the carcass of a Russian-made cargo plane lay tilted on its belly between the runway and passenger terminal of Mogadishu’s airport.

Somalia is emerging from more than two decades of civil conflict. Security has improved in Mogadishu, which until mid-2011 was the frontline in the battle between government forces and militants, though the capital is still vulnerable to insurgent attacks.

reuters

{{AMISOM troops and Somali National Army yesterday evening raided an Al- Shabaab elite group camp planning to attack AMISOM defensive position in Afmadhow city in Southern Somalia.}}

The Al- Qaeda linked militia group was preparing to attack the AMISOM defensive position when they were thwarted by the allied forces.

The Special Representative of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission (SRCC) for Somalia, Ambassador Mahamat Saleh Annadif congratulated the forces on their alertness saying their speedy response had saved lives while thanking civilians for the tip off.

During the late afternoon engagement, twenty four Al-Shabaab militias were killed among them three identified foreign fighters. Other militias escaped with multiple injuries and are being pursued by the allied forces.

The joint forces recovered weapons and ammunition among them being a rocket propelled grenade launcher, two light machine guns, nine AK 47 rifles and other assorted equipment.

Regrettably, two SNA soldiers died and four others sustained minor injuries and are receiving medical attention at AMISOM facility in the locale.

Ambassador Annadif sent his condolences to the family and friends of the brave soldiers killed in the attack as well as his prayers and quick recovery for the wounded.

He reiterated the mission’s support to the Somali National Security Forces saying the two were working closely to improve security in Southern Somalia. Afmadow has been relatively calm since its liberation from Al-Shabaab in early-2012.

Many formerly displaced residents have been able to return to their homes and humanitarian aid agencies have resumed operations in the area.

{agencies}

{{Two British women have had acid thrown in their faces on the east African island of Zanzibar, police have said.}}

The pair, both reportedly aged 18, were believed to be working as charity volunteers on the island.

They were flown to Dar es Salaam in mainland Tanzania for treatment, but their injuries were not said by official to be life threatening.

The Foreign Office said it was “aware of an incident” and was “providing consular assistance”.

Police said two men on a moped threw the acid at the women, splashing their faces, chests and hands as they strolled through the streets of Stone Town, the old part of the island’s capital Zanzibar City, which is a Unesco world heritage site.

Deputy police commissioner Mkadam Khamis told AFP news agency: “The motive for the attack on the volunteers aged 18 years, has not been established. Investigations are on until we apprehend the criminals.”

The police on Zanzibar said it was the first time foreigners had been attacked in this way.

The Foreign Office’s travel advice for the semi-autonomous Zanzibar is the same as that for the rest of Tanzania.

The Foreign Office says that while the majority of 75,000 British nationals have “trouble free” visits to Tanzania every year, “violent and armed crime is increasing” and “there is an underlying threat from terrorism”.

It also says that “mugging, bag snatching (especially from passing cars) and robbery have increased throughout the country” and “in Zanzibar incidents have taken place in Stone Town and on popular tourist beaches”.

Recent attacks in Zanzibar include an acid attack on a Muslim cleric in November, and the shooting dead of a Catholic priest in February. Another priest was shot and wounded in December.

BBC

{{International flights have resumed at East Africa’s largest airport in Nairobi, the Kenyan capital, a day after a devastating fire at the facility.}}

Kenyan officials said on Thursday that one flight had arrived from London at 6:30am at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) while two more flights arrived from Thailand and neighbouring Uganda.

Al Jazeera’s Catherine Soi, reporting from Nairobi, said she had spoken to airport officials who confirmed international operations had resumed.

“The two flights have landed. And officials say that other international flights will be departing soon. The first one will be Kenya Airways to Johannesburg [South Africa],” she said.

A statement released by Kenya Airways CEO Titus Naikuni indicated that nine flights will take off on Thursday, according to Kenya’s Standard newspaper.

Customs and baggage are being processed through what is normally the domestic terminal because international arrivals were gutted in the four-hour blaze.

Cargo and domestic flights out of Nairobi resumed early on Wednesday evening, officials said.

The blaze, which started before Wednesday dawn, sent black smoke out of the main arrivals terminal. There were no casualties but Kenya Airways reported “one member of staff and a passenger had slight smoke inhalation and were safe in hospital for further investigation”.

By 9am local time (0600 GMT), firefighters had succeeded in stemming the raging flames, despite a lack of both water and equipment.

“Everything is being done to resume normal operations,” Manoah Esipisu, a presidential spokesman, said outside the charred arrivals hall of JKIA, where hours earlier flames had lit up the pre-dawn sky.

Mombasa connections

International passengers were given priority to fly to Kenya’s second city Mombasa to connect to onward flights while Nairobi’s domestic terminal was being prepared to handle flights from abroad.

Up to 16,000 passengers usually transit through JKIA everyday, Esipisu said.

JKIA is a regional hub for East Africa, with many long-distance international flights landing there to connect to countries across the region.

Meanwhile, Kenyan investigators have sifted through the debris in search of vital clues for the cause of the inferno, the Standard reported.

Several police units were deployed to unravel the puzzling cause of the fire that left thousands of passengers stranded and incoming flights diverted to airports in Mombasa and Eldoret, the newspaper said.

“Investigations by security agencies have commenced and are ongoing. There is no reason to speculate over the causes of the fire,” said Michael Kamau, the transport minister.

Source: agencies

{{August 7, 2013, will not only go down as the day when Kenya’s main airport suffered a massive fire that crippled operations but also the day when victims of the 1998 US embassy bombing marked the 15th anniversary since that tragedy.}}

While the Wednesday morning mishap at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport did not leave any deaths in its wake, the 1998 August bombing led to the loss of more than 200 lives with thousands others suffering life changing wounds.

And 15 years since the devastating incident, survivors once again congregated at the August 7 Memorial Park on Moi Avenue where they prayed, laid wreathes and narrated their harrowing experiences and challenges since the bombing.

“I don’t have anything and I can’t work to eke a living because of the injuries I suffered at the time and we keep coming here every year hoping that things will get better for us,” said a victim who only identified herself as Gathoni.

Many of the victims also faulted the Kenyan and American governments for abandoning them and forgetting their plight.

The survivors insist that they had never been compensated although reports indicated that they got Sh30,000 each.

Among those who lost their lives was Doreen Aluoch but her mother travelled all the way from Kisumu to mark the anniversary of her daughter’s death.

“We need to pray and leave everything to God because God can even make the government give us something small to wipe our tears. I didn’t know my daughter would die on that day and in that manner,” she recalled.

Interestingly, high level officials from the two governments stayed away from the commemoration which was attended by Nairobi Senator Mike Mbuvi alias Sonko, Nairobi County Speaker Alex ole Magelo and former Nairobi mayor Nathan Kahara.

Sonko, who was moved by the financial challenges facing some of the survivors, donated Sh300,000 to go towards paying school fees for some of the needy children.

“A lot of the people you see here can’t walk were once okay; some of those who are now blind had vision and some of those who lost their loved ones in the bombing, were once full family units. I just want to say pole and to remind you that God is with you,” said Sonko.

Magelo also faulted the government for not paying attention to the victims.

“Important people and heads of state have come here but to my surprise and shock things are still the same way they were after the disaster. The question is why?” he asked.

{CapitalFm}

Reports from Uganda indicate that the East African country is losing several of its doctors who are leaving for greener pastures abroad .

The latest destination of Ugandan doctors is South Sudan which is offering lucrative packages to trained doctors.

Latest statistics from the Uganda Medical and Dental Practitioners Council, indicate that more than 2,000, nearly 50 per cent of the registered number of medical practitioners, have left the country in the past 10 years even as the government continues to struggle to attract, recruit and retain doctors in State health facilities.

The Council had 4,200 registered doctors as of July 31, 2013. Out of these, only 2,021 have been licensed by the Council, while only 1,200 are involved in clinical medicine, a role for which they are trained.

{Agencies}

The United Nations refugee agency UNHCR has disclosed the expulsion by Sudan of 20 UN international staff from the country.

The agency said the government refused to disclose reasons for not renewing their work permits.

The expellees were drawn from UNHCR’s Darfur staff.

“The majority of the affected workers are based in El Fasher in North Darfur region” UNHCR spokesperson Melissa Fleming said in a press release on Tuesday.

“The reduction in staff number has forced the agency to scale down its operations and is currently unable to effectively provide protection and assistance to internally displaced people in the North Darfur region”

“Today we are appealing and calling on the government of Sudan to renew the work permits of UNHCR staff based in Darfur,” Melissa urged.

The government had no comment on the UN statement, but the pro-government Alshorroq TV confirmed the expulsion, without giving any more details.

IDP camps
Following the development, the United States has expressed “serious concern” over the humanitarian situation in Darfur.

“This recent tightening of restrictions on humanitarian actors in Darfur, including UN agencies and non-governmental organisations, raises serious concerns about the government of Sudan’s willingness to uphold the promises it made in the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur, and raises questions regarding the viability of this peace accord,” read Tuesday statement from US State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki.

The European Union has also joined the international community in urging the Sudanese government to review its position. The EU called on Khartoum to immediately renew the necessary work permits for the twenty UNHCR international staff.

The EU restated that the UNHCR staff had a crucial role in providing humanitarian assistance and protection to hundreds of thousands of people displaced by the conflict in Darfur.

According to UN reports, 1.2 million people are living in the IDP (internally displaced people) camps in Darfur. An additional 300,000 persons have been displaced in the region this year, according to the UN.

NMG

{{South African cement manufacturer Pretoria Portland Cement (PPC) has entered into an agreement to purchase a controlling stake in Safika Cement Holdings for about US$35.3mn.}}

Safika, also a South African company, has a capacity of more than 20mn bags a year.
It owns five blending facilities and one milling operation, and produces blended cement under three brands, IDM Best Build, Castle and the Spar Build-It house brand.

PPC CEO Ketso Gordhan said, “We are very excited to be able to add another complementary business to PPC. This will see us strengthening our position in the South African cement sector.”

The strategy to make presence in the home country strong was adopted by former PPC CEO Paul Stuiver, as part of a two-pronged approach involving entrenching the company’s dominance in southern Africa and expanding in the rest of Africa.

The proposed Safika transaction will be subject to approval by the regulatory authorities as well as the conclusion of the due diligence process.

{africanreview}