Tag: GreatLakesNews

{{The East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) resumes business today May 27 by holding its plenary in Kampala, Uganda’s capital city.}}

The plenary will run from May 27 to June 6, 2013. This is the Sixth Meeting of the First Session of the Third Assembly.

Uganda’s President and Chairperson of the Summit of the East African Community Heads of State, Yoweri Museveni is expected to address a special sitting on Wednesday, June 5.

The assembly, according to a communication, would be presided over by the EALA Speaker, Margaret Nantongo Zziwa. Legislative business is the main item on the agenda of the assembly.

“The Sitting expects to debate and deliberate on the EAC Vehicle Load Control Bill 2012 and the EAC Appropriation Bill,” reads the statement.

The assembly is expected to receive and consider reports from various Committees of the regional parliament and also consider motions and questions brought before the House.

EALA is also expected to receive and deliberate on the EAC Budget Speech. The Budget Speech for the Financial Year 2013/2014 will be presented to the House by the Chairperson of the Council of Ministers, Mr Shem Bageine.

EALA shall after the plenary convene the 7th Inter-Parliamentary Relations Seminar, commonly referred to as the Nanyuki Series on June 7-9, 2013 in Kampala. The theme of this year’s Seminar is Promoting a People-Centred and Market-Driven East Africa.

Over 200 legislators and EALA representatives from respective parliaments of EAC member states are expected to attend.

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{{The US government has reiterated its support to two Sudans, insisting the only way the two countries can resolve the impasse over the contested region of Abyei was through a referendum.}}

Secretary of State, John Kerry, while meeting South Sudan president Salva Kiir, said the new nation and its northern neighbour needed to stick to the African Union proposal that a referendum, in the disputed region, be held in October this year.

“We commend the government of South Sudan under the leadership of President Salva Kiir and the government of Sudan for showing interest to resolve their differences through peaceful dialogue,” Kerry reportedly told Kiir Sunday.

Peaceful dialogue is the worldwide approach of resolving conflict of such nature and the United States remains ready to provide support required by the parties to end the conflict, he stressed.

Last year, the AU mediation team proposed holding a referendum in Abyei this October, but that only those residing permanently in the area will be allowed to vote in the plebiscite and decide whether they want to join Sudan or South Sudan.

This proposal would effectively make the majority of voters come from the Dinka Ngok tribe, aligned with South Sudan thus putting the Arab Misseriya nomads, who spend several months in Abyei every year for grazing, at a disadvantage.

The mediators said that the exclusion of the Misseriya nomads comes in line with the decision of the Hague-based arbitration court, which defined the territory of the Ngok Dinka nine chiefdoms in July 2009.

However, Sudan swiftly rejected the plan, which received the blessing of the AU Peace and Security Council, suggesting the matter be referred to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to make it binding.

The U.S Secretary of State was one of the heads of states and foreign representatives, who held a series of meetings with the South Sudan leader on the sidelines of the extraordinary AU summit for African leaders attending the 50th anniversary of the 54-member body.

The AU, previously known as the Organization of African Union (OAU), was formed in 1963.

“Conflict can be resolved through peaceful dialogue. There can never be an end to the conflict through violence. The dispute over the future of Abyei can be resolved through the conduct of the referendum,” the US Secretary of State said.

This is the universal approach of resolving conflict of such nature and US remains ready to provide necessary support to organize the conduct of the referendum, he emphasised.

The meeting between the two leaders came just days after Kiir and his Sudan counterpart, Omer al Bashir failed to strike a deal over the final status of the oil producing region.

Luka Biong Deng, a native of Abyei, told Sudan Tribune Saturday that presidents Kiir and Bashir failed to reach a compromise over the final status of the disputed region, after the South Sudan leader insisted that the referendum issue be prioritised, while Bashir wanted formation of an interim administration.

Deng, who is a senior member of the south-ruling party (SPLM), was part of the officials selected to represent South Sudan at the meeting on the sidelines of the summit, also attended by other African leaders and foreign diplomats.

Meanwhile, a committee, comprising of a representative from Sudan and South Sudan, two from the United Nations and one from the AU, has been formed to investigate circumstance under which a tribal leader was killed in Abyei, last month.

Kuol Deng Kuol, a paramount chief of the Dinka Ngok tribe was killed when a convoy in which was traveling was attacked by Arab nomads in the region. A UN peacekeeper was also killed, while two others were injured in the same attack.

The UN Secretary General, US and a host of African leaders condemned the killing, describing as a setback to efforts aimed at resolving the deadlock in the disputed oil-producing region.

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{{Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni has claimed there is a plot aimed at locking-up Kenya’s new president should he report to the ICC Court in the Hague when his trial begins on July 9.}}

President Museveni is said to have told heads of state from East and Horn of Africa meeting under the umbrella of the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (Igad) on Friday night that the International Criminal Court (ICC) was not sincere in its dealings on the Kenyan case.

“ICC should tell us if they plan to detain [Mr] Kenyatta. They should give us an explanation if he is going to come back to Kenya because the information we are receiving is different,” Mr Museveni was quoted as saying in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

The source, who could not be named for protocol reasons, said Mr Museveni added: “We will not agree to have him attend if the intention is to detain him. If we don’t have a clear picture of the plans by the International Court, then it means our relations with them will be soured. They should treat us with dignity.”

The Igad heads of state also challenged the ICC to give a comprehensive report on the schedule of President Kenyatta’s trial.

It was not immediately clear why Mr Museveni made the claims, especially because President Kenyatta and his Deputy William Ruto, who are accused of crimes against humanity over the 2007/8 post-election violence, have been co-operating with the ICC since they were indicted in 2011.

President Kenyatta took office on April 9 and, among other things, promised to respect international laws and clear his name in court.

Mr Ruto travelled to The Hague two weeks ago for a meeting with the judges, of his own volition, and pledged to co-operate with the court.

He successfully petitioned the court to move his trial from May 28 to a new date yet to be set.

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{{A wanted Ugandan general who questioned the president’s succession plan has requested the protection of British police and won’t return home anytime soon, his lawyer said Sunday.}}

Gen. David Sejusa is now hiding from Ugandan undercover agents allegedly sent to track him down in London, where he is traveling, said Ugandan lawyer Joseph Luzige.

“Sejusa told me there is a team of people who have been sent to London to hunt him down,” the attorney said. “He said these people’s intentions are not good at all.”

Luzige said Sejusa, a spy chief who sits on Uganda’s military high command, believes his life is in danger and is now “very cautious.”

Judith Nabakooba, the spokeswoman for Ugandan police, said she couldn’t comment on this matter. “I’ve not been briefed,” she said.

Sejusa, who directs Uganda’s domestic and foreign spy agencies, recently wrote a letter to the internal security service urging an investigation into reports that those opposed to the rise of Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni’s son risk assassination.

Details of the letter were published in a Kampala daily whose premises have since been occupied by police looking for evidence against Sejusa.

Sejusa cited himself, Uganda’s prime minister, and a since-fired army boss among those at risk of being killed in an allegedly secret plan for Museveni’s son to succeed his father as president.

The general’s concerns have stirred controversy in Uganda, where divisions among the military elite are rarely revealed in public.

Uganda’s army leadership has accused Sejusa of breaking the country’s military laws, while a government minister who speaks for Museveni said the general has “clear presidential ambitions.”

The operations of Uganda’s Daily Monitor newspaper have since been shut down by police who want its journalists to reveal how they obtained a copy of Sejusa’s letter.

The journalists have resisted these efforts, saying they go against freedom of the press. In a statement Friday, Amnesty International urged Ugandan authorities to stop what it called “an attack on freedom of expression.”

Museveni, who has held power in Uganda for nearly three decades, has never said he sees his son as his political heir.

But the son, a senior army official named Muhoozi Kainerugaba, has been rapidly promoted in the army over the years, leading many here to believe he is being groomed for high office.

Last year he was promoted to the rank of brigadier in changes that saw him take full charge of the country’s special forces, an elite unit within the military that protects the president and guards national assets such as oil fields. In this position Kainerugaba answers directly to his father.

Sejusa, a decorated hero of the bush war that brought Museveni to power in 1986, has a history of standing up to the president. In the 1990s he tried and failed to quit the army after accusing its leadership of incompetence in battles against the fugitive warlord Joseph Kony.

Analysts say he is one of an older generation of army officers who are disgruntled over the first son’s growing influence in the military.

Just over two weeks since details of Sejusa’s letter became public, Museveni on Friday announced changes in the military that saw the ouster of army chief Gen. Aronda Nyakairima, who had been cited in Sejusa’s letter as among those opposed to the rise to Museveni’s son.

Nyakairima now has a new role as interior minister, a civilian post that effectively cuts off his links to the army’s chain of command.

It remains unclear if Museveni, who was re-elected in 2011, will run again when his term expires in 2016. But he faces growing pressure within his party to retire, with rival centers of power emerging as his power fades.

Some say Sejusa may be positioning himself to become the leader of those within the military who want to discourage Museveni from hanging onto power or propping up his son as a future leader.

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{{Soldiers of Eastern Africa Standby Force (EASF) have completed renovation of a Buwagajjo health centre III, located at Namabu village, Nyenga sub-county in Buikwe district as part of their one week training session in Uganda.}}

The revamped facility was handed over by the director of the EASF coordination mechanism, Rtd. Maj. Gen. Cyrille Ndayirukiye to Uganda’s defence state minister, Gen. Jeje Odongo.

During the formal ceremony on Friday, Ndayirukiye explained that giving the health centre a facelift was part of the activities carried out by a regional contingent of two battalions that included the army, police and civilians who have undergone a training exercise in the area.

The training was dubbed FTX Eastern Africa Standby Force (EASF) Mashariki Salam 2013.

The team also maintained and opened up new roads in the area.

Also, the force carried out medical outreaches like safe male circumcision, malaria treatment, HIV/AIDS tests and donating of mosquito nets among others.

They were from the ten member states that form the EASF including Rwanda, Burundi, Kenya, Seychelles, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Comoros, Uganda, which hosted the exercise and Sudan, which played the observation role in the training.

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{{Six bodies have been recovered following Saturday attack by militiamen near the Kenya- Somalia border.}}

Among the bodies recovered includes two of Adminstration Police officers, a teacher, Red Cross official, and a 15 year old boy.

The bodies of the two officers were discovered in a bush hours after the attackers beleived to be Al-Shabaab militia struck on Abdisugow and Damajale police posts on Saturday night.

They had been slaughtered and their bodies abandoned in the bush but their guns are yet to be traced.

Three other people including local chief and a worker with the Kenya Red Cross were shot and seriously wounded in the attack and are admitted in Kulan Health Centre, police said.

Inspector General David Kimaiyo said two of his deputies have left Nairobi for the crime scene to asses the situation and advice for the next step.

“We have confirmed the attackers are Al-Shabaab, two of my deputies Grace Kaindi and Samel Arachi have left Nairobi to asses the situation,” Kimaiyo said.

North Eastern police boss Charlton Murithi said more security personnel had been sent to the area to help trace the missing officers and weapons.

“They were gunmen who attacked two police posts in the area and we have casualties. We are tracing other officers who are missing,” said Murithi.

Other officials said police were warned of the attack in advance following intelligence that indicated militiamen from Somalia planned to strike.

The attackers are said to have driven back in a file with valuables that they looted from the stations after they ran over them, witnesses said.

Informed officials said the militiamen were out on a revenge mission over the on-going Kenyan military operation inside Somalia.

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{{In Kenya, Five people were killed, three others injured and several camels killed in fresh inter-clan fighting in Banisa District- Mandera County. }}

The victims were attacked by a militia that is said to have crossed from Ethiopia on a revenge mission on Saturday morning.

Police said the gang later vanished into Ethiopia, which is few kilometers away.

The deceased and injured are said to be from both Garreh and Degodia sub clans.

North Eastern police boss Charlton Murithi said the injured are admitted at the local District Hospital in a stable condition with bullet wounds.

“We suspect the attack was in an apparent retaliation to the ongoing clashes that have occurred in the past weeks. It happened deep in the villages and the attackers targeted herders,” said Murithi.

The attack happened days after the military moved to the area to stem a pending attack following intelligence that showed so.

Murithi said they have deployed enough personnel in the area to contain more attacks. But the attackers have been targeting people in villages where there are no security agencies.

Officials said tension was high along the Kenya- Ethiopia border after the retaliations which have now claimed five people in two days.

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{{Presidents Omer Al-Bashir and Salva Kiir discussed Friday evening in Addis Ababa issues related to oil flow, rebel groups and Abyei, among reports that Khartoum asked to allow its troops to pursue rebels inside South Sudan.}}

The two leaders met for the last time in Juba where the two leaders reiterated their commitment to the signed agreement and pledged to resolve issues of Abyei, and disputed border zones.

However, Sudan accused some circles in Juba of continuing their support to rebel groups and dispatched its foreign minister Ali Karti to hand a presidential message to president Kiir.

The latter last Monday disclosed that it included a demand to close business offices managed by rebel groups.

During the two-hour meeting, Sudanese president reiterated his demand that Juba should stop its alleged support to the rebel groups.

Foreign minister Karti who participated in the meeting said the issue was expensively tackled during by the two presidents. He added that Bashir “strongly” expressed his position on the matter.

He further said that president Kiir reiterated his commitment to not allow any support to rebel groups in South Kordofan, Blue Nile or Darfur.

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{{The African Union Executive Council, composed of African Ministers responsible for Foreign Affairs, has unanimously endorsed Uganda’s Foreign affairs minister, Sam Kutesa’s candidacy for president of the 69th session of the United Nations General Assembly for the period 2014-2015.}}

The endorsement followed a decision by the Government of Cameroon to withdraw its candidate, Foreign minister, Pierre Moukoko, who was also vying for the position, in favour of Uganda’s candidate.

Cameroon’s decision to withdraw, said minister Moukoko, was based on the need to further promote the friendly relations existing between the two countries, as well as maintaining African solidarity for international posts and positions.

{{The UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and World Bank President Dr. Jim Yong Kim arrived in Uganda after their visit to Rwanda and DRC.}}

Mr. Ban commended Uganda’s commitment to regional peace, “I thank Uganda for making sure that peace returns in Somalia and I will rely on you (Uganda) for the necessary support for a peaceful Somalia.”

President Yoweri Museveni thanked the World Bank for supporting Uganda’s development programmes geared towards eradicating poverty.