Tag: GreatLakesNews

{{The spokesman of Sudan’s Foreign Ministry Abu-Bakr al-Sideeg said on Saturday that Kampala’s stances have become incomprehensible especially since Khartoum has repeatedly called on Uganda to refrain from backing Sudanese insurgents and interfering in the country’s affairs.}}

The Sudanese diplomat noted the signed protocol on security, stability and development in the Great Lakes Region which he said obligates all countries in the region including Uganda not to cooperate with the rebels.

He also pointed out that December 2011 Great lakes conference adopted a resolution designating Darfur Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) and Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) as negative forces.

The Sudanese government was infuriated this year after rebel forces and opposition groups signed an accord in Kampala last January calling for toppling the regime of president Omer Hassan al-Bashir.

This has prompted Khartoum to lodge several complaints with the African Union (AU) and other regional blocs against Kampala saying the latter is supporting regime change in Sudan.

This month the speaker of the Sudan’s national assembly Ahmed Ibrahim al-Tahir disclosed that Khartoum is working with forces in Uganda that are opposed to president Yoweri Museveni to bring about “positive political influence”.

In response to the remarks Uganda’s Foreign affairs minister Sam Kutesa warned that if Sudan continues supporting forces opposed to the Uganda Government they will be defeated.

“Sudan has always supported LRA leader Joseph Kony, if they want to continue they will meet the same end of defeat. Uganda is not going to promote any groups against the government of Sudan,” Kutesa told New Vision newspaper in Kampala.

He went on to say that the two countries have a bilateral mechanism of resolving problems between the two countries.

Uganda’s top diplomat also warned that if Sudan were to expel any staff from Uganda’s embassy in Sudan as it has threatened, Kampala would reciprocate.

“We hope they don’t go that extent,” he said.

Kutesa described as a mistake for al-Tahir to attempt to spoil relations between the countries and try to conduct issues of bilateral relations through the press.

{wirestory}

{{As the death toll occasioned by the collapse last Friday of a high-rise building along Indira Gandhi Street in Dar es Salaam reached 25 by mid-day yesterday, the government ordered a demolition of three structures close to the ill-fated one over safety concerns.}}

The three buildings, property of the National Housing Corporation (NHC) used for residential and commercial purposes were damaged as the 16-storey structure came tumbling down.

The Dar es Salaam Regional Commissioner Said Meck Sadick told reporters at the disaster site yesterday that the demolition order has been issued in consultations with the NHC after an assessment indicated that the buildings may also collapse anytime.

Director general of HNC Nehemiah Mchechu confirmed to The Citizen of receiving the demolition order from the government and said NHC will immediately commission the flattening after the tenants have been evacuated.

“The buildings, located near the site of the disaster, have developed cracks and we believe they can’t be safe. They are quite old, anyway,” Mr Mchechu said without stating the age of the now-condemned buildings. He said the demolition will give NHC the opportunity to put up more modern structures.

For his part, the RC said the process of recovering bodies from the site was to be terminated yesterday because only a small amount of rubble remained.

Failure to learn from past mistakes

The collapse of the 16-storey building on Friday was the second such incident this year and the fourth in a span of seven years.

Early last month, a four-storey residential building at Sinza kwa Mori, in Kinondoni Municipality collapsed but there were no human casualties.

On Friday March 17, 2006 a four-storey annex building to the Village Hotel in Chang’ombe in the city collapsed killing at least four people instantly.

The building was nearing completion and when it collapsed the rubble trapped workmen who were doing finishing work on the upper floors of the annex building.

As the construction was ongoing, lower storeys were already occupied by tenants. The ground floor had a bar, but customers escaped in the nick of time before the whole structure tumbled to the ground.

Two years later, on June 21, 2008, a ten-storey building under construction on Mtendeni Street at the city centre collapsed killing one person and injuring several others.

Experts say substandard construction materials and negligence of contractors are largely to blame for the tragedies.

This was corroborated by the NCCR-Mageuzi chairman James Mbatia, who yesterday pointed an accusing finger to Tanzania Bureau of Standards (TBS) for failure to control the quality of construction materials.

“Most of the building materials like cement and iron bars presently are not in good standards. TBS should be blamed because it is responsible for monitoring the quality,” he stressed.

He urged the government to carry out reforms in institutions that are failing in their duties.

The government has been blamed for disregarding recommendations by a special committee formed in the past to assess the quality of all major buildings in Dar es Salaam.

Anger also stems from the fact that no serious action has been taken against those who were responsible for disasters like that of Friday along the Indira Gandhi Street. Critics are of the view that government laxity gives the leeway to crooks in the construction industry to act criminally.

In June 2008, Prime Minister Mizengo Pinda remarked: “I have read the report today and it has some shocking findings.’’ That was in reference to the collapse of a ten-storey structure along Mtendeni Street in Dar es Salaam which left three people dead.

One of the key findings of the committee was that mushrooming storey building in the city and other parts of the country had been built illegally, without adhering to construction rules and regulations.

The report revealed that some greedy contractors and their clients were using unqualified personnel to supervise construction works.

The ratio of construction materials, including cement, sand, iron steel, electrical and others did not match required standards, said the report.

Construction experts pointed out that weaknesses in building supervision was contributing to construction tragedies.

The Dar es Salaam Special Zone Police Commander, Mr Suleiman Kova, told the journalists yesterday that the rescue was going on well and it would come to a close late in the day.

As of yesterday, 25 dead bodies had been recovered from the rabble and 4 injured people were recovering in hospital.

According to Mr Kova, eight people were being interrogated by the police concerning the tragedy. They include two proprietors of two ill-fated building, two contractors and four engineers. Once the investigation completed, said the PC, these would be arraigned.

Meanwhile the deputy minister for Land, Housing and Human Settlements Development Goodluck ole Medeye said the disaster has been a wake-up call to the government to commence countrywide inspection of all construction sites.

“I call upon Tanzania contractors to seriously reconsider their professional ethics in order to avoid risks to people’s life. They should ensure they comply with rules set construction shine on the management of buildings,” said Mr Medeye.

Citizen

{{In Kenya, Unknown people Sunday night attacked Prime Minister Raila Odinga’s private business East Africa Spectre in Nairobi’s Industrial area and vandalised property before, carrying away hundreds of cylinders.}}

The assailants stole 13 empty LPG gas cylinders valid at Kshs3 million. They also vandalised vehicles in the Industrial Area business before escaping with 266, 13kg gas cylinders and 431, 6kg gas cylinders labelled Total.

Raila’s elder brother Oburu Oginga confirmed the incident and said they were working with police to investigate the happenings which has left the family in shock.

Caleb Radul, the Chief Security Manager at the premises said two security guards who were on duty are missing and the police have initiated investigations to know where they are.

The incident happened just a day after Raila who is the out-going Prime Minister accepted the Supreme Court verdict which upheld the victory of Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto as President-elect and deputy resident elect respectively.

“We do not want to speculate that it is politically motivated but we treat this as a pure criminal act which can befall any business,” Oburu said.

“We are perturbed by the timing and the unfolding political events which can send wrong signals. We are cooperating with police to ensure the culprits are brought to book, we ask our supporters not to read too much politics,” Oburu said.

“We have lost dozens of expensive cylinders which we produce and sell to oil dealers. The incident happened in thick of the night and all watchmen on duty have disappeared,”

Oburu who is the chairman of the family business said the number of cylinders carted away by attackers required at least two tracks to carry making it look like a well-organised scheme.

Oburu said vehicles at the premises were smashed and spare wheels stolen before cylinders were carted away.

Standard

{{As the official death toll of the disaster caused by a high-rise building that collapsed in Dar es Salaam rose to at least 22 by late Friday, experts have warned that similar incidents are looming due to serious compromises of construction standards.}}

The major finger of blame is being pointed at the government, for disregarding recommendations by a special committee appointed by former Prime Minister Edward Lowassa, one of which was assessment of all major buildings in Dar es Salaam.

Anger also stems from the fact that, no serious action has been taken against those who were responsible for previous similar disasters, which they feel has given confidence to crooks in the construction industry to act criminally.

Earlier reports suggested that 60 people were trapped under rubbles at the site of the latest disaster and hopes of finding survivors were fading as the rescue operation got into the second day.

Of the 17 injured persons, 10 are still hospitalised while the rest had been treated and discharged.

The rescue operation was yesterday more focused that had earlier been the case, and gained pace after a Chinese engineering firm, China Railway Construction Engineering Group (CRJE), joined Tanzania People’s Defence Forces (TPDF) for the mission.

Other firms that took part in search and rescue operations were Tanzania Road Haulage and Strabag, a German construction company undertaking the Dar Rapid Transit project.

Many people also lent support to the rescue operation yesterday.

However, Dar es Salaam Regional Commissioner (RC) Sadick Meck Sadick said the authorities were still facing the challenge of ensuring that all recovered bodies were in good shape.

“These are human beings. They deserve proper burial; that’s why every time we see the possibility of finding a body, we don’t use bulldozers. Manual work takes time but we can’t ignore the sensitivity surrounding the issue,” he explained.

Meanwhile, the RC has ordered that construction work on a building opposite the ill-fated one, by the same contractor, be stopped immediately.

President Jakaya Kikwete visited the scene of the tragedy for the second day yesterday, and ordered the arrest of City Council’s Construction Engineer, Quantity Surveyor and Architecture.

“Letting the construction work reaching this stage means they were coming here to inspect this building,” the visibly upset President said.

The Shia Ithnasheri community which owns a mosque adjacent to the ill-fated building provided food to rescue team members, as well as relatives of those believed to be still trapped, who camped at the site.

Overcome by emotion, a mother of a missing boy who had been playing in the compound, collapsed after crying uncontrollably for a long time.

Yesterday, two people being sought by the police force surrendered to the law enforcers, raising the number of those being held for questioning to six.

The owner of Lucky Construction LTD, the main contractor of the ill-fated building, Ibrahim Kissoky ,59, who is also a Counselor for Bunju ward, gave himself in at 01:00 pm at the Central police station.

Kissoky was on the run from Monday and was given a 12-hour from yesterday morning to surrender to the police.

The Consulting Engineer of the building, Zonazea Bushudada, also surrendered at the Central police station at around 01:30 pm.

Police have also arrested the owner of the building MS Ladha and three others. Ilala Municipal officials were arrested on Friday, including the Chief Engineer, Quantity Surveyor and Construction Engineer.

Chairman of the opposition party Civic United Front (CUF) Prof. Ibrahim Lipumba visited the site and urged the government to invest on disaster management strategies and infrastructure.

According to Lipumba, the rescue proficiency is still poor and was the cause of otherwise avoidable deaths and injuries.

“The quality of construction too is very poor; how was this project given the green-light in the first place? This whole situation is alarming,” he remarked.

{{Kenya Police said Sunday they had commenced an investigation on the deaths of two people who died during protests which broke out in Kisumu late Saturday.}}

Nyanza Provincial Police chief Joseph Ole Tito said seven other people were still admitted to hospital while four had been treated and discharged.

“There are two people who died and eleven wounded. An investigation is underway to establish circumstances that led to this,” Ole Tito. “We can not tell as of now what killed them but all that will come out after the investigation.”

But according to Kenya Red Cross Coordinator for Western Kenya Emmanuel Owako, 23 people, including a child were still admitted to the hospitals in Kisumu and Homa Bay with gun shot wounds.

“They are responding well to treatment, but unfortunately there are families displaced out of this chaos,” Owako told journalists at a press conference in Kisumu on Sunday.

Deaths of the two people and the injuries occurred during confrontations with police officers at Kondele area, where youths attempted to block roads to protest the Supreme Court verdict which handed President-elect Uhuru Kenyatta victory.

Kenyatta’s main competitor Prime Minister Raila Odinga accepted defeat and urged the president-elect to work towards uniting Kenyans.

Odinga had filed a case at the Supreme Court challenging Kenyatta’s election while accusing the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission of manipulating the polls.

The highest court in the land however, upheld the electoral commission’s declaration, saying the election was free and fair and within the constitution.

Soon after the verdict was read out on Saturday, transport and business was paralysed for several hours in Kisumu, prompting deployments of more police officers.

Speaking to Capital FM News from Kisumu, Ole Tito said that calm had been restored in the lakeside city.
“Business is now returning to normal because we have enough police officers on the ground,” he said.

Inspector General of Police David Kimaiyo also told Capital FM News that security had been restored in all parts of the country.

He urged members of the public to be wary of criminal gangs which take advantage of the situation to loot property after causing disorder.

“We had a few problems here and there but the situation has been contained. There are people who took advantage to loot in the name of demonstrators but most of them were arrested,” Kimaiyo said.

The police chief said he had directed a thorough investigation on any deaths or injuries during the protests.

In Nairobi, Police chief Benson Kibui said similar protests were reported in Kibera, Mathare, Dandora and parts of Kawangware.

“We are closely working with the public in maintaining peace in the country. We are urging everyone to carry on with their business as usual and we guarantee them security,” Kibui said.

{{In Kenya, One of the youth who fell into Mt. Longot crater has been found alive in a Kenya Wildlife Service rescue effort. Search efforts for the second victim are underway.}}

Anxiety had gripped Mt Longonot National park in Naivasha after two youths fell inside the 500m crater after an attack by a swarm of bees.

There was confusion on the status of the two men with some witnesses claiming that they had died.

KWS however denied this saying that the two were alive and efforts to rescue them were at an advanced stage.

The two were in a group of 62 youths from PCEA Kinoo who had gone hiking in the world renowned park when the incident occurred.

According to witness identified only as Mureithi, a swarm of bees attacked the group that was on its way into the crater.

“As a result two of the youths fell in the crater and we are not sure of their condition as its three hours since they disappeared,” he said.

The senior warden in charge of Hellsgate and Longonot National Parks, Osman Ibrahim confirmed the incident adding that the two were still alive.

According to Osman, three youths decided to venture into the crater but used the wrong route upon which they were attacked by bees.

“One of them managed to escape to safety while the other two fell into the crater and efforts to rescue them are on,” he said.

The senior officer said that they could spot the duo from top of the crater and some KWS and Red Cross officers had embarked on rescuing them.

“We cannot use a helicopter as the area inside the crater is not conducive for landing and taking off,” he said.

Emotions ran high in the park as relatives and colleagues tried to come to terms with the accident.

The incident comes exactly one year after seven youths died after they were washed by flash floods while on a tour of Hellsgate park.

The youths were part of a group from PCEA Mukarara Dagoreti who were visiting the park’s gorge when the incident occurred.

{{Kenya’s Chief Registrar of the Judiciary Gladys Boss Shollei has said the Supreme Court will deliver its ruling not later than 5pm Saturday.}}

Addressing a press briefing, Shollei said the media and the public will be alerted one hour in advance to the ruling.

She thanked Kenyans, security personnel, court officiasls and journalists for their patience in the petition process.

She said the petition has been taxing on the judges because they have been sitting as early as 9am and late into the night.

Raila Odinga, the Coalition for Reforms and Democracy is seeking to overturn through the Supreme Court announcement made on March 9 by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) declaring Uhuru Kenyatta of Jubilee Coalition president elect.

Odinga moved to court to challenge the announcement citing several anomalies that could have not produced clear winner in the first round.

IEBC through its lawyers have already responded to the claims during court proceedings that ended Friday. Kenyans are waiting for the last word from Supreme Court team led by Chief Justice Willy Mutunga

Mutunga earlier tweeted in his account saying “The Supreme Court will deliver its decision NOT LATER than 5pm”.

{standardmedia}

{{Chinese President Xi Jinping signed a string of deals and pledged to bolster bilateral ties as he ended a trip to Africa in the Republic of Congo.}}

The deals include a river port in Oyo, Congolese President Denis Sassou Nguesso’s hometown, and a sea port in Pointe-Noire that can export mineral ores shipments.

Congo is a major oil producer. China is already its biggest trading partner.

Before Congo, Mr Xi visited Tanzania and South Africa.

China has become one of Africa’s major trading partners in recent years.

On Friday, Mr Xi said he wanted to raise ties with Congo “to a new and higher level”.

“The future, the development of China will be an unprecedented opportunity for Africa, and Africa’s development will be the same for my country,” he told parliament in the capital, Brazzaville.

“We expect to work together with our African friends to seize upon historic opportunities and deepen cooperation … in order to bring greater benefit to the Chinese and African peoples.”

President Sassou Nguesso praised China, rejecting charges of neo-colonialism sometimes levelled against the Asian superpower.

During his week-long trip Mr Xi has sought to present China’s relationship with Congo as a partnership of equals.

China and Congo have already launched projects worth several billion dollars, including a motorway between Brazzaville and the economic capital of Pointe-Noire.

Trade between China and Congo rose from $290m (£190m) in 2002 to $5bn last year, China’s Xinhua news agency reported.

Though Congo is one of sub-Saharan Africa’s top oil producers, some 70% of the country’s 4.1 million people live in poverty.

BBC