IGIHE

Tag: GreatLakesNews

  • Yanga FC Fail to get Friendly Matches

    {{Tanzania’s Young Africans football team are in Turkey for a two-week training camp, but their hopes of landing high-profile friendlies might not see the light of day.}}

    Jangwani Street side arrived in Antalya on Sunday and have been holding training sessions twice a day.

    However, speaking with The Citizen after yesterday’s evening session, Yanga head coach Ernie Brandts said chances were slim for his team to play friendlies.

    The Dutchman said organisers of the trip have so far failed to get any team that is ready for a date with his boys. “Chances are slim because we have almost four days here and no team has shown interest to play against us.

    “It is very disappointing because I expected some tough matches to strengthen my players,” said the former APR tactician.

    However, Brandts was confident that the team would came back much stronger even if they fail to play build-up matches.

    “I am satisfied with the determination and commitment my players are showing in training. I am optimistic that the team will improve significantly,” he noted.

    Yanga’s trip to Turkey was meant to sharpen the team ahead of the second half of the Mainland premiership season that kicks off at the end of January.

    NMG

  • DRC Opposition MP Appointed onto M23 Negotiating Team

    {{The M23 rebels have appointed Roger Lumbala, an opposition Member of Parliament onto their delegation to negotiate with the DRC government in Uganda.}}

    Roger Lumbala, who represents the Congolese opposition political party Congolese Rally for National Democracy (RCDN), joins the M23 delegation as the vice chairperson of the negotiating team.

    the M23 rebels have prepared a draft ceasefire agreement to be presented in the dialogue and have threatened to walk out of the talks if the government delegation does not agree to a ceasefire.

    Jean-Marie Runiga recently said, “The demand for a ceasefire is not a sign of weakness, but a political act that reflects the actual parties to continue the search for solutions to the problems by peaceful means.

    “It is also a sign of respect for our people who suffered so much from the ravages of war.”

    Runiga said that ever since the M23 withdrew from Goma on December 2 last year, the DRC Government has reinforced government troops presence with support from the Hutu FDLR rebels.

    However, Lambert Mende, the spokesperson of the Congolese government, told journalists in Kinshasa recently that Lumbala is wanted to answer treason charges by the DRC government.

    NV

  • 4 Killed in Kenya Road Accident

    {{In Kenya a Commuter taxi (locally known as matatu) rammed into a heavy truck killing 4 people and leaving 7 seriously wounded.}}

    The passengers in the bus were travelling from Kisii town to Eldoret when the accident occurred at Berekenya trading centre.

    the truck is said to have been carrying electricity poles along the Kapsabet – Eldoret highway in Nandi County.

    A police official Nelson Okioga said the driver of the speeding commuter bus lost control of the vehicle and rammed into the rear of the lorry.

    Both drivers are said to be at large.

    “We are hunting for the drivers. We also warn drivers against speeding and driving defective vehicles,” he said.

    NMG

  • Tanzania Army to Deploy at Rwanda-DRC Border

    {{Tanzania is set to deploy its contingent of peacekeeping troops in the eastern DR Congo city of Goma as per the peace plan agreed on by the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR), the Africa Union (AU) announced on Thursday}}.

    According to Ramtane Lamamra, who is the AU commissioner for peace and security the details of the overall deployment and peacekeeping operation would be discussed at a high-level ministerial meeting scheduled for January 8 in Addis Ababa.

    He was speaking during a 48-hour visit to Goma when he met the governor of North Kivu province, Mr Julien Puluku, and members of the Goma-based UN mission.

    “I think the commanders of the contigent will be with you here soon,” he told reporters.

    From Goma, Mr Lamamra was to travel to Kigali to meet with Rwandan officials on Friday.

    The Tanzanian contingent will be part of the so-called multinational “neutral force” to be deployed between Rwanda and DRC to counter the M23 rebels and the FDLR Hutu militia.

    AU commission chairperson Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma is also expected in Goma is the coming days on a follow-up visit.

    The AU diplomatic intervention comes as efforts to restart the second round of peace talks between the DRC government and the M23 rebel movement in Kampala getunderway.

    The first round got suspended after only two weeks owing to deep differences over what should comprise the agenda.

    There are hardly any indications that the gulf has narrowed since.

    The M23 rebel group has threatened to pull out of the talks unless President Joseph Kabila signs a ceasefire agreement.

    The government rejects this position, arguing that it never declared war on anyone such as to merit a ceasefire.

    {Agencies}

  • Makerere University 9th Best in Sciences in Africa

    {{A New study conducted by Scimago Institutions Ranking (SIR) World Report 2012 shows that Uganda’s Makerere University is 9th best in sciences on the African continent. }}

    The Wobemetrics rankings placed Makrere University at 11th position last August.

    SIR is a comprehensive ranking of worldwide research institutions, with the goal of rating every institution around the world that does meaningful scientific output.

    The ranking includes 3,290 institutions worldwide that together, are responsible for more than 80% of worldwide scientific output during the term 2006-10 as indexed in Elsevier’s SCOPUS database.

    The SCOPUS database is the largest abstract and citation database of peer-reviewed literature and quality web resources with smart tools that track, analyse and visualize research.

    The report, which annually considers the number of scientific articles, reviews and conference papers contained in the database, is good news to Makerere’s research efforts.

    In Africa, the top five universities are in South Africa. The University of Cape Town is number one followed by that of Witwatersrand.

    The University of Pretoria is third, Stellenbosch University is fourth, while the University of KwaZulu-Natal holds the fifth position.

    Nigeria’s Ibadan University is sixth followed by Tunisia’s El Manar University in seventh place and Sfax University, also from Tunisia, in eighth position.

    Makerere is in the ninth position before South Africa’s University of the Free State, which is 10th. The University of Johannesburg is 13th, while Rhodes University is 14th. These two are also from South Africa.

    Regionally, the University of Nairobi is 23rd, while Kenya Medical Research Institute is 25th.

    Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences from Tanzania is 56th, while the University of Dar-es- Salaam, also in Tanzania, holds the 57th position.

    According to a statement from Makerere, the improvement in ranking implies that a greater worldwide audience is being impacted by research publications and output from the university.

    Makerere is the only institution in Uganda that featured in the ranking and is competing with directly funded institutions from South Africa, Nigeria and Tunisia.

  • Tanzania Police Arrests Chinese with 3Lion Teeth

    {{Tanzania Police is holding a Chinese National found illegally possessing 3 Lion teeth valued at TShs7.3million (approx. Frw4Million)}}.

    The Chinese man is also an Engineer working with a road construction project in Mpanda District katavi Region of Tanzania.

    Katavi Regional Police Commander Dhahiri Kidavashari identified the Chinese suspect as Xys Weze 29.

    He was arrested at Mpanda airport few minutes before bording a plane destined for Mwanza city.

  • 1.28 Million Unregistered SIM Cards in Kenya Blocked

    {{In Kenya, over 1.28 million unregistered SIM cards have been suspended from service since the deadline for registration lapsed.}}

    The Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK), said four local mobile networks had by Friday switched off 1,280,840 unregistered lines, five days after the expiry of the December 31 deadline.

    Francis Wangusi the CCK Director General said the disconnection of unregistered SIM cards was progressing well despite initial hitches.

    He attributed delays in disconnection of the more than six million unregistered SIM cards to verification of registration data received from dealers and agents countrywide.

    “The verification exercise is quite involving as the mobile operators have to ensure that no registered mobile line is suspended from service,” said Wangusi.

  • Kenyan ‘Fake Policeman’, Charged

    {{In Kenya a man has been charged after allegedly pretending to be an assistant commissioner of police for five years.}}

    Joshua Waiganjo is said to have sacked and recruited police officers in Rift Valley province during this time.

    He denied two counts of impersonating a police office, one of illegal possession of police uniforms and one of robbery with violence.

    He was reportedly uncovered after flying on a police helicopter to investigate a massacre of officers.

    In November, at least 42 police officers were killed by cattle rustlers in the Suguta valley – the most deadly attack on police in the East African nation’s history.

    After pleading not guilty on all four charges, the case was adjourned to allow Mr Waiganjo to seek medical treatment for diabetes, local media report.

    Police spokesman Eric Kiraithe told Nairobi’s Capital FM that Mr Waiganjo had not been paid a salary by the police service.

  • Ugandan Court Dismisses Case Against British Producer

    {{A Ugandan local court, January 2, dismissed a disobedience case against British film producer David Cecil Edward Hugh for secretly staging a play supporting gay rights despite a ban by the Media Council on the play script}}.

    The case was dismissed by Chief Magistrate Esther Nambayo after the State on numerous occasions failed to produce a single witness to testify against the producer.

    According to the State, the police file for ‘The River and The Mountain’ writer had never been produced in court as it was still with the Uganda police.

    While dismissing the case, the magistrate advised the State to reinstate the charges if they wished so.

    Further, the court also ordered that Mr Cecil’s Shs500,000 bail money and passport be returned.

    Mr Cecil’s play examined the plight of a man who comes out as a homosexual but the Ugandan government persecutes him for his sexual orientation.

    Homosexuality is illegal in Uganda and is punishable under section 145 of the Penal Code Act as a crime against morality.

    {DailyMonitor}

  • Engine Problem Forces KQ Plane Back to Sudan

    {{Kenya Airways flight to Cairo with 56 passengers on board was forced to return to Khartoum after a “technical problem” with an engine, the airline said on Wednesday.}}

    An official declined to give details but said there were no injuries and the aircraft landed safely back in the Sudanese capital.

    Flight 320 took off from Khartoum at 9:00 pm (1800 GMT) Tuesday but after 45 minutes had to turn back, said an airline official who asked not to be identified.

    “Due to safety the captain turned back,” the official said. “There was a technical problem with the engine.”

    He did not identify the type of airplane but Kenya Airways uses Boeing 737 jets on the route.

    A technical team from Kenya was travelling to Khartoum to assess the engine, the official said, adding that most of the passengers had already been transferred to other flights.

    AFP