Tag: GreatLakesNews

{Police closed Moktar Daddah Street in Nairobi on Wednesday morning after an object suspected to be a bomb was found at the entrance to the Technical Institute of Kenya.}

Unknown people placed the jungle-greenish object on the lowermost riser of the stairs to the college.

Students who arrived early for classes spotted the suspicious object before reporting the matter to police.

An hour later, Central Station Police chief Robinson Thuku said bomb experts had established the object was not a bomb.

It was a motor vehicle spare part and it had been removed from the scene, he said.

Panic gripped workers and students at the college, with those inside the five-storey building desperately seeking to get out.

Police officers at the scene had a hard time trying to control crowds.

The incident comes barely a week after the National Police Service dismissed a letter that did the rounds on social media and warning of an impending terror attack at an unspecified learning institution in the city.

The document was purportedly signed by Nairobi criminal investigations chief Nicholas Kamwende.

{Rainbow Rare Earths (LON:RBW) had a spectacular debut on the London Stock Exchange Monday as the newcomer raised 8 million pounds ($10 million) to dust off and restart the Gakara mine in Burundi.}

The company, which only project is the former mine in the landlocked east African country, expects to begin sales to Germany’s Thyssenkrupp before the end of the year, it said in the statement.
This as the project has a 10-year distribution and offtake agreement with a division of Thyssenkrupp to take 100% of production up to 5,000 tonnes and the option to take anything above that.

Gakara, which operated for 30 years until 1978, holds some high-grade rare earth elements, including lanthanum, cerium and neodymium, which are expected to become essential for the manufacturing of batteries, magnets and electric vehicles.

It is also a very cheap project — with only $2.23 million of required capital expenditure and low production costs.

“Beyond the extremely high-grade ore and low-capital expenditure associated with the initial development of the project, the company also benefits from strong support for the development of Gakara, both from the Burundi government and the local community,” CEO Martin Eales said in the statement.

“Our project boasts an in-situ grade in the range of 47-67 percent TREO (total rare earth oxide), making it one of the highest-grade rare earth element (REE) projects globally,” he added.

During an initial two-year trial phase the project is expected to generate around 3,900 tonnes of concentrate before ramping up to 5,000 tonnes per year. First production from the mine is expected in the fourth quarter of the year.

Rainbow’s shares were placed at 10 pence per share. They opened at 10.75 pence, hit a session high of 12.84 pence and closed at 11.62p.

{He added that the suspects could have been mobilised by people who have been popularising the “Muhoozi Project” with criminal intentions.}

Five youth are being held at Kampala Central Police Station (CPS) for printing posters that depict President Museveni’s son, Maj Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, as 2021 presidential candidate.

Kampala Metropolitan police spokesperson Emilian Kayima said the five youth were arrested on Monday morning in possession of posters and press releases explaining how Maj Gen Muhoozi is the eligible presidential candidate in 2021 .

“We arrested the five youth at Kolping Hotel in Makerere. They had posters and press releases. We were tipped off by our intelligence people and we arrested the youth on site,” he said.

Asked whether the suspects were planning to hold a press conference since they had press releases, Mr Kayima said they are yet to know their motive.

“We have them at CPS and they are recording statements. We shall know their intentions in due course,” he said.

Mr Kayima identified the suspects as Mr George Mutumba, a councillor representing Kisowera Zone at Kawempe Division, Mr Twaha Jengo , Mr Abdul Karim Ddamulira, all residents of Kisowera in Kawempe, Mr Hamidu Walakira, a resident of Mulago Parish and a one William, a resident of Makerere Zone III.

Mr Andrew Kaweesi, the police spokesperson, said Maj Gen Muhoozi denied knowledge of the suspects whom he said would be charged with inciting violence, false presentation, and giving false news.

“Maj Gen Muhoozi has told us he has no knowledge about the group. What they have done is regarded as inciting the public and can lead to violence. They would be criminally charged,” Mr Kaweesi said.

He added that the suspects could have been mobilised by people who have been popularising the “Muhoozi Project” with criminal intentions.

“We suspect they have been used by people propagating the Muhoozi presidential project. These imposters shall be prosecuted for their criminal acts,” Mr Kaweesi said.

Maj Gen Muhoozi was early this month moved from the position of commander of the Special Forces Command (SFC) and appointed as a special presidential advisor in charge of operations.

{A last-minute change of the agenda and the refusal by Uganda, Djibouti and Burundi to vote for Kenya were last evening blamed for the defeat of Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed in the race to become chairperson of African Union Commission.}

Details of the shock trouncing in Addis Ababa on Monday afternoon emerged as Kenyan diplomats came to terms with the loss after an extensive campaign of three months that cost the country about Sh350 million.

Ms Mohamed lost to Chad’s Moussa Faki Mahamat after seven rounds of voting.

The Chadian foreign minister, who had said he would take a bullet for the sake of Africa, became the fourth AUC chairperson from francophone Africa out of five heads since 2002.

Shortly after the vote, he said he did not have “a magic wand” to right the problems the AU is facing — such as shortage of funds and slow responses to crises — saying, instead, that he needed everyone on board to help bring the continent together.

“We will need to get our priorities right. It is a problem, really, because we have not been able to run our organisation properly. We need to come together more than before,” he said.

Mr Mahamat will be deputised by Thomas Kwesi Quartey of Ghana.

Ms Mohamed (55) and Mr Mahamat (56) enjoyed significant support from their regions.

The Chadian was declared the winner after garnering 38 votes in the seventh round.

Fifteen countries from the southern Africa bloc, SADC, abstained.

“We congratulate him on a race well won,” said State House spokesman Manoah Esipisu soon after news of the election results spread from the hall in Addis Ababa.

“We pledge to work with him to defend the pan-African agenda of integration of Africa as well as democracy.”

{{Morocco issue }}

Mr Esipisu continued that he did “not think there is anyone (in Kenya) who cannot be disappointed with this result” and thanked Ms Mohamed “for giving a strong showing”.

But the story of Kenya’s defeat, really, started sometime in the afternoon when Morocco, which had been lobbying to be accepted back in the AU family after three decades out, successfully argued for the debate about its readmission to be postponed.

That meant that the politics surrounding the race would not be mixed with Morocco’s application.

Morocco had quit the AU’s predecessor, the Organisation of African Unity, after it admitted the Sahrawi Arab Republic as a member.

This time, however, the North African country had come back with a clear agenda, promising financial goodies to member states who would accept to kick Sahrawi out of the AU while at the same time allowing Rabat back.

So important was the outcome of the Addis vote to Morocco that, on Sunday, the country’s foreign minister, Mr Salaheddine Mezoua, hosted a dinner in honour of Mr Mahamat, whom Rabat felt would dance to its tune if elected.

With Morocco’s readmission agenda out of the way, delegates had nothing much to do other than concentrate on lobbying and voting.

In the end, Kenya was let down by its neighbours.

{{Decamped }}

During earlier lobbying, Ms Mohamed had been endorsed by eastern African countries, but these pledges were not honoured at the ballot.

Uganda, Djibouti and Burundi voted for Kenya in round 1, helping Ms Mohamed get 16 votes against Mahamat’s 14.

The rest of the votes were split between Botswana and Equatorial Guinea.

In the second round, however, Chad scored 21, Kenya gained just one more vote, and the rest went to the three tailing candidates.

Mr Mahamat, a father of six, extended his lead in the third round of voting, getting 24 votes against Ms Mohamed’s 17. Kenya’s neighbours had decamped.

Kenya gained some momentum from round four, getting 26 against Chad’s 25 after the other candidates were compelled to drop out.

When the vote entered round 5, one country abstained, but Kenya won with 27 votes against Chad’s 26.

The vote entered round six and Chad gained again, collecting 28 votes against 25 for Kenya.

Ms Mohamed had, technically, been defeated, and Mr Mahamat went ahead to garner 38 votes when he ran alone in the seventh round.

The entire SADC region stayed away from the vote, perhaps in protest after their candidate from Botswana failed to make any progress in the preliminary rounds.

SADC had argued they still deserved one more term because the current occupant from South Africa, Ms Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, had chosen not to run for a second term.

{All the 15 miners who were trapped in a mine pit at Nyarugusu for four days and rushed to Geita Regional Hospital here on Sunday were discharged yesterday.}

However, the record treatment speed seemed not to have pleased family members of some of the victims who found the treatment ‘too fast’, wishing they had stayed longer for more observation.

In less than 24 hours of their stay at the medical facility, the youthful survivors looked jubilant and cheerful, thanking the government and other humanitarian organisations for moving so fast to save their lives.

Meeting them as soon as they were discharged, the Geita Regional Commissioner (RC), Major General (retired) Ezekiel Kyunga, commended the hospital’s management for attending to the survivors, who cheated death as they faced starvation inside the 60-metre deep pit.

“We thank God that you are safe after the tragic incident that shocked us all. I am told you received very professional treatment to the point that you are now able to return home healthy once again. I take this opportunity to thank each and every one who participated in this rescue mission,” said the RC.

According to Maj. Gen. Kyunga, the government has already orderd a five-day closure of the mine, which is co-owned by a Chinese investor, RZ Union and a Tanzanian, Mr Ahmed Mbaraka, pending investigations on what could have been the real cause behind the accident and possible remedial measures.

The RC said the Nyarugusu Mine incident, which had the whole nation worried, has prompted the government to plan a crackdown on the state of operations by all small and medium mines in Geita Region as soon as possible.

He was quoting the directives issued by Deputy Energy and Minerals Minister, Dr Medard Kalemani, who visited the region following the Nyarugusu incident on Sunday.

Another tough action by the government will fall on mining investors in the region, who will now be required to offer reliable contractors to their workers, which, among others, will enable the enactment of clear clauses on compensation in case of occupational hazards in mining operations.

Speaking on behalf of his colleagues, one of the survivors, Mr Anicet Masanja, said they managed to survive for almost four days thanks to the rocky and ventilated chambers inside the pit that prevented sand from falling on them as they struggled to negotiate their way out.

“Had it not been for the structure of the pit and improved infrastructure, a different story would have been told today. Overall, we thank God for the miracle as well as efforts by the regional hospital and other rescue efforts to save our lives,” Mr Massing further said.

But while the miners were celebrating their discharge from hospital, some of their relatives were highly concerned that the discharge was fast-tracked.

They were of the view that they still needed more time for observation. Ms Rosemary Dismas, whose brother Cosmas Mussa, was involved in the mine tragedy, told the ‘Daily News’ that she was not involved in the consultations before discharging her relative from hospital, claiming that the cheerfulness showed by the victims was not genuine at all. She said the miners’ relatives have doubts that their boys were not fit enough to resume mining operations since they were still unfit – both emotionally and psychologically.

However, the claims and worries over the health status of the victims were refuted by the hospital’s Medical Officer In- Charge, Dr Brian Mawala and the Geita Regional Medical Officer, Dr Yusuf Kisala, who said they were confident before they reached to the decision to have the survivors discharged. Initially, according to him, the victims had suffered normal starvation and difficulty in breathing in the pit and did not accompany any physical injuries or trauma.

He said since they managed to get fresh air and later served with food while in the pit, they garnered enough strength to be put under observation, instead of being given full medical treatment.

“Clinically, they were in more or less stable condition upon arrival – hence putting them under observation and support treatment. We ask the relatives to be calm while victims undergo full recovery from the shock,” he pleaded.

But despite showing massive improvement, Dr Kisala said it was crucial that the survivors get complete rest for at least two weeks. Apart from Dr Kalemani, the Commissioner for Mines, Mr Ally Samaje, is also here and was scheduled to visit the Nyarugusu Mine site to check the situation and monitor the government directives on the matter.

{They also question why ex officials who are already provided for by their sector dockets and do not represent any constituency have been given money to buy vehicles.}

Thirty seven members of Parliament with pending election petitions in the Court of Appeal have petitioned the Speaker Rebecca Kadaga demanding the released of their vehicle money which was withheld by the Parliamentary Commission until they are cleared by court.

On October 11, 2016, Parliament disbursed Shs43.2 billion to the law makers to buy vehicles.

However, the Parliamentary Commission resolved not to disburse money to all legislators with pending election petitions until they are cleared by court to avoid cases where Parliament is made to release more cash new legislators once those battling petitions lose them.

In their January 12, 2017 petition to the Speaker, the petitioners demand the release of their vehicle cash.

Each MP in the 10th Parliament is entitled to Shs150 million for the purchase of a vehicle to facilitate movement between Parliament and their constituencies.

Each MP, apart from those battling election petition cases received Shs100 million.

“We the under signed members of the 10th Parliament of Uganda, hereby log in a petition to your attention and the entire Parliamentary Commission over a matter of failure to transfer funds for purchase of vehicles as duly assigned,” the petition reads in part.

The petitioners argue: “It is also clear that half of the Members of Parliament who still have pending court appeals have been paid.”

They also question why ex-officios who are already provided for by their sector dockets and do not represent any constituency have been given money to buy vehicles.

“Rt Hon Speaker, it should be noted among members who lost their cases at [in the] High Court and now in Court of Appeal; some have been paid whereas others have not. The same applies to those who won cases at the High Court and were appealed against. Therefore, we are puzzled by the criterion of selection,” the petition adds.

Mr Peter Ogwang, the Usuk County MP who also doubles as Parliamentary Commissioner says Parliament used different approaches to arrive at which MP receives the vehicle cash first.

“We began with the new MPs following alphabetical order because some of the new MPs were facing transport challenges. The other MPs will also be catered for because the money is available,” Mr Ogwang said.

He also confirmed that some of the MPs facing election petitions have received the vehicles.

“We pray that you resist any attempts by any authority wishing to detract you from effecting these payments as this has direct bearing on the performance of the 10th Parliament and precedent for future challenges against any Member of Parliament,” the petitioners argue.

Mr Chris Obore, the Director of Communication and Public Relations in Parliament, said the Parliamentary Commission halted the payment following a public outcry.

{Communities living in western Kenya are likely to be particularly vulnerable to the dry spell that has persisted since late last year, even as attention is focused on more arid parts of Kenya.}

A study published by the Society for International Development (SID) and the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics found that six counties, largely located in the north and west of the country, had at least half the employed people working on family land holdings.

They were Nyamira (53 per cent), Busia (52 per cent), Kisii (51 per cent) and Bungoma, Turkana and Nyandarua (all 50 per cent). Five constituencies have more than two-thirds of their labour force working on family land.

Sirisia Constituency and Mount Elgon in Bungoma County had the largest share of individuals working on family land holdings at 69 per cent and 68 per cent, respectively. Loima in Turkana County (68 per cent), Kuria East in Migori (67 per cent) and Ndhiwa in Homa Bay (67 per cent) rounded up the top five.

{{NO NORMAL RAINFALL}}

The report notes that working on family landholdings is associated with reliance on uneven weather and a lack of certainty in earnings. The 2013 study, titled Exploring Kenya’s Inequality, is the most recent on inequality and poverty available.

It gives an indication of communities that are likely to be harshly affected by the dry conditions that have prevailed in Kenya since late last year, which may not be in the public eye because they are not located in arid or semi-arid regions.

In many cases, family lands are small in size and are under pressure to feed ever growing families. The high proportions of people working on family land in these counties give cause of concern, given that weather warnings show the short rains appear to have failed.

According to the national drought early warning bulletin for January 2017, no county has recorded normal rainfall during the short rainy season. The warning also says the short rains were too brief to significantly influence improvement in crop and animal production and summarises effects on particular counties.

Crop failure is expected for most parts of Embu County and near-total crop failure in Kitui. The warning also predicts below-average crop production in Makueni, Meru, Nyeri, Tharaka-Nithi, Kilifi, West Pokot, Baringo and Isiolo counties.

{{URBANISED COUNTIES}}

The data shows that lack of education is associated with surviving off family land, where little or no education is needed, and that urban dwellers with no education were twice as likely as their rural counterparts to be unemployed.

The report says a third of the country’s labour force earns a living by growing crops and raising animals on family land. Nearly a quarter, or 24 per cent, work for pay, while 13 per cent work on a family business. Subsistence farmers and pastoralists are usually excluded from formal and informal sector employment data.

More than four out of five (82 per cent) of the people in Kuria East Constituency who have no education made a living by working off their family land. This was the highest such proportion in the country. It was followed by Ugenya, Kitutu Chache North, Sirisia and Ndhiwa.

Urbanised counties have especially large proportions of people who work on family lands in some constituencies. Kiambu County has a wide spread — ranging from the urbanised Thika and Juja constituencies at 5 per cent to Gatundu South at 36 per cent, Gatundu North at 38 per cent and Lari at 43 per cent — working on family land.

{{NOT MOST UNEQUAL}}

Nakuru County also has a wide spread — from the urbanised Nakuru Town West (5 per cent) to Kuresoi North (61 per cent). In Homa Bay, only 20 per cent of people in Suba North are employed in cultivating family land, while in Ndhiwa it is 67 per cent.
Counties that rely on family land are not the most unequal, however.

Four of the five most unequal counties and five of the most unequal 10 are at the Coast. The most unequal county, measured by the Gini coefficient, is Tana River with a value of 0.617, followed by Kwale, Kilifi, Lamu and Migori. The Gini index measures the degree of inequality in the distribution of family income.

The study found that Turkana County, which was the poorest, was also the most equal. The most unequal constituency was Teso South in Busia, followed by Galole, Bura, Garsen and Magarini, all from the Coast.

{Starting over in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a Burundian mother draws strength from her roles with an amateur theatre group.}

***Eyes wide in panic, the two young men seek cover at one end of the courtyard in the blinding sun. Behind them, a wall of iron sheets blocks their way: there is no escape. They scream in terror. ***

All of a sudden, it’s over. The men stand, shake the dust off their trousers. Next scene.

Hard at work rehearsing, the men are part of a troupe of actors drawn from both refugees and locals living in Uvira, a town in the volatile east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

Among the actors in the drama group, known as The Kings of Peace, is 56-year-old widow Rehema Kankindi, who fled deadly political unrest in neighbouring Burundi in 2015. The rehearsals are taking place in the small yard of the modest house where she rents two rooms for herself, two of her children, and two grandchildren.

“A monster was after these two young men,” Rehema explains in a soft voice. “These are tales that people tell here.”

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, helps to protect urban refugees like Rehema across the world who do not live in camps, and promotes their peaceful coexistence with their host communities.

Short of funds for its programmes in DRC, however, UNHCR cannot do all that it would like to in providing psycho-social support to refugees. UNHCR therefore encourages groups like The Kings as part of its goal of helping refugees overcome painful experiences and live in dignity wherever they are. As the actors continue rehearsing, the small yard slowly fills with an impromptu audience from the neighbourhood. Kids in flip flops sit on the ground beside women in colourful dresses, and a few men. Today, entry is free, but when The Kings play one of Uvira’s popular restaurants, tickets earn them much-needed income.

But the theatre means more than a little pocket money for Rehema. “I saw that I had to join this group,” says Rehema, who has diabetes, a condition aggravated by physical and mental stress. “When we play theatre, we laugh, we cry, we are together outside. It helps me against stress, and that helps me to survive.”

“When we play theatre, we laugh, we cry, we are together outside. It helps … me to survive.”

Some of the scenes deal with violence and refuge, and force Rehema to face the most difficult episodes of her life. Two of her grown-up sons disappeared during civil unrest in Burundi a year earlier. She has heard rumours they were murdered. Rehema’s husband died years before, leaving her to care for the family, and to arrange their hurried journey to Congo when Burundi became too unsafe for them. “We don’t know why they were killed. Nobody gave us a motive. At that time, some people kidnapped and killed others, just like that,” she says.

Outside of the drama group life is difficult for Rehema. She works hard every day to put food on the family’s table, selling vegetables for meagre earnings at a rudimentary table outside her home. Tomatoes are arranged in pyramids of four, next to green peppers, and a tin can with some palm oil that is sold by the spoonful.

Rehema is particularly vulnerable. She is a widow in charge of a family, and also suffers from chronic illnesses. UNHCR recently supplied her with medicine for her diabetes and other conditions, and the agency’s staff look in on her and the children from time to time. It makes her feel safer, she says: “I feel also like I am not abandoned”.

“She is in need of protection,” says Esther Kashira, a UNHCR protection associate in Uvira. “We follow up on her case, as we undertake field visits. Our presence helps to protect the refugees and reassures them.”

In the dusty courtyard, rehearsals for the next scene begin. Rehema plays the mother of a boy who dropped out of school and fell into bad company. She delivers her lines with deep and genuine emotion.

Her performance is so compelling because she is drawing on personal experience: her youngest son, Swedi, 16, has not been in class since they fled Burundi. Her daughter Shebaby, 18, dreams of going to university. But, so far, there is not enough money to pay for the fees.

Despite the challenges, Rehema will never give up. “I have illnesses that cannot be cured,” she says, matter of fact. “If the kids study, they can fend for themselves in life. “

And with that, she turns back to her rehearsals, drawing from the theatre and the crowds the energy she needs to keep going, for herself, and for her children.

{The Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) yesterday shrugged off allegations that its rank and file were involved in sexual assault crimes in the Central African Republic (CAR).}

The Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) yesterday shrugged off allegations that its rank and file were involved in sexual assault crimes in the Central African Republic (CAR).

“We carried out investigations and we didn’t find anybody culpable. If this had happened, we would not cover it up,” army spokesperson, Brig Richard Karemire told Saturday Monitor by telephone.

“Such allegations will always be there. And it’s quite unfortunate that someone can come up with such allegations,” he added even as sources in Banjul, the capital of CAR, claimed the Ugandan army, in a bid to cover its tracks, airlifted the accused back to Kampala.

The army spokesperson was reacting to questions from Saturday Monitor after BBC aired and published on its platforms stories of a one, 13-year-old Eloise, who claims she is mothering a nine-month-old child allegedly sired by a Ugandan soldier, and another 14-year-old Mirie, also from CAR, who dreads to recall the day she was allegedly raped by a UPDF soldier.

Eloise told the BBC that when she was 12, a Ugandan soldier, deployed to protect her town, Obo ironically attacked her.

“My mother sent me to the market to buy something,” she said. “On the way, a Ugandan soldier grabbed me. He dragged me to a nearby lodge [hotel] and raped me.”
On the other account, Mirie has this to say: “I was going to the field to work and on my way, I was grabbed by a Ugandan. He was violent, he attacked me and he raped me. When I think about this, it hurts me. I didn’t expect it at all. “If I had a knife or machete I would have tried to attack him.”

Uganda put its boots on the ground in CAR in 2009 after it was reported that the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) rebels were causing instability in the densely forested western town of Obo.

In 2010, the US government sent 100 of its Special Forces soldiers to support the UPDF in intelligence gathering on LRA activities in CAR.

The Ugandan army has been the only active African force hunting down the rebels in the jungles, but in 2012, regional governments agreed to form a Regional Task Force (RTF) under the African Union to boost the fight against LRA. Forces from DR Congo, South Sudan and CAR were supposed to deploy under the RTF.

The LRA is currently estimated at between 150-200 fighters, with less than 130 of them armed.

The LRA leader, Joseph Kony faces indictment by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes and crimes against humanity, which he committed during the 20-year insurgency he waged in northern Uganda killing thousands, and displacing more.
He remains at large, but while speaking to BBC’s Hard Talk show in 2012, President Museveni said Kony and his men had been defeated and had run away more than a thousand miles away in CAR.

The latest allegations, however, are not unique to the UPDF. The BBC also reported that some soldiers of former CAR colonial master France have also been accused of sexually abusing boys, girls and women.

This newspaper was unable to independently verify the reports by the BBC.

{{Other cases}}

The BBC also said the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, last July said his office had interviewed 18 women who said they had faced sexual violence and harassment by Ugandan soldiers. Fourteen cases of alleged rape, including cases involving victims who were minors at the time, were also reported, all in and around Obo.