Tag: GreatLakesNews

Good communication network enabled KDF call for backup

{Fresh details have emerged of how Kenyan soldiers fought gallantly for at least six hours on Friday to ward off a deadly attack from hundreds of Al-Shabaab militants during a deadly dawn attack at a base in Kulbiyow, Somalia.}

This came as top military brass were said to have been in a crisis meeting Saturday.

KDF Spokesman Lt-Col Paul Njuguna confirmed the bodies of the dead soldiers had been flown to Nairobi while the injured were receiving treatment at the Forces Memorial Hospital.

“The next of kin of the fallen heroes as well as the injured soldiers were notified and plans to support them were established in line with the Defence Forces Standing Orders,” a statement sent last night said.

On Saturday, Defence Cabinet Secretary Raychelle Omamo and senior military officers had visited the Defence Memorial Hospital to comfort the recuperating soldiers as well as address the next of kin of the dead soldiers.

Two senior KDF commanders, the General Officer in charge of Eastern command Major-General Benjamin Biwott, and the African Union Mission in Somalia (Amisom) Sector 2 commander Brigadier William Shume, were said to have visited the Kulbiyow camp to boost the morale of the Kenyan troops.

However, it remained unclear how many KDF soldiers, operating under Amisom, died in the attack.

A KDF statement put the number at nine with 70 Al-Shabaab militants killed while the terror group’s propaganda messages claimed at least 50 Kenyan soldiers had been killed.

Information obtained by the Sunday Nation from multiple military sources, who spoke in confidence, paints a bloody picture.

Al-Shabaab first targeted the camp using two vehicles filled with explosives and driven by suicide bombers at almost 5am – using tactics similar to those applied during the El-Adde attack in January last year.

These suicide explosions were followed by hordes of attackers who were repulsed by the soldiers mostly drawn from the Mombasa-based 15KR Infantry Battalion.

{{ARRIVAL OF BODIES}}

And when it appeared the militants were almost overrunning the camp, KDF reached out for help from their superiors in Nairobi.

It took hours for a rescue team from Hulugho Camp, at least 20 km away, to reach their comrades as the militants had planted explosives on various routes.

All this time, the gallant soldiers, numbering just about 120, fought tooth and nail to keep the attackers at bay despite being outnumbered while waiting for reinforcements.

At some point, sources say, the besieged KDF soldiers and their counterparts from the Somalia Army tactically withdrew from the camp in order to reduce the number of casualties.

A distress signal was also sent to Boni Forest and Manda camps on the Kenyan side but the response teams had to abandon their vehicles at some point and walk on foot to Kulbiyow due to landmines on the routes leading to the camp under attack.

By the time air support arrived shortly before noon, the quick response teams from nearby camps had managed to repulse the attackers.

Initially, KDF admitted its soldiers had been pinned down.

At the end of the day, it reported that at least 70 Al-Shaabab militants were killed.

“Our soldiers repulsed the terrorists who had tried to access the camp using a Suicide Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Device,” Lt-Col Njuguna, who is KDF’s spokesman, said in a statement.

Bodies of the dead soldiers arrived at about six pm on Friday evening at the Moi Airbase and were transported under tight security to a nearby funeral home while the injured were taken to Forces Memorial Hospital in a convoy of military ambulances.

This was a completely different strategy from the El-Adde attack at a similar time last year where bodies landed at the Wilson Airport and the press were invited to cover.

Among the dead are two senior officers at the camp and seven servicemen according to KDF.

{{COMMUNICATION SYSTEM}}

The Sunday Nation has established there were about 120 KDF soldiers in camp while 60 had gone on patrol on the night of the attack.

All the soldiers at the camp were barely three weeks into the mission having arrived at the turn of the New Year and it is believed Al-Shaabab thought they would catch them off-guard like during the El-Adde attack last year.

But, unlike El-Adde where there was a communication breakdown, Kulbiyow, which is close to the Kenyan border, has both Airtel and Somali’s Hormud cellular networks.

The military also has its own communication channels which were used to call for help.

The military says it had prior intelligence Al-Shaabab would attempt an attack on a Kenyan camp to commemorate the first anniversary of the El-Adde battle and was, therefore, on high alert.

“El-Adde was the way it was because we didn’t know. This time they only managed to reach the camp because they used a different route not that the soldiers were not aware,” said our source.

On Saturday, the military confirmed it was in full control of the camp.

“Since yesterday, offensive ground and air operations have been intensified targeting Al-Shaabab camps and pacification of the area has been undertaken.”

The statement added: “KDF soldiers at Kulbiyow Camp remain vigilant and undeterred. They bravely continue to relentlessly pursue the terrorists to ensure peace and stability of the region as well as support Amisom in stabilising Somalia.”

{{SEVEN DEAD}}

The particular Al-Shaabab unit that attacked the KDF camp is said to be the Saleh Nabhan brigade, one of its most lethal units named after the leader of Al-Qaeda in Somalia who was killed in 2009.

The Saleh Nabhan group are believed to be responsible for the El-Adde attack, the December 2014 Mandera quarry workers attack and the 2010 Kampala attacks.

On Wednesday, seven Al-Shaabab fighters were killed as the Kenya Defence Forces captured Badhaadhe township in Somalia.

The troops, who were on a routine patrol, successfully launched an offensive operation on the militants who had taken control of a mosque and a police station in the area.

Two bombs and eight AK-47 assault rifles belonging to Al-Shaababwere captured and it is thought the militants were hungry for revenge.

Hours after they were beaten in Badhaadhe, the militant group reportedly executed a number of people accused of being spies.

Additional reporting by Nyambega Gisesa.

January 29, 2017
Mwanza police arrest 7 for running pyramid scheme

{Police in this lakeside city have arrested seven people for allegedly stealing 100m/- from citizens by convincing them to join a pyramid scheme.}

The theft suspects were alleged to convince people to deposit an amount of money and harvest more within a short period of time.

Mwanza Regional Police Commander (RPC) Mr Ahmed Msangi told reporters here yesterday that the suspects included a woman identified as Happy Aloyce( 35) a resident of Ilemela Street, who is also the Director of AQ Computer Limited.

The RPC said different groups of people, including the woman, have recently emerged in Mwanza city swindling people out of huge sums of money.

He said the woman and the people managed to collect 100m/- through the scheme.

“Our investigation revealed that AQ Club is not a registered institution in accordance with the law, but is a business name of the suspect.”

Following the incident, the RPC Msangi has issued an alert to all citizens in Mwanza region, telling them to be careful with such people to avoid losing their money.

“They took money from the citizens by purporting to increase their money and giving them more money than the amount invested.

There is no such kind of investment,” he warned. The RPC Msangi has also warned the public about the activities undertaken by the group of a private company Bega kwa Bega Microfinance Company Limited.

He said people had already complained against the company and explained how the company swindled them of their money.

“Police have already netted directors and some workers of that company and the charges are with the State Attorney for further legal action,” he said.

The RPC added that police in the region continued with the work against such swindlers.

Investigation on the report from Amka Mwanamke institution (AMWA) also said the institution was involved in the illegal business.

“We carry out investigation to know the truth of these reports,” he said and alerted Mwanza Region’s citizens and the surrounding areas to refrain from such kinds of illegal groups.

Instead, he advised, people ought refrain from such illegal business and participate in production activities that generate legitimate incomes for their lives.

He said the desire for a citizen to get quick riches has hurled many citizens to significant losses, resulting in their huge losses of money stolen by such crafty groups.

“Citizens should be aware that this is a criminals’ trap of persuading citizens to join these groups so that they can steal their money,” he said.

January 29, 2017
Kenyan soldiers fight back after raid by Shabaab

{Kenyan troops in Somalia were Friday engaged in a massive counter offensive against Al-Shabaab – on land and air – just hours after a deadly attack on their base by the Somalia-based terrorists.}

The attack, in which BBC says 50 Kenyan soldiers were killed, comes just days after the first anniversary of the El-Adde attack in which more than 100 Kenyan soldiers were killed inside Somalia on January 15, last year.

Al-Shabaab attacked a KDF camp at Kolbiyow, 18km from the Kenyan border, at about 5am, the military spokesman, Lt-Col Paul Njuguna, said.

The base hosted Kenyan soldiers working under Amisom in the Lower Juba.

It had personnel from various units but the core group comprised soldiers from the Nyali-based 15 KR Infantry Battalion.

Other supporting units were engineers, doctors and gunners from heavy artillery battalions.

The attack came three days after KDF captured Badhaadhe township in Somalia.

Cord leader Raila Odinga, who has in the past called for Kenyan troops to be pulled out of Somalia, condemned the attack, calling it “unacceptable”.

According to a statement that Lt-Col Njuguna posted on the KDF Twitter handle, the terrorists tried to attack the camp “using a suicide vehicle-borne improvised explosive devise” but were repulsed by the Kenyan soldiers.

He said “scores” of the terrorists were killed but declined to divulge more information on losses incurred by KDF troops.

“KDF soldiers remain vigilant and will continue to relentlessly pursue the terrorists to ensure peace and security of our country Kenya as well as support Amisom operations in order to stabilise Somalia,” Lt Col Njuguna said.

The soldiers also received reinforcement from air and land forces.

{{SUICIDE BOMBERS}}

Sources told Saturday Nation that “the vehicle-borne device” — basically a bomb on wheels — exploded before attackers who were on foot marched towards the Forward Operation Base from different directions.

The attackers were backed by others riding on pick-up trucks mounted with machine guns.

The raid was similar to the El-Adde attack in that it occurred before daybreak, was initiated with vehicle-borne bomb and there were casualties on both sides.

In both attacks, fighting went on for hours.

KDF has never released either the names or numbers of soldiers who died, those who were taken as prisoners, the survivors or those who went missing in action.

Unlike El-Adde, however, communication and command was not lost during the hours of fighting on Friday morning.

The Saturday Nation established that the officer in charge of the base was in communication with top commanders in Nairobi throughout, relaying information and receiving orders.

A preliminary report indicated that KDF incurred the first casualties after the explosives-rigged vehicle exploded.

The explosion was followed by suicide bombers and fighters on foot who attacked in waves.

Other attackers were riding on technicals — the pick-up trucks mounted with machine guns.

There were unconfirmed reports of a military-grade armoured personnel carrier being among the vehicles used by Al-Shabaab.

“The information being peddled by terrorists on social media is false and part of their propaganda,” he said. Al-Shabaab had claimed that 57 soldiers had been killed in the raid.

{{WEAPONS SEIZED}}

Top military commanders held a meeting at the KDF headquarters at dawn and subsequent briefings were planned for the entire.

Lt Col Njuguna pledged to give more details about the attack but had not done so by the time of going to press.

When the Saturday Nation called Defence headquarters last evening, we were requested to call back today.

Earlier in the day, he had said two bombs, eight AK-47 assault rifles, loads of live ammunition, parts of explosive devices and other Al-Shabaab paraphernalia were seized from the battle filed.

Al-Shabaab had occupied the area after a tactical withdrawal of KDF troops in January last year.

The Voice of America and wire news agencies reported that the terrorists drove a truck filled with explosives and detonated them inside the base.

This was followed by heavy gunfire and an infantry attack.

“Two mujahideen (fighters) rammed suicide car bombs into the base in Kulbiyow town before storming it,” Sheikh Abdiasis Abu Musab, Al-Shabaab’s operations spokesman, claimed.

According to him, the terrorists had seized weapons and military vehicles, Reuters reported.

Col Njuguna described these claims as false.

“Our soldiers repulsed the terrorists,” he said.

{{STABLE GOVERNMENT}}

He said the Kenya Air Force had joined the land forces in what he described as “an intensive pacification operation” in the border town.

Kenyan soldiers are fighting the terrorists as part of a UN-backed African Union Mission in Somalia (Amisom).

Amisom is a 22,000-strong force comprising soldiers from Burundi, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda.

Besides Kenya, Al-Shabaab has attacked camps belonging to Uganda, Burundi and Ethiopia, with Uganda and Burundi suffering massive causalities.

Over the last two years, the terrorists have rampaged through bases manned by Burundian soldiers in Lego, Ugandan troops in Janale and Kenyan soldiers in El-Adde, inflicting high casualties and stealing military equipment each time.

The Kolbiyow raid is the second major attack this week in Somalia, coming three days after 28 people were killed when Al-Shabaab bombers and fighters attacked a hotel in the capital.

Somalia is due to hold a presidential vote in early February, signalling the end of a drawn-out electoral process in which a new parliament has also been selected.

Political infighting and ongoing insecurity frustrated plans for a universal vote in 2016, with lawmakers elected by specially selected delegates.

Somalia has not had an effective central government since the 1991 overthrow of president Siad Barre’s military regime, which ushered in more than two decades of anarchy and conflict in a country deeply divided along clan lines.

January 28, 2017
Sunday Deadline Looms for Deal on New DRC Government

{Political parties in the Democratic Republic of Congo signed a deal on New Years’ Eve that eased the political crisis after deadly unrest over delayed elections. But now that agreement risks falling apart as the two sides wrangle over its implementation. Observers say they are running out of time if they are to have any hope of holding the polls this year.}

The December 31 deal demands the polls be held by the end of this year and keeps President Joseph Kabila in office until then. In the accord, Kabila’s political alliance agreed that he will not seek a third term, though some in Congo still fear the president means to change the constitution so he can do just that.

The agreement provides for a new government led by a prime minister from the largest opposition platform, the Rassemblement.

The deal’s survival, however, is not assured and the Congolese Catholic Church, the deal’s increasingly frustrated mediator, says the two sides have until Saturday to reach an agreement on the make-up of the new government and how to implement the rest of the deal.

Christophe Lutundula, a senior Rassemblement politician, told VOA they expect to make the deadline. He says what we have seen from the other side since the signing of the accord does not incite blissful optimism. But, he says, the Rassemblement remains vigiliant and committed to finding a solution.

Ruling alliance vs Rassemblement

For its part, the ruling alliance has denounced the Rassemblement for wanting to impose a prime minister upon the president. It argues that the opposition must present Kabila with five options.

Even if the two sides do agree on a new government this weekend, experts say organizing nationwide polls by the end of the year will be difficult. The Democratic Republic of Congo is a vast and poorly connected country, and public finances are particularly strained at the moment, largely due to the global dip in commodities prices since 2014.

Experts say the new government will need to muster rapid international support to fund the elections.

In December, the president of the electoral commission estimated that the full electoral package will cost $1.8 billion. In October, the Constitutional Court authorized the delay of the polls, which were scheduled for November, because the commission said it needs to redo the voter registry. That work has begun but it is a massive undertaking expected to take until at least the end of July.

January 28, 2017
WFP chooses Dar Port as most reliable gateway

{World Food Programme (WFP) has opted to ship their future consignment through Dar es Salaam Port, following timely clearance of its 20,000 metric tonnes of maize destined for Malawi.}

In a press statement issued in Dar es Salaam yesterday, WFP Head of Supply Chain, Mr Riaz Lothihas, said his organisation has observed timely clearance of its vessel Mv. Matakana Island at the port this week which discharged the maize consignment.

“The positive example set by the professional han- dling of the vessel by TPA and all parties involved has proven that the decision to bring the vessel to Dar es Salaam port was right,” he said.

Due to efficiency in discharging the Malawi-bound cargo, WFP Tanzania expressed commitment to con- tinue using Dar es Salaam Port as a gateway for the region. “WFP Tanzania will share the positive experience on the vessel Matakana Island with WFP offices in the region and is confident that they will consider Dar cor ridor as a preferred option,” he said, adding that the actual number of future vessels depends on their op- erational requirements.

“The Dar es Salaam port offers good opportunity for cargo in transit to the East, Southern and Central Africa as for many of these countries, only one border has to be crossed.

On average, WFP reaches more than 80 million people with food assistance in 82 countries each year,” he added.

According to him, WFP chooses the port of entry to maximise operational efficiency and cost-effectiveness of the entire supply chain including port and road/ rail transport.

WFP is willing to support the Fifth Phase Government of President John Magufuli in promoting Tanzania as an effective corridor for the region with an efficient integrated supply chain which includes port operations, rail transport, road transport, border cross- ings and modernising the information systems.

He said WFP has greater logistical capacity and operates a larger transport network than any other humanitarian organisation. On any given day, 5,000 trucks, 70 aircraft and 20 ships are delivering food across the globe.

Mr Lothihas appreciates the excellent partnership with the TPA and its cooperation to support the WFP operations as among the factors for choosing Dar es Salaam Port. It is worthwhile mentioning that apart from the bulk vessel, WFP continues to use Dar port for con- tainerised cargo for Tanzania and the neighbouring countries.

During his visit in October, last year, Democratic Repub lic of Congo (DRC)’s Presi dent Joseph Kabila assured to continue using Dar port due to improved services. He said 50 per cent of total DRC exports are going through Dar port.

“We will continue using the Dar port, as things have improved in recent days.” Mr Kabila said transport infra- structure should be improved to support smooth moving of cargo

. DRC copper production has increased from 100,000 tonnes to around 1.2 million tonnes in the last ten years.

Thus Tanzania should prepare best to handle those tonnages. President Magu- fuli assured President Kabila of close business cooperation between Dar es Salaam and Kinshasa.

January 28, 2017
Go slow on regional integration – IMF Chief warns

{The International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director, Ms. Christine Lagarde advised the East African countries in pursuit of integration to go slow on the project. The countries within East Africa, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi have been integrating over the years with projection to have a political federation in about 20 years. The caution from the IMF chief is coming from the lessons that Europe has had to have especially after the United Kingdom held a referendum and the people chose to exit the European Union.}

“Coming from the European Union and a country that is part of the Euro area, I would certainly stress that, hasting slowly is probably the best way to go and consolidate one step at a time and make sure that the steps you have taken are actually solid, sustainable and will take you the next level. Don’t rush to integration. Infrastructure integration, market integration, custom integration.

Those are the steps that have been taken and are being taken,” Ms. Lagarde said while addressing a joint press conference with President Museveni at State House Entebbe on Friday afternoon.

She did point out that integration had its advantages and was perhaps one of the best options for the country to pursue its growth agenda. Uganda’s largest trade market for exports is East Africa but more significantly South Sudan. South Sudan was in March 2016 given the green-light to join the EAC.

Uganda also trades with the EAC and also enjoys lower tariffs on exports to the COMESA region, another regional body on the continent. Lagarde noted that Uganda had enormous potential for growth if it is part of a regional grouping.

The EAC is also pursuing a single currency and monetary union in order to further facilitate trade within the region. President Museveni noted that African countries needed to integrate further if they are to reap the benefits. He criticized countries that are taking isolationist policies and questioned how long they can sustain the inward approach.

“Those who are pushing isolationist policies will not be able to sustain the prosperity of their people. For us we are definitely working for the common market of East Africa and you see how much it is helping us. For instance, we produce 4 million tonnes of maize and we consume only one million. If we did not have that common market, that industry would have collapsed,” he said.

He pointed out that the isolationist strategy implemented by some countries would fail.

The joint press conference was addressed after both President Museveni and Ms. Lagarde held bilateral talks that discussed among others Uganda’s economic progress as it attempts to reach middle-income status by 2020. Lagarde has been in the country for the last two days on an official visit.

January 28, 2017
DRC settles one election conflict but is thrown into another

{Political rivals fall out over choice of prime minister before poll agreed under peace deal}

For months, it was a battle for the presidency that threatened to plunge the Democratic Republic of Congo back into conflict. Now, just weeks after a surprise political deal that pulled the country back from the brink, a power struggle has erupted over who will be the next prime minister.

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If successful, the vote would mark the country’s first democratic transition of power since independence in 1960. But squabbles between Mr Kabila and the opposition over the selection of a prime minister are undermining the deal even before it is implemented.

“What’s going on shows an implosion is inevitable because the [political] system is not set up to solve problems like these,” said Hans Hoebeke, an analyst at the International Crisis Group. “We’re not there yet, and in the past negotiations in Congo have taken a year longer than planned. But the signs are worrying.”

Catholic bishops who brokered the agreement and secured Mr Kabila’s pledge to step down when the elections are held warned at the weekend that “every day of delay makes it harder to achieve our goal”.

“The establishment of a national unity government is more than urgent,” they said in a statement.

Under the constitution, Mr Kabila, who has led the DRC since the assassination his father, former president Laurent Kabila, in 2001, was supposed to relinquish power when his second elected term ended on December 19. But his insistence on remaining in office sparked a series of deadly protests in which dozens of people were killed. Further unrest was predicted before the bishops managed to broker the unexpected accord.

The parties agreed that Mr Kabila would retain power, with the opposition to nominate the prime minister of a new interim government that would organise elections by the end of the year. The president would then step down. The deal was seen as a breakthrough in the large, mineral-rich country that has been blighted by years of conflict and instability.

But three weeks later, little progress has been made. Not only are the two sides split on how the prime minister should be appointed, they cannot agree on how the electoral commission should be restructured, let alone set a timetable for the polls.

The opposition has nominated Felix Tshisekedi, son of Etienne Tshisekedi, a veteran politician, for the premiership, while the government insists five candidates should be put forward.

Neither Mr Kabila nor Samy Badibanga, his prime minister, has signed the accord.

Furthermore, promised freedoms have yet to materialise. Many political prisoners remain in custody, Radio France International is among media that are still barred and the activities of human rights groups is severely restricted.

Both sides blame each other for the stalemate.

Andre-Alain Atundu Liongo, a government negotiator, issued a statement last week accusing the opposition of wanting to “create a fractious atmosphere of crisis . . . to realise their plan of chaos and to establish an alternative regime”.

Abraham Luakabuanga, an opposition spokesman, said Mr Kabila’s administration was not committed to achieving a deal.

“They want to keep all the main ministries [in the new government] for themselves — justice, defence, the interior and finance,” he said. “This is nonsense.”

Jason Stearns, director of the Congo Research Group at New York University, said an election this year was “very unlikely”.

“There’s a good chance it will happen in 2018 because everyone’s legitimacy is based on holding elections sooner rather than later,” he said. “But that’s not guaranteed and if it doesn’t the country is in deep trouble because the current fragile consensus will break up.”

Neighbouring countries appear increasingly concerned.

Denis Sassou Nguesso, president of the Republic of Congo, told the bishops on a visit to Kinshasa last week they were “the last bulwark” for peace and like “a dam that must not yield”.

Angola, once a close ally of Mr Kabila, has started distancing itself from the president, while reminding him to abide by the deal.

International pressure was crucial in securing the accord. Mr Stearns believes it will be equally important to prevent the process collapsing amid concerns that Mr Kabila has little intention of leaving office unless pushed.

“His game plan is to play for time and hope that something will turn up,” Mr Stearns said. “His problem is he doesn’t know what that something will be.”

January 27, 2017
Burundi army major killed as violence persists

{A military official says an army major has been shot and killed by a colleague in a remote area of Burundi.}

Army spokesman Col. Gaspard Baratuza says in a statement that the alleged killer of Maj. Dieudonne Karashira has been arrested and is under interrogation. He has no information on the possible motive behind the Wednesday night attack.

This is the latest incident in nearly two years of political violence sparked by President Pierre Nkurunziza’s decision to extend his rule beyond two terms.

Karashira was attached to Cankuzo military camp about 200 kilometers (124 miles) from the capital, Bujumbura.

Baratuza says Karashira was in charge of intelligence at the military camp and was killed while on patrol.

Burundi accuses Rwanda of backing rebels opposed to Nkurunziza, charges that Rwanda denies.

January 27, 2017
Adama Barrow returns to warm welcome as Gambia turns a page

{President Adama Barrow may have been waiting to take power in The Gambia for nearly two months but many in the west African country have been longing for a change of guard for years.}

Yahya Jammeh held on to power for so long that many Gambians almost began to believe his claim he would rule for “a billion years” if Allah willed it.

But after 22 years in the saddle, he lost the December 1 election but refused to cede power. Jammeh only left the country on Saturday and went into exile in Equatorial Guinea under threat of a regional military intervention.

“We have waited 22 years for this. We give him (Barrow) all our trust,” said Ibrahima Jahama, plastering a billboard on the way to the airport in the capital Banjul ahead of the new president’s arrival on Thursday.

{{Heavy security }}

At Banjul international airport meanwhile, marching bands were preparing to welcome a different president home amid heavy security provided by Senegalese and Nigerian special forces.

When Barrow finally arrived from neighbouring Senegal, where he has been living for safety reasons since January 15, dignitaries on the tarmac almost seemed to breathe a sigh of relief that Barrow was safe and sound.

“I’m a happy man today. It was part of the struggle and I think the bad part is finished now,” Barrow told journalists before climbing into a reinforced vehicle and waving to fans out of the sunroof.

His supporters packed onto vans and taxis to follow him, immediately blocking all traffic and replicating the mobile rallies that he held as a candidate in November, where the streets filled with Barrow fans: a defiant gesture in a country where protest was largely illegal.

PEACE, LOVE, UNITY!

The long wait gave Barrow’s supporters a chance to begin the party early in the kilometres of gridlocked traffic that stretched back from his convoy.

“Peace, love and unity!” shouted Binta Makah, swinging her legs off the top of a mini bus.

“We have freedom of speech”, her friend Mariana Darboe told AFP, shouting down from the roof.

Once it became clear no one was moving on the one road back into town, perhaps for several hours, engines were switched off and the dancing and drumming began.

“The moment I saw the president, I felt like I was entering paradise,” said Musa Kitteh, a young man wearing a Barrow T-shirt, who had driven to the airport with a dozen friends, “because he brings freedom to us.”

{{Keeping political opinions secret }}

With tears pricking his eyes, Kitteh continued: “We cannot even emphasise… during Jammeh’s time, we were in a dictatorship. Nobody say your opinions because whatever he decides, we are going to do.”

For Gambians, Barrow’s arrival means the end of looking over a shoulder at all time for the secret police, and of keeping political opinions secret, even among friends.

“You can go home at night and sleep without worrying you will be arrested before daybreak,” pensioner Ibrahima Gaye told AFP earlier in the day.

Gambians ranging from ministers to farmers have disappeared due to the actions of Jammeh’s National Intelligence Agency (NIA) and his feared “Jungler” death squad, locals and rights groups say.

The relief that this era was over was clear.

“I pray for him: let God help him, said taxi driver Amadou Ba, speaking of Barrow.

But everyone admitted the new president faced an uphill task having inherited a dysfunctional economy, a highly politicised security force and a drain of young talent seeking better lives in Europe.

January 27, 2017
Museveni’s rule through the eyes of 1986 babies

{On the day President Museveni formally announced takeover of government 31 years ago, a peasant family in the Ntungamo District was thrilled but for an entirely different reason: the birth of a baby boy. }

The parents named him Constantine Ahimbisibwe, a surname meaning “praise him”. This was to acclaim him as God’s gift but not to validate the Kalashnikov rifle-slinging National Resistance Army (NRA) rebels’ march on Kampala.

As President Museveni walked to the podium yesterday to give an account of his three decades in power, making him Africa’s fifth longest-serving leader, Mr Ahimbisibwe, who lives in southwestern Uganda, said his headache will be how to put food on the table for his family of four.

“Life has been miserable because I get problems accessing basic necessities,” said the Senior Four drop-out and father of two.

With inadequate employable skills, Mr Ahimbisibwe’s struggles epitomise his generation’s dilemma and the general divide of the Ugandan society where progress has concentrated opportunities and riches in the hands of a few.

It is the kind of inequality which, according to Oxfam International’s January 18, 2017 report titled “An economy for the 1 per cent”, has enabled the world’s wealthiest 62 people amass as much fortune as half of the global population.

“My biggest trepidation is the likely war between the poor and the rich,” former Museveni government minister Aggrey Awori said of the Ugandan situation. “The gap is getting wider and tribalised. Once the inequality becomes ethnicised, it becomes dangerous.”

Both inequality and sectarianism are two of many ills that the President set forth to fight after seizing power in 1986.

“The third point in our programme is the question of the unity of our country,” he said in his January 29, 1986 inaugural speech on the foyer of Parliament. The crowd thundered.

He added: “Past regimes have used sectarianism to divide people along religious and tribal lines…Politics is about the provision of roads, water, drugs, in hospitals and schools for children.”

To Mr Museveni’s credit, the Universal Primary Education (UPE) his government introduced in 1997, has increased primary school enrolment from 2.5 million to about eight million today. Mr Gershom Nuwemuhwezi, a lecturer at Bishop Stuart University, is a UPE beneficiary. His mother in 1986 began experiencing birth pangs while vending bananas at a market in Kazo in Kiruhura, the President’s home district, and delivered at the nearby Kazo Health Centre III (now Health Centre IV).

{{Period of peace}}

With a First Class Bachelor’s degree and a Master’s degree pinned to his lapel, Mr Nuwemuhwezi recaps his life lived under one president as a period of “peace and luck”.

“We lived hand-to-mouth,” he said, “While growing up, most of the places were hard-to-reach, and one would even fear to travel at night. But now I board the night bus to go and study at Uganda Christian University [in Mukono] without having to worry about who is seated next to me.” The overnight travels, previously considered precarious due to possible ambushes, are happening across the country.

Peace and stability, discounted in northern Uganda by the protracted Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) insurgency that ended in 2005, alongside management of the army and economy are President’s flagship feats. They have earned Uganda regional and international acclaim, projecting the country’s profile.

Besides, Uganda’s gross domestic product under Museveni’s watch increased from $4b (about Shs14 trillion) in 1986 to $33b (about Shs115.5 trillion) in 2013, according to World Bank figures, expanding eight times almost the same as Kenya’s which within the same period jumped from $7.2b to $55b.

In Uganda, what Mr Awori calls “unprecedented corruption” threatens the dividends of this growth in spite of a plethora of institutions such as the Inspectorate of Government, the Directorate of Public Prosecutions, the police and the Anti-Corruption Court assembled to fight graft.

Transparency International’s 2016 Corruption Perception Index report released yesterday ranked Uganda among 25 countries with the worst graft record, and it dropped 12 places from its previous year’s rating.

Eliminating corruption, together with other vices such as tribalism, were among 10 priorities in NRA/M’s must-do-list. Political opponents have accused the President of practicing ‘naked’ nepotism. His wife is the Education minister, their son, who was a teenager in 1986, bypassed predecessors and rose to a one-star general within 12 years to command the country’s Special Forces, before being re-assigned this month as his father’s adviser, a similar role the President’s brother Salim Saleh plays.

Mr Museveni has defended this family-web as a “sacrifice”, not favouritism. Critics call the semantics obscurantism, the parlance the President used in his inaugural address to explain a brand of politics “where ideas are deliberately obscured so that what is false appears to be true and vice versa”.

Mr Elly James Makholo was born in June 1986, but after obtaining a diploma in Social Works and Social Administration from UCU last year, the unemployment reality staring at him contrasts the lofty promises of education.

Unfulfilled aspirations, said Mr Ofwono Opondo, a government spokesman, is likely to alienate the masses from the NRM because people generally have a “high expectation” due to prevailing peace and government’s robust investment in infrastructure.

The construction of Karuma and Isimba dams, once completed next year, will increase electricity supply from the current 852 megawatts to 1,635, likely to spur industrialisation which is at the heart of the incumbent President’s programme to transform Uganda.

For Mr Makholo in Mbale District, there is the disappointment of poor quality public service and joblessness. The construction of Bukeinde Health Centre III in 2014 reduced the walking distance to the nearest health facility to his home by more than two kilometres under the decentralisation policy meant to bring services closer to the people..

“Most of the time, patients are there but there are no drugs. That’s the life we are living,” said Mr Makholo, a leader of Mbale Youth Ministry. His embrace of ministering to the youth mirrors the gust in Pentecostal movement in the country -and the appeal of prosperity gospel- shown in the almost 7 percentage point rise in number of Pentecostals in the decade to the 2014 National Housing and Population Census.
The uneven benefits of Museveni rule contrasts with the chosen theme for today’s anniversary; “Success under NRM: a shared victory”.

Obliterating 27 rebel groups and winning five consecutive elections, questions about vote rigging notwithstanding, have made Mr Museveni the only constant in a changing Uganda. Concerns about how he departs from the scene when the time comes – whether through force, ballot or natural causes- ties Ugandans’ fate to his own.
Mr Opondo said a disruption would be unlikely because “safety valves through democratic elections have provided adequate platforms for citizens to vent…and the elite are unable to merge their concerns with that of the masses”.

January 27, 2017