Tag: GreatLakesNews

{Dozens of rivers across the country have dried up as millions of Kenyans continue to face starvation due to the prevailing drought.}

The prolonged dry spell has seen many pupils leave school to help their parents draw water from distant sources.

Ms Esther Michere from Ngambari in Embu county said school children were walking to draw water in Tana River in groups and feared being attacked by crocodiles.

“We have been walking long distances to fetch water since tap water is not available,” she said.

Mr Kamau Nyutu, a resident of Kiamuringa village, said schools in Mbeere are also hard hit, with the feeding programmes collapsing in some primary and day secondary schools due to lack of water after exhausting supplies in tanks and neighbouring rivers drying up.

He said many institutions had been forced to close down the water closets and students now use latrines to save on water.

Mr Nyutu called for immediate intervention, saying many schools might be forced to close by February unless it rains.

Thousands of residents in the county were staring at starvation after three permanent rivers in the lower parts of the county dried up.

Rivers Thuci, Thiba and Ena that are relied upon by residents of Evurore, Muminji, Kirie, Kiambere and Makima wards have dried up, forcing residents to walk for long distances in search of water.

The rivers are major tributaries of River Tana, whose waters have receded to alarmingly low levels, leaving thousands facing famine.

Area residents led by MCAs Albert Kigoro (Evurore), Ms Peninah Mutua (Makima) and Ms Loise Mbuya (nominated), said the region had not experienced rainfall since November while people living upstream have diverted water to their farms for irrigation.

Mbeere Muguka Farmers Sacco Limited chairman Francis Kimori, together with Mr Kamau Nyutu, said farmers were travelling long distances to buy water for their Muguka plants (a cheaper variety of miraa).

Ms Mutua said a major row was brewing since some farmers had diverted Thiba River leaving those downstream without access.

“There are farmers upstream in Don Bosco and Gachuriri who are diverting water to their farms. People are relying on some stagnant water at the river bend which is very risky. We are keeping our fingers crossed that an outbreak of waterborne disease does not occur since it would be bad,” she said.

National Drought Management Authority Embu county coordinator Tarsilah Birauka had in October warned that the region would experience low rainfall.

The situation was equally grim in Machakos county with leaders urging the government to introduce the school-feeding programme in lower Eastern following crop failure in the region caused by drought.

A Kangundo constituency parliamentary aspirant, Fabian Kyule, said many families in the region are in need of relief food because they are facing starvation and children were also likely to drop out of school.

‘’The government needs to help families across the region,’’ he added.

In Tana River county, more than 50,000 people are facing starvation following a persistent drought that has ravaged most parts of the arid and semi-arid county.

Area Governor Hussein Dado has warned that the figure could rise to over 90,000 people, if the rains do not fall soon.

Mr Dado appealed to the national government, donor communities and other well-wishers to provide urgent help to avoid a human and animal disaster in Tana Delta, Tana North and Tana River sub-counties.

“Let us not wait until we hear reports of deaths; already my people are faced with starvation and, as the county government, we have done our best with the little resources we have. We appeal for urgent aid from the national government and our development partners,” said Mr Dado.

Mr Dado said the county last experienced such severe drought in 1984 when rain failure ravaged residents of Galole and Bura. Many were forced to abandon their homes and migrate to Garsen constituency which was then the county’s food basket.

He said his government has suspended pending projects and diverted funds towards drought mitigation, spending Sh250 million towards water trucking and another Sh160 million on relief food.

The governor said the situation was worrying due to mass deaths of livestock and massive crop failure leaving both the herding and farming populations without any alternative source of income.

“The River Tana, which is relied on for farming, has dried up and everywhere you go, you will see carcasses all over. The situation is worrying everybody,” said Mr Dado.

He added: “We have undertaken water trucking to 253 centres where wells, water pans and dams have dried up due to the drought but still we have a long way to go in saving the situation”.

{The reported re-emergence of M23 rebels in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo could present a security problem for President Joseph Kabila, who is currently facing political resistance. There are fears that the rebel insurgents could unleash chaos in the already fragile east of the country. }

When Kinshasa initially raised the red flag saying that a group of M23 rebels had crossed over from Uganda and captured a village in the eastern region, the Ugandan government denied the claims. But on Thursday, Kampala confirmed that 40 members of the rebel group interned in a military base in western Uganda had escaped from the camp, while more than 100 were arrested as they tried to cross over to the DRC. Conflicting reports indicate that a bigger number could have escaped from the Bihanga Army Barracks.

Ugandan government spokesperson Ofwono Opondo confirmed that a group of rebels were intercepted in the western Uganda district of Mbarara on their way to the DRC. But a government statement did not indicate how many had escaped.

“The Ugandan government would like to inform the public and the international community that the M23 rebels that have been cantoned at Bihanga Military Training School in Ibanda district since the Agreement of 2014 have been quietly escaping into the general public and some to unknown places,” the statement reads. “Last night, Uganda security intercepted four vehicles at Mbarara carrying 101 former M23 combatants who were travelling to the DRC.”

According to the statement, the rebels had disguised themselves as ordinary passengers and upon interrogation, it was established that they were part of the M23 former combatants who had been cantoned at Bihanga Barracks.

{{Loyalty}}

“They were stealthily leaving their gazetted place of abode contrary to the Agreement of 2014 and the protocols signed with the DRC government,” said Mr Opondo.

Only 270 of the 1,400 former rebels who were at Bihanga remain while others either escaped or were repatriated willingly.

In August last year, President Yoweri Museveni in a meeting with his Congolese counterpart said that about 730 former rebels were still at Bihanga. The rebels arrived in Uganda in 2013 after they were defeated by the United Nations joint intervention force. Over 600 fled to Rwanda after the rebel group, which was created by mutineering soldiers in 2012, split into two.

In Rwanda, less than 200 ex-rebels remain interned in a camp in the country’s eastern province district of Ngoma, while more than a dozen have been repatriated. More than 400 joined their families in DRC quietly while others declared themselves refugees.

A source among the rebels confirmed that the former rebels have been regrouping secretly, and are likely to re-emerge under a different name.

“Our concerns were not addressed. Our leaders did not push the government to meet our terms which were set in the December 2013 Peace Agreement. The other reason is because President Kabila is staying in office despite his term expiring,” the source said.

The source further said that they are not led by the former rebel commander Col Sultani Makenga who remains in Uganda and neither are they loyal to Bishop Jean Marie Runiga and former M23 commanders in the breakaway group that fled to Rwanda.

The source confirmed that the breakaway group has support within DRC and is composed mainly of former rebels who were in Uganda and Rwanda. While a large number of the rebels refused to be repatriated citing lack of government will to honour the terms in the peace deal, others feared for their lives.

Kigali has not spoken out on the new developments.

{{National Park}}

Conflicting reports on an alleged attack last weekend indicate that the rebels had captured a small town west of Ishasha, Uganda, before the DRC government forces engaged them.

“They made an incursion from Uganda at Ishasha in two columns, and the Congolese armed forces have dealt with them for now,” said government spokesman Lambert Mende, referring to a border crossing near Virunga National Park.

The Governor of North Kivu Province Julien Paluku, said that the Congolese government forces have beefed up security near the border with Uganda in Virunga National Park.

“We are on alert. At this point we don’t have a clear picture but our forces will ensure that the security of the country is not destabilised,” he said in a phone interview.

Jason Stearns, a political analyst and researcher focusing on DRC said that as long as the fate of the hard core of M23, some 50 officers, is not addressed, either by arresting them or giving them amnesty, they will remain guns for hire, adding that relations between Congo and Uganda have deteriorated in recent weeks.

“The UPDF crackdown in Kasese in November shows signs of that, as well as the M23 episode. And I am sure that political turmoil in both Kampala and Kinshasa have fed into that,” said Mr Stearn.

The developments have presented a stumbling block for President Kabila, who has promised to step down by April 2018.

{Burundi has “rescinded” the withdrawal of its troops from the peacekeeping mission in Somalia, after African Union Peace and Security Commissioner Smail Chergui signed an agreement on payments with the government.}

The African Union Mission in Somalia (Amisom), pays soldiers $1,028 each per month, then the respective governments deduct $200 for administrative costs before remitting the remainder to the soldiers.

Mr Chergui last week met Burundi’s First Vice President Gaston Sindimwo in Bujumbura and signed a deal on remittances of soldiers’ dues.

“We found a way to deal with this issue in collaboration with the European Union and the Burundian government,” he said.

In December last year, Burundi’s President Pierre Nkurunziza threatened to sue the African Union for failure to pay its troops serving under Amisom for more than one year.

“We have agreed that the Burundian troops in Somalia will be paid their salaries and that they won’t be segregated from other peacekeepers in Somalia, so the withdrawal of troops is not an option,” said Mr Sindimwo.

European Union-Burundi relations have deteriorated since 2015 when the bloc suspended aid to Burundi after President Nkurunziza vied for another term despite protests by opposition and civil society. The international community said that there were many cases of human rights violations in the country when violent protests erupted.

With 5,432 soldiers in Somalia, Burundi is the second leading contributor of troops to Amisom after Uganda. Other contributors are Kenya, Ethiopia and Djibouti.

Earlier on, Uganda’s former Chief of Defence Forces Gen Katumba Wamala warned of a serious security crisis in Somalia if Burundi withdrew its troops.

“It will have a negative impact on the mission and also dilutes the African effort of working together to solve our problems,” he said.

{According to eyewitnesses, the fire started about 4.30am, from a restaurant, spreading to the butcheries and other stalls nearby.}

Traders operating in Kitooro market, Entebbe, are counting losses after fire razed several of their kiosks and shops.

According to eyewitnesses, the fire started about 4.30am, from a restaurant, spreading to the butcheries and other stalls close by.

Mr Moses Kasozi, a trader who was at the scene by press time said other traders were called to rescue their property about 5:00am.

“We reached here when the flames were still huge, and we did our best to salvage what we could. We thank our fire brigade for they arrived on time to help us put out the fire,” he said.

Though the cause of the fire remains unknown, Entebbe police station O.C fire brigade ASP Steven Karugayo said charcoal stoves in the restaurants could have sparked it off.

“We discovered that people leave their beans on cooking stoves so as to find them ready in the morning. The structures’ of their kiosks being wooden, it’s easy for the fire to spread, but as police we are going to investigate and find out the cause of the fire,” he said.

Mayor Vincent Kayanja while addressing journalists referred to the incidents as sad at a time when the traders were about to be relocated to the temporary site at Kiwafu playgrounds.

{President Uhuru Kenyatta’s voter registration drive in central Kenya was disrupted in Nyeri after heavy rains pounded the region when he started to address a crowd on Friday.
}

Pushed by the crowd to pray, the president started his meeting with a short prayer – in Kikuyu – asking God to bless the community with rainfall.

When the crowd asked the president to pray for them, the head of state caused laughter saying that he is a politician and not a pastor.

“What I do best is politics,” he said. But the crowd was unrelenting.

He agreed.

“Our God we pray for peace in our country, give us rains so that our animals have something to eat. We pray for a good harvest in our farms and growth in our country. We pray for victory,” the president prayed in Kikuyu.

Minutes later, it poured heavily though dark clouds had already gathered before the meeting started.

Following the rains, the president’s team cancelled a rally scheduled at Kiganjo.

Social media was abuzz with praise for Mr Kenyatta for making an effectual prayer. Others said it was just a coincidence.

Laban Thuo, a Facebook user, posted, “His Excellency the President Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta, just like our respectable distinguished fore-fathers and elders prayed for our nation in Nyeri for rain and it really rained. That’s a sign!!!! For better things ahead.”

Other termed him a prophet “Believe me our president is not only a leader but a prophet, after he prayed for rain in Nyeri, a few minutes later it rained,” Doreen Magambo said.

“This means a lot. If our President could land in Nyeri and the Lord answers his prayer even before he leaves the place, I can only imagine what would happen to this country if he called for a day of prayer and fasting and he led it himself,” Catherine Kabiri posted.

The two-hour downpour led to clogging of the drainage system in some parts of the lower while roofs in some buildings leaked.

Various parts of the country are experiencing a long dry spell that has lead to biting drought.

{Burundi’s 327,000 refugees are not mere victims but also active citizens, many remaining actively engaged in the country’s problems.}

Burundi will soon mark two years since it was propelled into a political crisis by President Pierre Nkurunziza’s determination to be elected to a third term in power. As it stands, more than 327,000 of Burundi’s 11 million people have now sought refuge outside the country according to UN figures from early 2017 – nearly all fleeing since the crisis erupted.

This calamity reverses a decade of refugee returns after the 1993-2005 civil war, and a new surge of people fleeing in late-2016 risks overwhelming the woefully underfunded humanitarian response.

Most live in camps in neighbouring Tanzania, which has hosted Burundian refugees since the 1970s. Others are in Uganda, Rwanda or the Democratic Republic of Congo, while a smaller number live in urban centres, especially Kigali, where many are not registered as refugees.

Despite many people fleeing, the Burundian government has been trying to project a sense of control, arguing that the crisis has passed. It claims that most refugees are either insurgents or have fallen victim to the economic problems brought about, in their eyes, by international sanctions.

At the UN General Assembly in September 2016, Burundi’s foreign minister controversially claimed that many of its refugees are returning voluntarily and that the country was now stable enough for a policy of returns to be pursued. However, the assassination of a government minister on 1 January, a failed attack on a government spokesman in November, and numerous less high-profile acts of violence and terror, show that Burundi remains deeply troubled.

“The breakdown in mediation will further dent refugees’ hopes”

At the same time, East African Community mediation led by former Tanzanian President Benjamin Mkapa reached an impasse in December when he stated that the legitimacy of President Nkurunziza should not be questioned. The exiled opposition read this as blatant support for what they see as a dictatorial regime. The breakdown in mediation will further dent refugees’ hopes of an early resolution to the crisis and increase their frustrations.

During the course of 2016, Crisis Group interviewed over 50 Burundian refugees from all walks of life, and from both Tutsi and Hutu ethnic communities, in Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya and, for a few with some money and connections, Belgium. We asked three questions: How and why did you leave the country? What problems do you face in exile? And how do you envisage your future and that of your country?

From the responses, and drawing on long, field research-based knowledge of Burundi, three broad conclusions emerged.

{{1) The refugee crisis is a result of political oppression}}

Despite government statements, which some diplomats and international officials have been willing to believe, most exiles have fled a violent political crisis, many in fear for their lives. The impression of internal stability projected by the government is simply incompatible with the still-growing number of refugees.

Nearly all we spoke to fled violence by the police, intelligence services or the ruling party’s militia, the Imbonerakure, who have been threatening, abducting and killing opponents (or so-called opponents) throughout the country.

Repression spiked in the immediate aftermath of the attempted coup against Nkurunziza in May 2015 and after an attack on military camps in December 2015. Following the December assaults, security forces and the Imbonerakure increasingly targeted Tutsis.

“All this attests to political violence being at the heart of decisions to leave.”

Some refugees left the country having been tipped off that their life was in danger, while others had already been attacked or had lost relatives. Police controls on the country’s borders increasingly forced refugees to pay their way through or sneak out at night.

Some took children with them, others left family members behind. Some have friends in detention. We gathered accounts of rape, some ethnically targeted, and of torture. All this attests to political violence being at the heart of decisions to leave.

{{2) Burundi’s human capital is draining away}}

The flight of many of the country’s best educated and most entrepreneurial citizens, and a large number of its teachers, will cause significant long-term damage. It will also add to a growing economic crisis with traditional donors and investors shunning the country.

A very small minority of refugees with social connections or economic capital have been able to start a small business or find employment with relatives. But many have lost their businesses and properties and are seeking out menial work far below their qualifications, generating frustration and hurt pride. Others have had to leave their land, in many cases only recently recovered after previous periods of exile. A number of refugees had fled the country before, in some cases up to five times.

The energy and capacity formerly engaged in working to build up the Burundian economy or educating its future workforce is now absorbed by daily problems: feeding a family; dealing with administration; negotiating relations with local communities; finding employment; getting medical care, including dealing with psychological and physical trauma; accessing services in a foreign language; or, for the elite, trying to travel without an up-to-date Burundian passport.

{{3) The refugee crisis will have long-term political consequences}}

Burundi has spent over ten years recovering from a brutal civil war and trying to regain greater social cohesion. But the recent violence and oppression has brought the fractures of the past back to the surface, accentuated by and accelerating the outflow of refugees.

As recent research shows, many of those who have fled were particularly vulnerable because they were never properly integrated when they returned after the civil war. Many were regarded as politically suspect and land restitution was very poorly managed.

“Our research shows that refugees are not mere victims but also active citizens”

Despite their problems abroad, many are determined to stay politically active. One young exile in Kigali said that to not engage in politics would be a “betrayal of those left behind”. He had joined the recently-formed International Movement of Burundian Youth (MIJB) to make sure the voice of young people in exile was heard in debates on the country’s future.

Such initiatives demonstrate a desire for solidarity, not just among refugees, but with those left behind. However, repression by the Burundian government, including assassination attempts, has spread to asylum countries, generating mistrust among Burundian exiles who often wonder who may be in the pay of the authorities in Bujumbura.

A population of over 300,000 refugees – mainly young, some educated and with justified grievances against the government – is a ticking time bomb in a region where political causes often end up being fought for in the bush.

Those we talked to saw their future with a mix of fear and uncertainty. The vast majority held President Nkurunziza responsible for the crisis and constantly underlined the problem of impunity. Many feared being forced to return. With time, this anger has led to a desire amongst some to take up arms. But despite this, some also expressed hope for their country, citing the low levels of ethnic violence since the end of the war.

Most of all, our research shows that refugees are not mere victims but also active citizens, and while some may resign themselves to their fate or seek to move further abroad, many will remain actively engaged in their country’s problems. Their voices must be heard in future political dialogues.

{Uganda has detained 101 former M23 rebels trying to return to neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo, breaking a deal to demobilize after their defeat in 2013, a government spokesman said Thursday.}

The former fighters, who had been staying in Ugandan camps after years of fighting in chaotic eastern Congo, were picked up in west Uganda in the region of Mbarara as they tried to sneak into Congo in disguise, the spokesman said.

Congo’s government reported the rebel moves last week amid mounting opposition to Congolese President Joseph Kabila, who has decided to stay in office beyond his mandate that expired last month. Protests have raised fears of a civil war.

“The Uganda Security intercepted four vehicles at Mbarara that were carrying 101 former M23 combatants who were traveling on their way to Democratic Republic of Congo,” spokesman Ofwono Opondo said in a statement.

He said the former fighters had been detained after they were caught trying to disguise who they were, adding that the ex-rebels were violating a deal reached in 2014 for them to stay in the Ugandan camps.

{{Initially unconcerned}}

Uganda was initially dismissive, with a minister telling Reuters this week he didn’t know or care whether the rebels went missing. Thursday’s statement was Uganda’s first confirmation of the movement.

“That confirms the information that we had since three days ago,” said Congo’s Foreign Minister Leonard She Okitundu. “For us, it’s a good thing. It shows that the Ugandan government is willing to cooperate with Congo to avoid any armed incursions.”

Opondo said 270 former M23 fighters were still at Bihanga Barracks in Uganda, but added that a separate group of 40 had escaped a week ago and their whereabouts were still unclear.

The M23 was the largest of dozens of armed groups in the DRC and controlled huge swaths of its mining heartland in the east.

{The replaced clause provided for such elections to “be conducted after consultations and consensus by the political parties and other Members of Parliament.”}

A heated debate heralded a vote in Parliament to scrap the provisions of party consensus in the consideration for elections of members to the East African Legislative Assembly.

The passed amendment provides for the accommodation of special interest groups in compliance with demands of the Equal Opportunity Commission.

“The Speaker shall ensure that the members elected under Rule 12, in as much as is feasible, represent the various political parties represented in the House, shades of opinion, gender and other special interest groups in Uganda,” reads the amended provision.

The replaced clause provided for such elections to “be conducted after consultations and consensus by the political parties and other Members of Parliament.”

Ms Ruth Nankabirwa, the government chief whip, told Daily Monitor that the scrapping of the consensus gives breathing space to the ruling National Resistance Movement with majority numbers in the House, saving it from court battles over EALA polls.

“Now all the power lies in the hands of the Speaker, there is no more need for consensus as has been the case… we are now going to sit with the Speaker and see whether to maintain the status-quo (on numbers) but putting into consideration, the interest groups,” Ms Nankabirwa said.

The status-quo grants six out of the nine EALA slots to the ruling party, 2 to the Opposition and only one to independents.

With the independents coming as second to the NRM in the composition of the 10th Parliament, debates remains on whether the Opposition will stage a fight to retain their slots or retain a single slot.

“I cannot be certain but I guess the independents will not just sit and watch,” said Ms Nankabirwa.

Shadow Attorney General Wilfred Nuwagaba said that the decision was in respect to the 2012 ruling of the East African Court of Justice where Anita Among (Independent-Bukedea) then an EALA candidate for the Opposition Forum for Democratic Change challenged the aspect of consensus, which consensus was provided for after the election and held no relevance to aggrieved parties

“We have virtually transplanted the Article (50) and the treaty into our rules to restate the fact that the members elected must represent the various political parties represented in the House, shades of opinion and interest groups in the country,” Mr Nuwagaba said.

However, Mr Nuwagaba added that to achieve the new resolution there must be rigorous consensus prior to the elections given the current dynamics.

“This business of numerical strength, yes can be a factor but it shouldn’t be a major consideration because of course; the ruling party has the majority but if it wants all Ugandans to adopt the spirit of EAC then the business of winner takes it all should not apply,” he said.

The 10th Parliament has has MPs from the ruling National Resistance Movement, the Forum for Democratic Change, the Democratic Party and Uganda People’s Congress as well as a sizeable number of Independents.

There are four interest groups representing Workers, Women, the Youths and People with Disabilities.