IGIHE

Tag: GreatLakesNews

  • Kenya:Pressure mounting on Uhuru not to sign election Bill into law

    {Pressure is mounting from religious leaders on President Uhuru Kenyatta not to sign the election amendments Bill that were passed by Jubilee MPs on Thursday.
    }

    The changes that allow a manual back up in election management were effected during a stormy session in the National Assembly boycotted by Cord.

    The religious are calling for a return to the negotiating table between Jubilee and the opposition.

    The Evangelical Council of Kenya and the Supreme Council of Kenya Muslims joined the Catholic Church bishops on Friday in asking President Kenyatta to “rise above politics” and refuse to assent to the Bill until after negotiations.

    The laws will go to the Senate before President Kenyatta’s make-or-break signature.

    They seek to allow the electoral commission to use a “complementary alternative” in case the electronic system fails in the August 8, 2017 General Election.

    But Cord has said that was a recipe for chaos and election rigging. It has called on its supporters to go to the streets on January 4 to protest what they said was Jubilee’s assault on the will of the people.

    On Friday, the Evangelical Council of Kenya said in a statment: “We are asking President Kenyatta to display his magnanimity, by not assenting to the acrimonious amendments, until there is a consensus on the same. This will be in line with the Christmas spirit, which is about peace, joy and good towards all.”

    WAS DETRIMENTAL

    And like the Catholic bishops before them, the evangelicals said the way the laws were passed in the House was detrimental to the negotiations that birthed the now disputed law.

    There were claims of pepper spraying, injured MPs from fist-fights and a House that was cordoned off by heavily-armed police for the two days.

    “This political grandstanding, altercation and standoff must be stopped. We call on the government and the opposition to come back to the negotiating table,” the churches said.

    In their statement on Thursday evening after the special sitting the Catholic Justice and Peace Commission offered to lead the negotiations, again.

    During the National Assembly’s special sitting, the live broadcast was cut off, a journalist arrested and others locked out of the press gallery.

    The church had led the walk to bring truce to the two sides after five weeks of deadly and violent street protests when Cord demanded the removal of the Issack Hassan-led nine-member electoral commission.

    It also led to the creation of the 14-member bi-partisan joint select committee that created the new laws, which President Kenyatta and Cord leader Raila Odinga agreed will not be changed.

    “We urge you, Mr President, not to sign the amendments into laws, and that you give dialogue a chance,” the Bishops said.

    ‘OUR SUPPORT’

    “We assure you of all our support in building a stable, cohesive, democratic and prosperous Kenyan society.”

    Supkem Deputy Secretary General Hassan ole Naado on Thursday said that the amendments could lead to another round of violence, akin to the 2007/2008 post-election violence chaos that left 1,133 dead and over 650,000 displaced.

    “The president should rise above partisan interests by rejecting those amendments. Laws that come into place through negotiated processes cannot be brought back by one side and changed the way it happened in Parliament,” Mr Naado said in Narok.

    Kanu also said it will join the January demonstrations if no agreement is reached.

    “We will not sit back and watch as the government reverses electoral reforms,” party Secretary General Nick Salat said in a text message to the Nation.

    Meanwhile, Amani National Congress leader Musalia Mudavadi on Friday said that “the President ought to know no power is more potent than a determined people. The people of Kenya being masters of their own fate must rise up against an increasingly intolerant regime,” Mr Mudavadi said in a statement.

    “The track record of this regime is to sign agreements it never intends to keep.

    ‘BE SWINDLED’

    ‘‘It doesn’t matter whether they are cheating the teacher or doctor. To Jubilee, everyone should be swindled. To them, the only advantage they seek is how to contravene the Constitution,” said Mr Mudavadi.

    He condemned the way the laws were passed, also castigating House Majority Leader Aden Duale for reprimanding High Court Judge George Odunga.

    “That the President has no respect for the Constitution is confirmed by the President ceding the moral high ground for which he was elected as the symbol of national unity to propagating chaos. It is now obvious that Uhuru is setting the ground for a rigged and violent election that will give him an excuse to retain power,” he said.

    Jubilee and Cord brigades on Friday held on to their hardline stances, each saying that their positions were backed by reason and international practice.

    Mr Raphael Tuju, the head of the Jubilee secretariat and his Cord counterpart Norman Magayu differ sharply in commentaries on the issue. They both give the same examples from African countries but with different intepretations.

    President Uhuru Kenyatta at the official opening of the German manufacturer Volkswagen's production line at Kenya Vehicle Manufactures in Thika, Kiambu on December 21, 2016.

  • By-election candidates’ campaigns take off

    {A total of 83 parliamentary and councillorship candidates for Tanzania Mainland and Zanzibar have been approved by the National Electoral Commission (NEC) to vie for the anticipated January 23, 2017 elections.}

    In line with the approval, the commission has granted permission for campaigns to begin as from yesterday to January 21, next year.

    Addressing journalists in Dar es Salaam, yesterday, the newly appointed NEC Chairman, Judge Semistocles Kaijage, noted that there were 11 parliamentary candidates for Dimani Constituency in Zanzibar and a further 72 candidates for councillorship on the Mainland.

    “The candidates for the councillorship emanates from 13 political parties from 20 councils, consisting of 67 males and five females. All the 11 candidates contesting the parliamentary seat in Dimani are men,” said Judge Kaijage.

    Elections for Dimani constituency come following the death of Mr Hafidh Ali Tahir of the Chama cha Mapinduzi (CCM) who passed away last month at Dodoma General Hospital where he was receiving medical treatment.

    He named the candidates as Hamad Musa of ACT Wazalendo, Issa Abdulkhadir (ADC), Juma Juma (CCM), Abdalah Khamis (Chauma) and Abdulrazak Ramadhani of CUF.

    The rest are Peter Magwira (DP), Ali Abdalla (NRA) Amour Ali (SAU), Pandu Pandu (TLP), Abdulsamad Ali (UMD) as well as Barik Omar from UPDP. The wards include Igomba and Ikweha in Iringa, Magu and Tanga (Ruvuma), Kasansa (Katavi), Kijichi (Dar es Salaam), Kiwanja cha Ndege (Morogoro), Misugusugu (Coast Region), Mateves and Ngarenanyuki (Arusha), Lembeni (Kilimanjaro), Duru (Manyara) and Ng’ambi and Ihumwa in Dodoma.

    Others are Kinampundu (Singida), Malya and Kahumulo (Mwanza), Isaghe (Shinyanga), Nkome (Geita) and Kimwani (Kagera). Judge Kaijage said the approval is in accordance with Section 37 (1) (b) of The National Elections Act, Article 343 and Section 41(1) of the Local Government Elections Act, Article 292. He cautioned the candidates on peaceful campaigns by adhering to election rules and regulations along with proper schedule. The proper campaign time is from 8:00 am to 6:00 pm.

    “Ethics committees have already been established in various levels with the role of supervising implementation of ethics throughout the campaign period,” noted the Chairman.

    He however pointed out that six objections have already been filed, of which five are from Ihumwa Ward in Dodoma municipality and from Isagehe Ward, in Kahama Township. The committees are responsible for striking a balance between the parties in case of any concerns during the campaigns.

    “This schedule was supported by all participating political parties as per the requirements of the law and presented to the elections supervisors seven days before the appointment,” he said.

    From Zanzibar, Issa Yussuf reports that the National Electoral Commission (NEC) has endorsed eleven candidates contesting the January 22, 2017 Dimani Constituency of Unguja-West ‘B’ District by-elections which fell vacant after the death of its MP, Mr Hafidh Ali Tahir, last month.

    Ms Fatma Gharib- election Returning Officer (RO), said eleven political parties and their candidates will slog it out for the parliamentary seat, appealing for decent campaign throughout the ‘battle’ and respect to whoever wins.

    The candidates and political parties contesting the election are all men.

    “We still remind the candidates and their fans to abide to ethics and election regulations. We need to remain in peace before and after the polls,” Ms Gharib said yesterday when NRA party opened its campaign for Dimani.

    The Civic United Front (CUF) and Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM), the main political rivals, launch their campaign after Christmas holidays.

  • Burundi threatens to sue AU over unpaid peacekeepers’ allowances

    {Burundi will sue the African Union over months of unpaid wages for its peacekeeping soldiers serving under the continental organization in Somalia, President Pierre Nkurunziza said.}

    The troops helping to restore peace and security in the Horn of Africa nation haven’t received allowances for 10 months after the European Union, which finances the AU mission, froze their pay as part of sanctions against Burundi to persuade the government to resolve a political crisis sparked by Nkurunziza’s decision to run for another term.

    “All that belongs to Burundi cannot, under any circumstances, be diverted,” Nkurunziza said in remarks broadcast by state television. “We will sue them until they pay us with damages,” he said, without elaborating in which court the government would file the suit.

    The peacekeeping force known as Amisom has 22,126 soldiers and police officers from six African nations, including Sierra Leone, Ethiopia, Djibouti and Kenya. Burundi has contributed 5,432 troops, second only to Uganda’s 6,223, according to its website.

    There are talks between the United Nations and the African Union to settle the matter, Hubert Price, who heads the UN Support Office in Somalia, told reporters in the capital, Mogadishu, last month.

  • DRC Ruling Alliance, opposition resume talks

    {In the Democratic Republic of Congo, members of the presidential alliance and the country’s main opposition coalition met again Thursday to try to hammer out a deal on delayed elections. Mediators from the Catholic Church say the two sides need to reach an agreement before Christmas, but so far neither side is showing signs of compromise.}

    The Archbishop of Kisangani, Monseigneur Marcel Utembi, took a firm line as he reopened the talks in Kinshasa.

    Utembi said the church mediators are not inclined to look favorably on further undue postponements and delaying tactics. He expressed the church’s firm wish that a compromise be found before Christmas.

    Utembi is the president of CENCO, the organization that represents the Congolese Catholic Church, which is mediating the dispute over delayed elections. The talks were suspended Saturday while a delegation of Congolese archbishops visited the pope to seek guidance on the crisis.

    During the break, at midnight Monday, DRC President Joseph Kabila’s elected mandate expired. He intends to remain in office until polls can be held.

    The leader of the Rassemblement, the country’s main opposition coalition, Etienne Tshisekedi, responded by declaring Kabila “illegitimate” and calling the population to “peaceful resistance.”

    Security forces, heavily deployed since last week, put down sporadic demonstrations that started early Tuesday and continued into Wednesday in Kinshasa and other Congolese cities.

    Human Rights Watch says security forces have killed 34 people and it is still verifying additional reports. The police have given a lower toll. A spokesman told reporters Wednesday that 21 civilians have been killed, most by stray bullets or while engaged in looting. The police said one of their officers was also killed.

    But the Rassemblement has returned to the negotiating table.

    The secretary general of Tshisekedi’s party, Jean-Marc Kabund, spoke to journalists as the talks resumed.

    He says, “We have come to find a solution as to the illegitimacy and illegality of Mr. Kabila. We have come to negotiate the departure of Mr. Kabila from power. That is all the population needs to know.”

    The Rassemblement boycotted talks earlier this year that provisionally set the presidential election for April 2018. The electoral commission says it needs time to prepare an updated voter roll.

    Kabila has so far refused to agree to the Rassemblement’s demand he publicly commit to not seeking a third term, which is forbidden by the Constitution.

    The coordinator of the youth activism group the Fourth Way, Jean-Marie Kalonji, does not see the point of further dialogue.

    Kalonji told VOA that CENCO must explain to the people why the negotiations are continuing because the people of the DRC are turning the page and Kabila is no longer president. He says the dialogue does not make any sense and that is why the Congolese youth protested on December 19th without the opposition calling for it.

    Tensions do not look to be abating any time soon. A police spokesman said that the enhanced security presence will remain in place until the end of the year.

    Monseigneur Marcel Utembi, a Catholic church mediator arrives for a meeting in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2016.

  • South Sudan peace talks: Museveni meets Kiir in Juba

    {The President who was in South Sudan for a one-day official, said the fighting groups should focus on elections due in 2018, not violence.}

    President Museveni on Thursday told the warring parties in South Sudan to stop fighting stop and “give peace and democracy a chance”.

    The President who was in South Sudan for a one-day official, said the fighting groups should focus on elections due in 2018, not violence.

    “I appeal to the Transitional Government, headed by His Excellency Salva Kiir and the other stakeholders, to stop all actions involving insecurity so that people focus on elections as soon as possible,” President Museveni was quoted in statement by issued by State House.

    “It’s what people of South Sudan fought for, he said.”

    The two presidents, according to the statement, agreed on how to pay Ugandan traders who supplied South Sudan with food items between 2008 and 2010 but have not been paid.

    The total amount the South Sudanese government owes the Ugandan companies and individual traders is about Shs365b.

    Mr David Bahati, the Ugandan State Minister for Finance in charge of Planning, who accompanied President Museveni to Juba, said the Agreement was struck after a sideline meeting with the South Sudan Finance Minister, Stephen Dhieu Dau.

    The details, Mr Bahati said, would be communicated to the responsible parties.

    President Museveni has been instrumental in supporting President Kiir’s government especially in December 2013 when fighting between government and the armed opposition led by former Vice President Riek Machar broke out.

    During today’s (Thursday) bilateral talks, President Kiir said: “I appreciate his advice. President Museveni has rich experience and we can gain from him. We have covered several issues on our bilateral relations and I will take all advice he’s given to me.”

    Earlier, on arrival at Juba International Airport, President Museveni was received by South Sudan Vice President, James Wani Igga before inspecting a guard of honour.

    Ugandan president Museveni on Thursday held peace talks with his South Sudan counterpart Salva Kiir in the capital Juba.

  • Kenya:Woman loses five babies as medics strike in Taita Taveta continues

    {A woman in Bahati village, Taita Taveta County is mourning the loss of her five new born babies after they died in a Tanzanian hospital on Wednesday.}

    Bahati Tabu was forced to seek maternity services in the neighbouring country due to the ongoing health workers strike in the county.

    The 37-year-old mother of 10 was rushed to Kisanga Dispensary in Holili, Tanzania after she developed pregnancy complications but was later referred to Kwa Minja Hospital in Himo.

    In an interview with the Nation, she blamed the ongoing medical practitioners strike for the loss of her babies.
    “I went into labour and rushed to Taveta sub-county hospital but the watchman told me there was no nurse or doctor to help me,” she said.

    “Medical officers at the dispensary in Holili could not handle my situation and referred me to another hospital in Himo,” she said.

    Ms Tabu travelled to the next health facility on a boda boda.

    She said she was unable to raise fare and hospital fees forcing her to use inappropriate means of transport for a distance of 10 kilometres.

    “Good Samaritans gave me fare and some little money for hospital charges. I don’t have employment and I knew maternity charges are free in Kenya,” she said.

    According to Ms Tabu, the hospitals lacked incubators for her underweight babies.

    As the nurses strike in the county entered its ninth day on Friday, ongoing talks between the county government and county Kenya National Union of Nurses officials have continued to hit a deadlock.

    County assembly, led by speaker Meshack Wa Maghanga and assembly’s Health committee chairperson Godfrey Mwambi on Friday summoned the two parties to appear before the house in an effort to end the strike.

    Mr Maghanga blamed the county government’s Health Services department for laxity in implementing a signed agreement between the union and the department.

    The nurses who defied orders to return to work after the end of the nationwide strike are protesting over unpaid allowances and promotions.

    Mr Maghanga accused the Health officials of using millions of shillings to cater for charges for maternity and emergency cases in private hospitals instead of using the funds to pay the nurses.

    “We must do everything to ensure that the nurses get back to work as soon as possible. We cannot play games with people’s lives which being lost due to lack of affordable medical services,” he said.

    At the same time, KNUN county secretary, Boniface Mrashui said the nurses will not resume duty until their demands are met.

    “ We have been taken round and rounds for many years. This time round we are clever. We will go back to work when money in our bank accounts,” he said.

    Acting Health Services Chief Officer, Dr John Logedi, said the department will disburse over sh3 million to nurse’s accounts for their arrears.

    “This money will reflect in their December salary,” he said.

    Bahati Tabu is overcome by grief as she narrates how she lost her five babies due to the ongoing health workers’ strike at her home in Bahati Village in Taveta Taita Taveta County.

  • Tanzania:Live animal export ban clarified

    {The government’s three-year ban on exportation of live animals was clamped following rampant cheating and abuse of conditions specified on permits, which resulted to massive loss to the state in terms of revenue and animal resources.}

    However, the government is considering paying consolation payouts to affected traders after a rigorous verification of their claims.

    The Minister for Natural Resources and Tourism, Professor Jumanne Maghembe, told the ‘Daily News’ yesterday that the move to ban export of live wild animals for the three years is meant to give the government enough time to put in place a better mechanism that will block loopholes for abuse of the business.

    Among the issues that will be looked into before the consolation payout includes the amount of money a trader paid to government for the animals in his shed/zoo when the ban became effective.

    “An evaluation of the animals will be conducted before we decide where they will be taken. There are a few places that they can be relocated to, mostly zoos, so they can be cared for because they cannot be taken back to the forests,” he explained.

    According to the minister, some exporters used one permit to export twice or more the same number of animals or use one permit to export more animals than allowed in the same permit.

    Information have it that one exporter used legal permit to export 87 animals through Julius Nyerere International Airport (JNIA) and used the same permit to export another 87 animals through Kilimanjaro International Airport (KIA).

    The permit allowed the exporter to export only 87 animals through KIA. More reliable information has it that another trader unscrupulously exported 420 animals using fake export permit.

    In a statement to give more clarification on the government’s ban, the minister noted, “the permits and receipts for payment of various revenue paid to government will be looked into and figure out a proper procedure to return the money back to the traders.”

    Cases of some of the traders colluding with government officials to abuse conditions of permits issued to them have been rampant with others exporting tenfold of the animals allowed by the permits, costing the country massive losses.

    Early this year, Prof Maghembe suspended top officials in the ministry, including the Assistant Director of Wildlife Utilisation, Dr Charles Mulokozi, on allegations of corruption. It was alleged that Mr Mulokozi granted

  • Uganda:Detained CMI officer runs to court for release orders

    {Captain Kibuuka was arrested together with his escort Pte Michael Drobiri on November 28 from Kampala Central Police Station.}

    Detained UPDF officer attached to the Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence (CMI) has asked court to direct Police authorities to unconditionally release him citing violation of his constitutional rights.

    In the application filed before the Chief Magistrates Court at Buganda Road, Captain Trevor Kibuuka, an intelligence officer in the Special Investigations Department of the CMI alleges that police have detained him beyond 48 hours without being charged before competent courts or being granted bond.

    Captain Kibuuka was arrested together with his escort Pte Michael Drobiri on November 28 from Kampala Central Police Station (CPS) then transferred to Nalufenya Police Station in Jinja where he spent 18 days before he was returned to Kampala on December 20.

    According to court documents, Captain Kibuuka was arrested jointly with two informers, Moses Kibuuka and Simon Mujumbi in connection with an investigation he was conducting into illegal selling of firearms.

    Both Kibuuka and Mujumbi were released on Tuesday afternoon on Police bond. All then accused persons were arrested on alleged suspicion of illegal procurement of government stores.

    “…That my statements were recorded in respect of the matters under investigations long ago since my arrest as is handed at CPS, CID department but to my surprise, the commandant of Flying Squad keeps intervening every time, I am to be granted bond or be released,” he says in the affidavit sworn before court.

    Last week, the Commandant of the Police Flying Squad, Mr Herbert Muhangi said Captain Kibuuka was being detained over involvement in a ‘serious crime.’

    “We are trying to investigate the matter very fast so that we can either release or take him to court,” Mr Muhangi said in a telephone interview in response to an appeal to authorities for justice in the matter.

  • Kenya:Uhuru would be re-elected if elections were held today, opinion poll shows

    President Uhuru Kenyatta would be re-elected if elections were held today, according to an opinion poll released on Wednesday.

    The survey by Ipsos predicts that President Kenyatta would get 50 per cent of the votes, way ahead of Cord leader Raila Odinga, who trails him in second place at 22 per cent.

    The poll is likely to generate controversy especially from the opposition as it shows that Mr Kenyatta would defeat the Cord leader even in their perceived strongholds of Western, Coast and Eastern.

    The poll was conducted between December 17 and 19 and sampled 1,083 respondents. It has a margin of error of error of +/- 3.1 per cent with a 95 per cent confidence level. The margin of error is attributed to sampling.

    According to the survey, Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka would finish third with a paltry two per cent of the total votes cast followed by Amani National Congress leader Musalia Mudavadi with one per cent. Sixteen per cent of the respondents were undecided on which presidential candidate they would vote for while another seven per cent refused to divulge their preferred candidate to the pollsters.

    According to the survey, the President would triumph in the Coast region — perceived to be an Opposition zone — with 45 per cent of the support, ahead of Mr Odinga’s 24 per cent. The poll shows that Mr Musyoka would garner only get three per cent.

    SOLID SUPPORT

    In Eastern, the President would garner 47 per cent of the votes ahead of Mr Odinga (23 per cent), and Mr Musyoka (nine per cent). This, in spite of Mr Musyoka’s solid support especially in lower Eastern over the last three general elections.

    The poll also shows that Mr Kenyatta would carry the day in Western, another opposition zone, with 34 per cent, followed by Mr Odinga with 22 per cent and Mr Mudavadi with seven per cent.

    Mr Musyoka, the poll shows, would only manage one per cent of the votes in this region.

    Speaking during the release of the poll results, Ipsos lead researcher Tom Wolf was at pains to explain the sudden upsurge in Mr Kenyatta’s fortunes and the opposition’s dwindling prospects. Mr Wolf suggested that the President would benefit immensely from his incumbency status which accords him vast resources to initiate development projects across the country.

    “Do not underrate the power of incumbency because it is a very powerful tool,” he said. “Mr Kenyatta has also been travelling a lot across the country launching infrastructural projects and this could be bearing fruits”.

    He attributed the opposition’s dwindling fortunes to the failure to name the candidate to take on the President in the 2017 election.

    “Whereas everybody knows Mr Kenyatta will be the Jubilee presidential candidate, the opposition does not have a presidential candidate as we speak and this could be the reason why the results are the way they are,” he said.

    President Uhuru Kenyatta at National Youth Service College in Gilgil on December 20, 2016.

  • Dar, UAE sign tourism pact

    {The governments of Tanzania and the United Arabs Emirates (UAE) have signed a bilateral Air Service Agreements (BASA) and a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for co-operation in tourism.}

    The two governments also agreed to conclude negations and sign agreements on promotion and protection of investments and avoidance of double taxation on income.

    The event took place in Abu Dhabi during the first Tanzania and UAE joint commission meeting between Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation Minister, Dr Augustine Mahiga and UAE Minister of State for International Cooperation, Ms Reem Ebrahim Al Hashimy.

    According to a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation, the joint commission meeting involved participants from various sectors from both countries, where they agreed to cooperate in various issues including science and technology, economy, energy, agriculture, infrastructure and transportation.

    The two-day joint commission meeting that took place on 19th and 20th this month also agreed to complete and sign agreements on cooperation in the education, health, marine security and defence, marine transportation, labour and employment and fire and rescue sectors. Dr Mahiga, in his closing speech, called on the private sector in both countries to explore business and investment opportunities in different sectors including agriculture, infrastructure, energy and tourism.

    ‘’The meeting underscores our resolve to build a strategic partnership that does not only contribute towards deepening the bilateral ties based on shared values and visions, but also enables the two countries to advance efforts aimed at realising peace, security and stability in our two regions and beyond,’’ Dr Mahiga said.

    The minister termed the first joint commission meeting as ‘ historic’ as it would contribute to further solidifying bilateral relations and co-operation between the two countries.

    Since the two countries established their diplomatic relations in 1974, they have maintained robust and evolving ties. Tanzania opened its embassy in Abu Dhabi in 2002, while the UAE reciprocated by opening its embassy in Dar es Salaam in 2007.