From: Joshua Otieno
An pod wach mar gund Luo ema Chanda. Ka wachako gi pinje luo, ma anyalo temo ndiko kaka Kadem, Kanyamkakago, Kwabwai, Kanyada, Kanyamwa, Karungu, Sakws, Kamagambo, Kanyidoto, Karachuonyo, Kano, Nyakach, Imbo, Alego, Ugenya, Gem, Kisumo, Seme, Suba, kod maok aketo.
Adwaro ngeyo kaka ne giwuotho ka gi ayo Sudan. Agombo ngeyo ni
– wach mane darogi en ango?
– to ne far ebwo tello aina mane?
– negikao thuolo Maromo nade mondo gichop
By Vision reporter
The government of Uganda has clarified its position on the anti-homosexuality Act.
In a statement released this afternoon the Government said the Act was misrepresented.
“…its enactment has been misinterpreted as a piece of legislation intended to punish and discriminate against people of a “homosexual orientation”, especially by our development partners.” The statement read in part
Here is the full statement
Statement by Uganda Govt on Anti Homosexuality Act
http://www.newvision.co.ug/news/657274-uganda-clarifies-on-homosexual-law.html
Business feature By Leo Odera Omolo
East Africa regional leaders have agreed to set up a regional oil refinery in Hoima town in western Uganda and a pipeline in Lamu on the Kenyan coast.
Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda struck the deal at a recent meeting held in the Rwandan capital, Kigali. Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatt, Yoweri Museveni of Uganda and Paul Kagame of Rwanda were in attendance during the mini-summit which was held on April 6 , 2014.
Discussion centered on the oil refinery at Hoima stated presidential joint strategic communications unit issued after the meeting.
The regional leaders also agreed on joint construction of a crude oil pipeline from Hoima to Lamu in Kenya.
The regional refinery and a crude oil pipeline to Kenya’s seaport of Lamu are among a raft of agreements that are covered in a trilateral pact signed last year.
The pact, however, left room for the three states to decide whether to pull resources for the refinery and how to do so.
Uganda and Kenya have both confirmed commercial quantities of recently discovered oil and both are currently sprucing up their midstream capacities
Kenya closed down its aging Changamwe based oil refinery last year citing inefficiencies that made locally refined fuels more costly than imported finished products
The assets of Kenya petroleum Refinery Ltd were also found to be unstable in refining the waxy oil discovered in both countries. The Changamwe based facility was built to handle urban demand and oil from the middle east. As a result, regional leaders have been favorable to pipeline and refinery options when the oil find came online.
Experts, according to media reports, have however warned that a pipeline for waxy oil is likely to be a very expensive undertaking. Concerned states therefore, will not only have to invest in an …heating system to keep the crude flowing, but also ensure its security from sabotage.
South Sudan and Ethiopia are also expected to join the initiative at a later stage as it professes flow at the Lamu port.
Meanwhile EAC countries traded more with each other than with any other trading blocs on the continent, boosting an average intra regional export as a percentage by destination of 19.5 per cent.
Comparatively, southern African Development Community (SADC), is second with an intra regional trade export average of 10.9 per cent, followed by intergovernmental authority on Development, at 0.92 per cent, and West African Economic community (ECOWAS), coming fourth at 8.6 per cent.
However intra EAC trade still suffered hiccups arising from several barriers evicted by member state. For example the latest scorecards on EAC trade launched in February show that Tanzania and Burundi have retained the highest number of restriction to cross boarder trade and flow of foreign direction investment in the East African Region.
Since the common market protocol was implemented in July 2010, Rwanda, Uganda and Tanzania have introduced at least 10 restrictions on the movement of capital in service. Several new restrictions have been introduced – – at least 10 restrictions to cross border on the movement of capital In service. Several new restrictions have been introduced or carried over into laws.
And for the case of goods, since…the enactment of the custom reunion on January 1, 2005, 51 non tariff barriers arising from regulatory measures by governments were identified between 2008 and June 2003.
The UNECA argues that the average intra regional export members are low and more needs to be done to help push them up.
While in the recent past there has been a focus on approving infrastructure by EAC heads of states, it remains a major aim to increasing intra- organization trade. Both roads and railway network are still not well established to allow the easy movement of goods and services.
UNEAC further says that intra- regional trade promotes cohesion and strengthens the barganing power of African countries as a critical of factor when negating trade agreements with rich nations.
The deal which increased intra-regional trade would also help Africa gain more from its measures. Usually the developed world buys raw materials from African Nations to manufacture goods and later sell to the continent at exravegant prices.
“Dependence on commodity prices and in some cases mineral extraction makes growth vulnerable to external shocks,“ says Andrew Mold, a senior economic affairs officer at the sub-regional office for Eastern Africa.
Economics and observers believe a diversified economy will help East African countries more from a traditional agriculture based economy to one industrial one
Ends
From: U.S. Department of State
04/04/2014 06:26 PM EDT
Press Statement
Marie Harf
Deputy Department Spokesperson, Office of the Spokesperson
Washington, DC
April 4, 2014
We are deeply concerned that a U.S.-funded health clinic and medical research facility, the Makerere University Walter Reed Project (MUWRP), was raided by Ugandan authorities on April 3, leading to the arrest of one of the facility’s employees, allegedly for conducting “unethical research” and “recruiting homosexuals.” While that individual was subsequently released, this incident significantly heightens our concerns about respect for civil society and the rule of law in Uganda, and for the safety of LGBT individuals.
The MUWRP is engaged in efforts to improve public health and save lives. The Ugandan government is responsible for protecting all of its people, and attacks and intimidation of health care workers are unacceptable. The safety of health workers must be respected. We have temporarily suspended the operations of MUWRP to ensure the safety of staff and beneficiaries, and the integrity of the program.
The Office of Website Management, Bureau of Public Affairs, manages this site as a portal for information from the U.S. State Department.
External links to other Internet sites should not be construed as an endorsement of the views or privacy policies contained therein.
Stay connected with the State Department:
http://www.state.gov/
From: South Sudan Press
South Sudan’s rebels have on Tuesday accused Ugandan air force of carrying out aerial bombardments in Jonglei State.
In a press statement extended to the South Sudan News Agency, the head of the SPLM/A Delegation-in opposition to the Peace Talks in Ethiopia, General Taban Deng Gai, said that Juba and Kampala began air campaigns against civilians on the 26th of February 2014 using dangerous weapons.
“On February 26, they [UPDF & SPLA] bombed Pamai cattle camp and on the 2nd and 3rd of March, they bombed Wech-Kol Payam all in Uror County-Jonglei State killing women, children, elderly, and livestock using cluster bombs”, Gai said in the statement.
“The exact number of casualties is yet to be established and more information will follow”, He continues.
Gai declares that the latest air campaign against civilians in Jonglei State violates the Ceasefire signed in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and warns that the peace talks could not go as planned. Gai also calls on the International Community to take action against Uganda, and asks the United Nations to investigate the use of banned weapons.
“SPLM/SPLA [in opposition] calls on IGAD, the AU, the Troika countries, EU and UN to exert more pressure on Uganda to immediately cease all forms of indiscriminate aerial bombardments and to withdraw its forces from all territories of South Sudan. We call upon the United Nations to investigate the use of prohibited weapons such as cluster bombs by the Government of South Sudan and the Uganda Air Force”, Gai said.
“This continuous violation of the CoH may jeopardise the Peace Process that is already underway in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia”, he added.
Last month, the UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS) found remnants of cluster bombs in Jonglei, prompting the United Nations to launch an investigation.
Regional observers have on many occasions cautioned that the continuous involvement of Uganda’s military in the conflict could cause a regional war. But Uganda claims it has interests in the young nation’s internal affairs and that its fight alongside South Sudan government’s troops against rebels is justified.
From: Charles Banda
By Hama Tuma
Sometimes solutions proposed by governments are worse than the very so-called problems being tackled.
Considering the pungent cocktail of weird laws decreed out of the blue by thumb-twiddling wannabe sophist parliamentarians who only see problems from the golden palaces, villas and powerful offices they occupy and want to keep by hook or by crook, one can’t help but wonder.
When Malawi legislated its preposterous anti-public farting law a couple of years ago, many thought it was going to be the last time anyone heard of laws that questioned the intellectual capacity of African lawmakers. We were wrong.
Uganda has taken the lead, passing one irrelevant law after another, while blaming the west for its pagan, decadent and unchristian imports.
The same middle-eastern religions that travelled west and were exported to Africa, alongside slavery and later colonialism, have now become the African culture to protect, relegating our history and highly developed cultural understanding of gender to Satanism.
As Uganda’s amusing story unfolds, those with an idea of Africa’s precolonial history, wonder what went wrong.
Those irrelevant legislations began with the oppressive and archaic Victorian laws that the United Kingdom, from whence cometh those laws, has been trying to announce to Africa in many subtle ways to drop because they belong to the boom years of social Darwinism when anything aboriginal was considered unfit.
“It is now apparent that the ecological pragmatism of the so-called pagan religions […] was a great deal more realistic in terms of conservation ethics than the more intellectual monotheistic philosophies of the revealed religions,” Prince Philip, Queen Elizabeth’s husband said a couple of decades ago.
But could the harm that has been done be reversed? As multiple-time Nobel Prize for Literature nominee, Milan Kundera notes: “The first steps in liquidating a people is to erase its memories”.
It is here that we realise that the brains of Africa’s current politicians have been washed to such an extent that the same Victorian laws that once sought to rid Africans of their pagan traditional ways have now been accepted as intrinsically African, warts and all.
Africans now believe half naked women and homosexual relations are western imports.
The reason behind Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni’s “scientific” anti-homosexuality tirade and stringent decree against what concerns an invisible, vulnerable minority is aphoristic.
Endowed with an incredible political cunning acquired by virtue of his longstanding addiction to presidency, Museveni isn’t a stranger to the opium effect of religious populism on the masses.
And after its move to effect a ban on miniskirts, Uganda – a country where the larger population basks in the luxury of poverty, bad governance and corruption from the very top – is well on its way to becoming the biggest police church.
But truth be told, Yoweri Kaguta Museveni and others like him in Africa are no exceptions.
While all the world’s unusual laws (see box below) do not excuse Museveni’s vitriol against gays, Zimbabwe’s nonagenarian president Robert Mugabe will soon go six feet under or down in history as one whose attempt at owning the founding president title of his country is seen in his continued gay-bashing speeches; an attempt to discredit that country’s first president Canaan Banana, a former priest who was convicted for being gay. Repeat: a black African gay priest president.
As innocuous as they may seem, silly laws strike the most unpleasant chord when one realises that they are mostly used to foster virulent anti-democratic values.
Is it not the same religious integrity-influenced anti-gay argument that has been used to effect laws that infringe on women’s rights in Uganda?
The burning issues in Uganda and many African countries do not concern dress codes or sexual orientations and yet the rulers harp on these issues while persecuting those who dare to question corruption, bad governance, ethnic discrimination… among a plethora of real concerns.
The issue of dress codes and sexuality is what brings in the votes. It works for them. They do not go to bed on empty stomachs, why should they care about the daft ones who can’t see behind the political rhetoric?
After all, is it not widely known that to hide something from the African, all one needs to do is to hide it in a book?
It is in this light that Uganda’s anti-gay antics and banning of miniskirts become a smart farce; a reminder of the cruel regime in Addis Ababa that once argued that Ethiopians, who cannot afford three decent meals per day need, should go on a dieting regime and stop complaining about the rampant famine.
Such is the politics of irrelevance, a clever governance tactic used by Africa’s power-hungry rulers, adept at turning non-issues of no significance whatsoever into burning issues with the help of the State controlled media.
The regime in Ethiopia is an expert at this art. After blatantly stealing an election and killing hundreds, it expertly manipulates the whole situation – turning attention away from the issue at hand – by arresting so-called political dissidents and triggering a massive hue and cry from a gullible and amateurish opposition.
The main issue forgotten, the secondary concern made crucial—add a weird law to this and the whole focus of the people is hijacked to a non-issue. Voilà !
Fundamentalism
Back to the invisible minority. How many women wear miniskirts in Uganda, an African region whose women folk once proudly wore clothes that bore their chests, hips and midriffs naked, in respect of traditional values.
And who said homosexuality is an European import in that country when it is on record that one of their most remembered ancient, pre-colonial kings kept a harem of well-bred men to feed his sexual cravings?
Are these funny but extremist laws not a shortcut towards fundamentalism? Or are they different from those laws that ban women from driving or taking the same bus as men? Are they different from those that say men with moustaches are forbidden to kiss women including their wives? Are they different from those that get women whipped for allowing themselves to get raped by men so strong even ten legislators can’t fight off just one?
Nonetheless, some of Uganda’s anti-gay law bashers are a perfect example of the stinging double standards and hypocrisy on the continent.
Zenebu Tadesse, Ethiopia’s minister for women, children and youth affairs has criticised the Ugandan law despite a 15-year prison term for homosexuality in her own country, where criticising the regime’s human rights record can get the noblest of citizens thrown into the hole for up to 20 years without a warrant.
This is where Washington comes in. Despite his worsening human rights record, Museveni remains a close ally of Washington, which tolerates good allies with grotesque decrees and practices. In Ethiopia, the more the regime has turned repressive the more it has enjoyed vast international support. And Obama’s words: “we live in a world of imperfect choices” highlight a recognition of those double standards.
Can the American media honestly condemn Museveni while homosexuality remains an offence in many states?
Writing on this hypocrisy, Tracy Clarke-Flory had the following to say in her article: Sodomy laws still exist?!
“When the Indian Supreme Court this week reinstated a law banning gay sex, everyone in my liberal social circle began circulating outrage. I shared in this — and yet, I couldn’t help but wonder at the remnants here in the U.S. of attempts of doing just that. In fact, we still have laws against sodomy in several states – Alabama, Florida, Idaho, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Utah. Currently. In the year 2013. [I pause to let you pick your jaw up off the floor.] Two states — Kansas and Texas — explicitly outlaw homosexual contact. That’s right: the United States of America still has laws on the books criminalizing gay sex”.
As I wrote years ago, homophobia on the part of the repressive regimes is but a cover for “demophobia”, a rabid fear of democracy and the peoples’ demand for good, or at least tolerable, governance.
Museveni and others actually enjoy the hue and cry on the gay issue, a perfect distraction from the many tough questions and serious problems.
India, China, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, the Arab countries, Russia are all part of those repressive and/or corrupt governments engaged in the most politically profitable gay bashing.
My advice to budding despots is: forget the serious problems, the poverty, the lack of social services, the corruption, police and military brutality, the absence of democracy, the oppression of women, the political prisoners, the rampant torture… Just make sure your people do not have access to historical research about what the African culture was in precolonial times. Go for the most shocking legislations that hurt the most vulnerable… and just bash the gays. You’ll be loved. Amen!
Read the original article on Theafricareport.com : Honing Uganda and Ethiopia’s silly laws
http://www.theafricareport.com/Columns/honing-uganda-and-ethiopias-silly-laws.html#ixzz2v0ohTJVq
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From: South Sudan Press
Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn has on Monday said that foreign troops participating in South Sudan’s conflict must withdraw from South Sudan.
Desalegn’s comment is the first direct hit from a regional player against Uganda’s military intervention and comes in time when South Sudanese opposing factions trade accusations over violation of the “cessation of hostilities” signed on the 23rd of January 2014 in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa.
“Because of this intervention, the conflict might end up as a regional conflict because there are other interests also from other sides”, Desalegn told reporters in Addis Ababa.
Desalegn says Ethiopia wants to see all foreign forces out of South Sudan and reiterates Ethiopia’s commitment to find peaceful solution to the conflict.
“I hope for the cessation of hostilities…, Ugandan forces and all other external forces must withdraw from that area phase by phase,” he added.
The ceasefire that was signed in Ethiopia calls for the withdrawal of Uganda’s soldiers and the release of all political detainees.
But, Uganda refuses to withdraw its troops, asserting that Uganda has interests in South Sudan and that Kiir asks Museveni for military help.
Regional observers have on many occasions warned that Ugandan military involvement could intensify the conflict.
Ethiopia is the host of the IGAD-led peace talks and plays an important role in bringing the two sides on a negotiating table.
From: Sudan Press
South Sudanese in Australia planned to hold a peaceful demonstration against Uganda’s military involvement in South Sudan’s crisis. The protest is coordinated by two of the largest South Sudanese organizations in Australia, the South Sudanese Community in Australia (SSCA) and South Sudan Advocacy Group (SSAG).
The two agencies believe that Kampala has contributed to the suffering of innocent South Sudanese.
In a memo seen by the South Sudan News Agency, the two organizations express their anger against Uganda’s military participation and called upon the Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni to immediately remove his troops from South Sudan.
Uganda is currently fighting alongside South Sudanese government forces.
“South Sudan Advocacy Group in conjunction with South Sudanese Community in Australia are coordinating a peaceful demonstration to denounce Ugandan troops roles in current South Sudan’s crisis”, the memo reads in parts.
“We think…[the world] would like to know this event and learn more about the facts and the root cause(s) of current conflict in South Sudan”, the statement explained.
The groups further said that the crisis that exploded on the 15th of December 2013 has caused immense human suffering and hundreds of thousands of civilians have been uprooted from their homes.
The demonstration will be held on January 29, 2014; from 12:20pm- 1:30pm; location of the event is 165-169 Thomas Street, Dandenong VIC3175, City of Greater Dandenong, Victoria, Australia.
The protest is expected to be attended by the people who were in Juba when the crisis started, the SSNA has learned.
The coordinated demonstration is also expected to highlight the root causes of the conflict and denunciation of Kampala’s military intervention.
At least, 400,000 people have been displaced and more than 78, 000 fled to neighboring countries, according to the recent United Nations (UN) estimate.
Writes Leo Odera Omolo In Kisumu City.
AS the Cecafa football tournament for this year is just coming to remembering, how it is all started in 1939. It was originally called Gossage Cup, named after an Englishman a colonial civil servant who worked in Kenya as the Commissioner for Community Development Mr Gossage.
Originally only three national football teams competed. These were Kenya, Tanganyika and Uganda with the Isles of Zanziber and Pemba posting a team which later participated in the regional tournament in 1940.
For all those years the prestigious regional football tournament was being held on rotation between stadiums in Nairobi, Kampala, Dar Es Salaam and later on the matches were staged in Zanzibar. The winners were exclusively from Uganda and Kenya while Tanganyika and Zanzibar remained the underdogs every year without a win.
However, the tournament has expanded dramatically years after the end of colonial rules in the countries of East, southern and Central African regions.
The final matches used to attract the presence of the four colonial goernors of the region with reception of Zanzibar which was already enjoying semi-indpendent status as a British Protectorate under the Sultan asyyed assayed of Zanzibar who occasionally used to sit in the VIP podium with the three colonial governors of Kenya, Tangsnyika and Uganda.
Football matches were very popular thereby pulling huge crowd of people, particularly in Nairobi where the now vintage City Stadium was the popular venue. In Kampala Nakifubo Stadium featured in the games while Ilala Stadium in Dar Es Salaam host the games in Tanganyiks.
However, the Gossage Cup games changed face in November 1950 when a young, but highly talented Kenyan footballer suddenly appeared for the Tanganyika team. His name was William Nahashon Ong”weya {Ragwel] from Kobura Masogo sub-location in Kisumu district. Ong”weya learnt football games wile studying at Maseno high School and later joined the defunct East African Railways and Harbors corporation and was posted to work In the lakeside town of Mwanza. As a shed clerk.
He began his football career in Tanganyika by turning up in the local leagues where he played for the Railways. It was during this time when his talents caught the eyes of the Tanganyika national team officials who promptly included hi in the national first eleven team.
In 1950, William NAHASHON was among the the Tanganyika team players who represented that country at the end of the Zanzibar, but the following year 1951 he had changed position from the utility player [No 10} to that of inside right wearing [shirt No8].The tall and slender Kenyan produced the ball jagling style that that took everyone by surprise. The home team beat Kenya 3-2 and clinched the cup for that year. Tohisown credit Ongweya scored two of the three goals for Tanganyika to the excitement of everyone including the three governors, namely Sir Edward Twinning {Tanganyika}, Sir Andrew Cohen {Uganda} an Si Evelyn Baring of Kenya.nzibar. The excitement of the people of Tanganyika went a niche higher.
For the first rime, all the women Kitenge lassos produced by a Textile companies in Mwanza and Dar Es Salaam had the following printed words in Bold and capital letters .
In Kenya a famous guitarist W.W.Witts [ Owiti} from Gem Ulumbi composed a poplar song in praise of Ong”weya Ragwell. Saying the melody and lyrics that Wuod Kobura Ache lKende had joggled the ball and dodged all the teams before a capacity crowd including the four colonial governors. After retiring from the Railways service in the early 1960e, William Nahashon Ong”weya lived on in Tanzania, and died a blind man after poor health in 1980s. his wife has also Also died and buried IN Kano West and both
After the countries of East,Southern and Central African became independence in the early 60s, the annual football tournament was expanded from Gossage Cup to become Senior Challenge Cup. teams competing now in the tournament included Ethiopia, Malawi, Burundi, Tanzania, Zanzibar, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Southern Sudan.
ENDS
News Analysis By Leo odera Omolo In Kisumu City
Kenya and Uganda governments have agreed to a mutual deal that when fully implemented will make it much easier to the citizens of the two countries have an easy access to border crossings, instead of the cumbersome going through tough immigration scrutinizes.
The agreement came at the conclusion of a week long consultative meeting held in Kisumu City. The meeting held at the posh Sun-Set Hotel on the eastern shore of Lake Victoria.
It will facilitate free movement of labor between the two countries. IN the new deal those nationals of the two neighboring nations moving to either for a period of six months will only be required to produce their national identity cards. This will apply to Kenyans crossing into Uganda while Ugandans travelling to Kenya will use heir voting cards as the official documents.
The Ugandan delegation headed by a r Mohamed Sadique arrived here last Monday during which time the two delegations deliberated on various contentious issues affecting the two countries. The two teams revived reviewed issues such as reviving the question of Migingo island in Lake Victoria, which has been the sources of endless political wrangling between the two nations for the last eight years.
The Kenya delegation was headed by James Ole SeriAN who is the Regional Co-coordinator Commissioner for Western Province. It asked the joint border survey committee which was established Five years ago to urgently embark on the review process to end the stalement. It became clear at the end of the discussions that the two countries wants Migingio ISLAND border survey reviewed quickly and the dispute between the two countries sorted out amicably and diplomatically. The same dispute has remained a thorny issue for the last eight years at times threatening he peaceful co-existence of the two countries.
Mr Ole Serian the head of the Kenya delegation had told the gathering that the long territorial spat over the disputed Migingo Island in Lake Victoria will soon be resolved in a peaceful manner. His counter part Mr Sadique said that the to countries have enjoyed cordial and warm relationship anf therefore needed to resolved all the outstanding issues harmoniously.
The joint survey team was established by the two nations in 2009 and undertook the joint inspection of the international boundaries in the region, But its work had stalled despite the two countries having made available the sums of Kshs 240 million in which each contributed half of the amount of. During another KENYA-Uganda Ministerial COUNCIL held in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi in 2011 it was agreed that the joint survey team would complete its work and come up with practical modalities to conclude the survey and demarcation of the common boundaries in Lake Victoria.
The initiatives, however, stalled due to what Mr Ole termed as failure to bring on board the stakeholders. NINTH KENYA-UGANDA JOINT BORDER TECHNICAL COMMISSION does bring on board all the stakeholders, and, that exercise among the many issues surrounding the true ownership of Migingo Island. Which were supposed to have been addressed adequately and sufficiently.
Ends
Writes Leo Odera Omolo
REPORTS emerging from the Arusha based secretariat of the EAST African Community says that top Ugandan traders operating inside the Republic of South Sudan have moved to the East African Court of Justice and filed a legal suit asking the court to block the impending admission of that country into the East African Community as its sixth member.
The newest African nation had applied to join the regional trading unit. Its application for the entry into the Eac is expected to be top on agenda for the next summit of the EAC Heads of state and government, which is scheduled for April next year.
The businessmen have cited bad governance, lack of democracy, arbitrary and illegal arrests of its members and detention, rape, maiming and confiscation of merchant goods belonging to its members and confiscation of vehicles.
The legal suit is filed by members of the Uganda Traders Association comprising mainly Ugandans who are doing business in South Sudan. The Ugandans claimed that that country does not meet the criteria and lad down the rules stipulating by the EAC Treaty for admission of its membership. Their objection is on the ground that the juba regime does not met the prerequisite condition and requirements for admission into the EAC membership.
South Sudan government, they claimed has failed the test of good governance, democracy, the rule of law, observance of human rights and social justice. They further accused the Juba regime of failing to satisfy foreign investors operating businesses and trade in that country. Their members are allegedly being killed, maimed, raped and brutally beaten up by that country’s primitive and untrained security personnel. They laid claim of approximately 4.9 US dollars owed to them by South Sudan authorities related to unpaid bill on credit line and compensation for financial losses incurred due to the said violation of universally acceptable trade deals.
However, the Ugandan Minister in-charge of the East African Community Affairs Shem Rugena blamed the traders for having rushed to court, saying that they should have forwarded their claims to the EAC Council of Ministers before fling the court cases.
Meanwhile Kenyans arriving home from South Sudan alleged that close to ten Kenyans have died in that country under very mysterious circumstances. Some of them have disappeared without trace suspected of either held in illegal detention camps of killed.
Kenyans, they claimed, expect bare faced mass deportation and are being asked to finance the cost of their deportation. This is sometime exaggerated by the police, put at Kshs 200,200. Whereas the cost of travelling from Juba to the Kenya South Sudan border posts does not exceed Kshs 30,000 . Those under arrests or placed in police custody are tortured and at the same time being asked to pay colossal amounts of money to buy their freedom.
Ends
From: African Press International (API)
http://africanpress.me/2013/10/01/kenya-terror-attack-a-comparison-with-operation-thunderbolt90-minutes-at-entebbe-of-july-1976-and-other-areas-requiring-deeper-reflection-deeper-introspection/
A good story. We encourage many to use our services as Mr Kinyanjui has done.
Regards,
African Press International, Oslo-Norway.
Fra: Jeremy Kinyanjui
Sendt: 30. september 2013 21:07
The tragic Westgate Shopping Mall killings of September 2013: A comparison with Operation Thunderbolt/”90 minutes at Entebbe” of July 1976, and other areas requiring deeper reflection & deeper introspection
1. Comparisons with Operation Thunderbolt/90 Minutes at Entebbe of 4th July 1976, Entebbe Airport, Uganda;
(i) As mentioned, mission codenamed “Operation Thunderbolt” a split-second operation that was concluded in a brief stunning period of 90 minutes hence “Operation Thunderbolt” also later coming to be referred to as “90 minutes at Entebbe”
(ii) 106 hijack hostages rescued i.e. 94 Jewish passengers and a 12-man Air France crew
(iii) The rescue mission/paratroopers flew 3,800 kilometres from Tel Aviv, Israel, to Entebbe, Uganda, where the 106 hijack hostages were being held, and as they settled down for a seventh night in captivity
(iv) The key players that oversaw “Operation Thunderbolt” were then Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, then Israeli Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Mordechai Gur, the then Israeli army’s Chief of Operations and the then Israeli Air Force commander, operation commander Brig. Gen. Dan Shomron, head of the infantry and elite Paratroop Corps, Lt. Col. Yonatan Netanyahu, and Ehud Barak, all of whom had extensive backgrounds in combat & high risk rescue missions e.g. the Six Day War of 1967 and the Yom Kippur War of 1973. Ehud Barak, later Israeli Defence Minister & Israeli Prime Minister, had even led a crack paratroop unit in rescuing hostages from a Sabena Airlines hijacking in 1972
(v) The fierce battle at Entebbe Airport lasted 45 terrifying seconds. Four hijackers were shot dead. Three hostages who failed to stay on the floor were killed, either in the crossfire, or by Israeli soldiers who mistook them for terrorists
(vi) Within 53 minutes, the hostages were aboard the Israeli planes and on their way home. The corpses of seven guerrillas and 20 Ugandan soldiers lay at Entebbe Airport, Uganda
(vii) An aftermath of the raid was the case of Mrs. Dora Bloch, a 75-year-old hostage left behind in Uganda by the Israeli raiders. Mrs. Bloch was in a hospital when the rescue planes landed. Mrs. Bloch was thereafter murdered in cold blood by the Ugandans
(viii) Another strike force hurled explosives under a squadron of Soviet – supplied Migs of the Ugandan Air Force, crippling about 10 of them, and securing a safe retreat.
(ix) Israelis reached into their pockets to contribute US $ 3 million to a voluntary defense fund within one week after it was set up to handle a sudden flow of donations. Workers offered to do overtime without pay to boost national exports, and the number of labor strikes dropped
Comparisons of Kenya’s Westgate siege of September 2013 with Numbers (i) to (ix) above;
(i) No known codename assigned to operation. 9,000 minutes had however lapsed by Friday evening, 27th September 2013, with no indication that the matter was nearing conclusion of an initial kind. 9,000 minutes and counting at Westgate, and no initial conclusion in sight. Very tragic & very unfortunate indeed
(ii) All hostages and all aggressors not fully & satisfactorily accounted for 9,000 minutes and counting after Saturday, 21st September 2013
(iii) All key Kenyan Security agencies playing a role in the ongoing Westgate saga are based within the vicinity of the Westgate Shopping Mall and none had to be called upon to fly 3,800 kilometres at very short notice and/or first prepare for high risk rescue operation from a location 3,800 kilometres away from the Westagate Shopping Mall
(iv) The current so-called Kenyan Cabinet Secretary incharge of internal security has a background in Hospitality, and his immediate past posting was at the Kenya Utalii Hotel, for many years, the Harvard University of East & Central Africa, when it came to excellence & preeminence in the training of staff of & for elite hotels.
The current so-called Kenyan Secretary for Defence is a former Chairlady of the Law Society of Kenya, and is also a former Kenyan Ambassador to France.
The current US Secretary Of Defence is a veteran of the Vietnam War, while the immediate former US Secretary of Defence, is a former Director of the CIA.
It is unclear whether the current so-called Kenyan Cabinet Secretaries incharge of internal & Defence are both veterans of the Vietnam War, of if both have ever served in any capacity in the CIA. It is also unclear whether the current so-called Kenyan Cabinet Secretaries incharge of internal security & Defence played any role whatsoever in either the Six Day War of 1967 or the Yom Kippur War of 1973
(v) All hostages and all aggressors not fully & satisfactorily accounted for 9,000 minutes and counting after Saturday, 21st September 2013
(vi) All hostages and all aggressors not fully & satisfactorily accounted for 9,000 minutes and counting after Saturday, 21st September 2013
(vii) All hostages and all aggressors not fully & satisfactorily accounted for 9,000 minutes and counting after Saturday, 21st September 2013
(viii) Other than the tragic loss of lives, the ultra modern Westgate Shopping Mall is now a condemned building
(ix) Kenyans have come forward in big numbers to generously make contributions to the Kenya Red Cross Society for their purported exemplary role in the Westgate Shopping Mall siege, the same Kenya Red Cross Society that has never accounted for the massive funds collected during the so-called “Kenyans for Kenya” campaign. The same Kenya Red Cross Society was thereafter linked to the purchase of aflatoxin contaminated maize that is said to have been consumed by an estimated 400,000 Kenyans. No action whatsoever was taken against the Kenya Red Cross Society for this criminal murderous act, yet here they are being sent more massive funds, and being hailed as “heroes”.
Kenyans are also being encouraged to channel their donations through the MPESA cell-phone money transfer platform administered by communications giant Safaricom, the biggest corporation in East & Central Africa, the same Safaricom that has made four unexplained deductions of one Kenya Shilling from its approximate customer base 20 million since 21st June 2013 i.e. Safaricom made unexplained deductions of one Kenya Shilling from it’s subscribers on 21st June 2013, 21st July 2013, 21st August 2013 & 21st September 2013 which translates to an approximate amount of 80 million Kenya Shillings i.e. an approximate amount of one million US dollars. It is unclear whether the funds deducted on these four occasions, were used to fund the activities of the aggressors of the Westgate Shopping Mall siege of September 2013
2. The Kenya Government & the Kenya Media have gone on these particularly aggressive charm offensive, labeling the aggressors in the Westgate Shopping Mall assault as “terrorists” and “cowards”, yet these individuals, whoever they are, had the boldness, courage, audacity & daring, to stage a brutal assault on a key installation of the metropolis of Kenya’s capital city of Nairobi, a country that has a fully fledged National Police Force (up until recently, known as the Kenya Police Force), a National Intelligence Service, an Army, an Air Force, a Navy, and a paramilitary General Service Unit (GSU).
For instance, within the nearby vicinity of the Westgate Shopping Mall, is the Department of Defence (DOD), where the Kenya Army, Kenya Air Force & Kenya Navy are represented. There are at least four police stations in the nearby vicinity of the Westgate Shopping Mall i.e. Muthangari Police Station, Spring Valley Police Station, Parklands Police Station and Central Police Station. The Kenya Air Force Moi Air Base is also in the vicinity of the Westgate Shopping Mall, and while the Kenya Air Force Nanyuki Air Base is about 300 kilometres from the Westgate Shopping Mall, it would take fighter jets of the Kenya Air Force at the Nanyuki Air Base not more than 15 minutes to get to the Westgate Shopping Mall if called upon. The Kenya Police, the Kenya Army and the Kenya Navy also have airwing units, so if the sizable units of the Kenya Navy would have been needed for one reason or another to counter the aggressors of the Westgate Shopping Mall assault, it would have or should have taken units of the Kenya Navy not more than 40 minutes to get from their base at Mombasa, to the Westgate Shopping Mall, a distance of about 600 kilometres.
The Kahawa Barracks & the Maroon Commandoes Army Barracks (for many years known as the 7th Battalion Army Barracks), are also in nearby proximity to the Westgate Shopping Mall. Finally, the headquarters of the paramilitary General Service Unit (GSU), are situated not very far off from the now condemned Westgate Shopping Mall.
That a handful of unknown individuals (some apparently as young as 18 years old & 19 years old), would have been aware of this i.e. the key security installations in and around Westgate, yet still went ahead to stage such an audacious spectacular assault on a key Kenyan installation, can be described as nothing short of the stuff of legend, making it difficult not to view the aggressors in the Westgate Shopping Mall as warriors, as gladiators, as Vikings and as bold, brave, courageous & daring Marxist-Leninist fundamentalists. Whoever they are, they have held an entire Nation ransom & hostage since Saturday, 21st September 2013, and will continue to do so, for as long as any matter or any question regarding the Westgate Shopping Mall assault remains unresolved or unanswered, and as things stand, way too many questions remain unanswered.
The Westgate Shopping Mall assault is a debacle & disgrace of monumental proportions on the part of the Government of Kenya and people of Kenya in general. That a “handful of nobodies” a “handful of unknowns” could casually walk into the Republic of Kenya and cause such major carnage, mayhem & anguish in such a brief curtailed period of time, is inexplicable, unforgivable and deeply sorrowful. It is an indication like no other of a deeply incompetent Government i.e. the Kenya Government, and a totally lost people i.e. the Kenyan People
Courtesy of the Kenya Government & we the people of Kenya as a whole, the perpetrators of the Westgate Shopping Mall assault of September 2013 have been instantly catapulted to the status of legends & icons and now rank at par with global figures of notoriety & semi-endearment such as Carlos the Jackal, Al Capone, Carlo Gambino, Charles “Lucky” Luciano, “Black September” and Mario Puzo’s “The Godfather”/Don Corleone. Instant icons have been created overnight in both the underworld and the mainstream world above, and the underworld in particular, must be currently in a state of measurable jubilation & glee. The likes of “Banyamulenge”, the Basque Separatists, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), “Hezbollah”, M23, “Hamas”, “Mai Mai”, the “Taliban”, “Tupac Amaru”, the FARC rebels, Boko Haram, “Fatah al-Islam”, the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), and “Abu Sayyaf”, must currently be in celebratory mood, as they deliver coded congratulatory messages to “Al Shabaab”, and in particular, the said perpetrators of the Westgate Shopping Mall assault of September 2013
And whereas many in the mainstream world would understandably conceal their admiration, if any, of the spectacular bold & pin-point precision with which the assault on the Westgate Shopping Mall was executed, the cruel irony is that the likes of Nelson Mandela/”Umkhonto we Sizwe”/the African National Congress (ANC), Gerry Adams/Sein Fein/the Irish Republican Army (IRA), and Field Marshal Muthoni wa Kirima/Field Marshal Baimungi Marete/Field Marshal Dedan Kimathi/Field Marshal Musa Mwariama/”Mau Mau” were once openly & formally regarded as “terrorists”, precisely because of Westgate Shopping Mall kind of actions/assaults, yet today, the aforementioned are regarded as legends and icons. Nelson Mandela for instance, is today a global darling, while Field Marshal Dedan Kimathi has a statue in his honour on Nairobi’s Kimathi Street, a street also named in his honour.
Other key figures in Kenya’s freedom struggle such as Mary Nyanjiru, Madam Ketilili wa Menza, Otenyo Nyamaterere, James Beauttah, Orkoiyot Koitalel arap Samoei, Harry Thuku, Mwangeka wa Malowa and Waiyaki wa Hinga, must also be following the unfolding events of the Westgate Shopping Mall from their final resting places with curious interest, wondering why they had not staged such bold & daring raids when they lived, and thinking that had they, Kenya may have even become independent politically, economically & socially much earlier than 1963 i.e. & e.g. 1943, 1933, or even 1923
The disgraceful, unreliable & inept Kenya Government and the equally disgraceful, unreliable & inept Kenyan Media, should thus stand advised against using terms like “terrorist” and “cowardly” with the lavishness that they currently are, and take a deeper introspective look at the Westgate Shopping Mall assault
3. The President of the Republic of Kenya and the Deputy President of the Republic of Kenya, like many other Kenyans, have also now taken the moral high ground regarding the Westgate Shopping Mall assault, and have since 21st September 2013, been also using puritan expressions like “terrorist” and “cowardly”. The President of the Republic of Kenya and the Deputy President of the Republic of Kenya are facing charges at the Hague based International Criminal Court (ICC) for allegedly perpetrating and/or orchestrating “acts of terrorism & violence”, not much different from those of the Westgate Shopping Mall assault e.g. the Kiambaa Church incident of early 2008 here in Kenya at the height of the post-election violence of 2007 & 2008, where women and children were locked up in a child building that was set ablaze in cold blood and in which mattresses were thrown in to add ferocity to the blazing inferno.
The President of the Republic of Kenya and the Deputy President of the Republic of Kenya stand accused of actions no less heinous than those associated with the Westagate Shopping Mall assault, and until both individuals comprehensively & satisfactorily clear their names of any & all accusations being levelled against them regarding the brutal Kenyan post-election war of 2007 and 2008, they should desist in making statements that portray themselves as being any better than the perpetrators of the Westgate Shopping Mall assault.
What’s more is that if the perpetrators of the Westgate Shopping Mall are apprehended, they are likely to be held at a facility like Guantanamo Bay until further notice. Should the President of the Republic of Kenya and the Deputy President of the Republic of Kenya be also held at a facility like Guantanamo Bay until further notice, because they are also facing charges of terrorism no different from those associated with the Westgate Shopping Mall?
And where does that leave the rest of we Kenyans? Hopefully with our heads bowed down in deep deep anguished shame, hopefully. How is it that this country got to the stage of having a President and a Deputy President who are facing charges of crimes against humanity at the Hague based International Criminal Court (ICC)?
If the current & scheduled Kenya trials taking place at the Hague based International Criminal Court (ICC) had been taking place soon after World War II, they would be being referred to as the “Nuremberg Trials”, meaning that we Kenyans would be being referred to currently as “Nazis”. Former Liberian warlord Charles Taylor has just lost his appeal to have his 50 year jail sentence overturned by the International Criminal Court for amongst other things, supporting a band of savages called the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), who chopped-off people’s hands and who forcibly held women & girls as sex slaves in detention camps.
Effectively, the three Kenya cases currently at the Hague based International Criminal Court (ICC), equate all Kenyans to Adolf Hitler and the Nazis, and to savages who chop off people’s hand, and forcibly confine women & girls as sex slaves, and here we are holding night vigils, and using puritan terms like “terrorist” and “cowardly”. Is it any wonder therefore that US President Obama snubbed his native Kenya for the third time in a row this past July? What would have given President Obama more pride & joy than to make a triumphant pilgrimage to his ancestral Kenya as President Obama? Barack was here twice as Citizen Obama in 1987 & 1991, even bringing Michelle to introduce her to his “K’Obama Clan” in 1991 before they got married one year later in 1992, visited again as Senator Obama in 2006, and must have had every intention of visiting Kenya as President Obama, until we exposed ourselves for who we truly are i.e. the equivalent of Adolf Hitler and the Nazis, and the equivalent of savages who chop off people’s hands and forcibly confine women & girls as sex slaves.
What’s more is that no notable figure has been prosecuted in connection with the brutal Kenyan post-election war of 2007 & 2008 after six years, and the promulgation of a brand new constitution in between. So just what kind of a people are we? A people any better than the perpetrators of the Westgate Shopping Mall assault? Certainly not
Kenya has been dead since 30th December 2002, when Mwai Kibaki and the so-called National Rainbow Coalition (NARC), came to power. In five short years after 30th December 2002, the Republic of Kenya went to civil war following the most shameful and disgraceful Kenyan general elections of December 2007. Former UN Secretary General had to be brought in to restore order, not the numerous Kenyans now claiming that the Westgate Shopping Mall assault will not “break us”, and not dampen our spirit as a “united people”. As a result of the disgraceful general elections of December 2007, Kenya & Kenyans are now, as mentioned, at the “Nuremberg Trials” at the Hague based International Criminal Court (ICC)
There have in addition been too many remarkable events between 30th December 2002 and today, that suggest that we Kenyans have no values or meaningful set of beliefs, and that we respect or value no one or nothing, secular or divine. We are a law unto ourselves, gods unto ourselves.
In 2007 two individuals of Armenian nationality with shadowy business dealings, powerful Kenyan connections, and who both held the rank of Assistant Commissioner of Police in the Republic of Kenya, staged a dramatic hold-up at Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, in a bizarre incident that clearly demonstatred that we Kenyans did not manage or control our own country.
Since then, inter alia, it has emerged that there are also fake policemen and policewomen of Kenyan nationality in the Kenya Police Force, also of the rank of Assistant Commissioner Of Police, one of whom is said could have caused the the Baragoi Massacre, where 45 Kenyan Police Officers were shot in cold blood, a contingent of close to 15 Kenyans was held up in Nigeria for close to a month for their role in the bizarre unprocedural deportation of four Nigerians, and the arrivals unit of the 35 year old Jomo Kenyatta International Airport was razed down in a fierce inferno. All these terrible incidents, in addition to numerous others, remain unresolved, and no one has either been prosecuted or held responsible for them, yet here we are as people pointing fingers at the perpetrators of the Westgate Shopping Mall as being the most heinous and callous of criminals. We have been active accessories to numerous heinous crimes in the Republic of Kenya since 30th December 2002 with the active manner in which we have turned a blind eye to numerous atrocities, and here we are using terms like “We are One”.
The people most responsible for the mess that this country is in, is we Kenyans, not the perpetrators of the Westgate Shopping Mall assault of September 2013. Any meaningful remedial action that we ever hope of bringing to our beloved Kenya will have to be presided over by meaningful sacrifices by and from ourselves, not by empty sloganeering.
The Marxist-Leninist fundamentalists who brutally struck at the Westgate Shopping Mall in September 2013 will stage another similar assault, frightfully so, it is apparent. The perpetrators of the Westgate Shopping Mall assault have taken a stand i.e. maximum carnage & maximum pain. How about the rest of we puritan Kenyans? What is our stand? To continue on the same pretentious fatalistic path we have been on since 30th December 2002, or to bring real change to our beloved Kenya, real meaningful long-lasting change? At any rate, we should not deceive ourselves that we are any better than the perpetrators of the Westgate Shopping Mall assault of September 2013, and if anything, we are worse
From: Judy Miriga
To understand, read and connect the dots good people ……… Information is power…………………….
Judy Miriga
Diaspora Spokesperson
Executive Director
Confederation Council Foundation for Africa Inc.,
USA
http://socioeconomicforum50.blogspot.com/
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Man moves to court seeking orders to remove President Uhuru Kenyatta, William Ruto from office
Updated Monday, September 30th 2013 at 15:22 GMT +3
By Lucianne Limo
NAIROBI, KENYA: A man has moved to court seeking orders to remove President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto from office.
Isaac Aluochier wants Uhuru and Ruto to cease from holding the top jobs in the country for allegedly being in office illegally.
He argued that prior to becoming President, between August 27,2010 and April 2012, Uhuru was Kanu Chairman and continued to hold the position of an appointed Deputy Prime Minister of Kenya right until he assumed office as President.
He accused Ruto of prior to becoming Deputy President, between August 27 2010 and August 2011, was both the Deputy Party Leader, Strategy of the Orange Democratic Movement ( ODM) and appointed Minister for Higher Education, Science and Technology.
Aluochier cited Article 77(2) of the Constitution which prohibits an appointed State officer from holding office in a political party.
“By the Respondents holding both the offices of appointed Ministers in the Cabinet, and political party offices, they contravened Article 77(2) of the Constitution, “he said.
The petitioner wants the court declare to that by the operation of Article 75(3) of the Constitution, the Respondents were rendered disqualified from holding any other State office.
In his petition ,he wants the court to order the respondents ’ holding of the offices of President and Deputy President to cease with immediate effect, as they are not qualified to hold these or any other State offices.
Justice David Majanja disqualified himself from hearing the matter on Friday and referred the case to Justice Mumbi Ngugi for hearing on Thursday.
Attorney General Githu Muigai applied to be enjoined in the case as an interested party.
The petitioner also wants the court to order the duo to pay general damages amounting to the cost of holding a presidential by-election, and the sum total of salaries and allowances they received as State officers over the period.
He argued that Pursuant to Article 75(2) of the Constitution, the Respondents had to be disciplined for their contraventions of Article 77(2), a discipline that was not carried out against them.
He added that notwithstanding the Respondents’ failure to be disciplined, pursuant to Article 2(4) of the Constitution, that failure to discipline the President and his Deputy was invalid, and they stood disciplined by the operation of law.
“Consequently, any holding of State office by the Respondents, whether as Member of Parliament, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Finance or President, or as Member of Parliament, Minister for Higher Education, Science and Technology or Deputy President, was invalid, pursuant to Article 2(4) of the Constitution, “said Aluochier.
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We have died for far too long for nothing, so let’s fix the Kenya police
Updated Sunday, September 29th 2013 at 22:02 GMT +3
By PETER WANYONYI
There are times when this country unites fervently in the face of adversity, and this was on display ten days ago when terrorists attacked the Westgate Mall.
Support for the security personnel involved in the operation was unanimous, and it was fantastic to see the volunteer spirit at work as citizens helped to rescue and transport the injured, while others brought food and refreshments to the soldiers and emergency-response personnel on site.
This column salutes the gallant spirit of the security personnel, as well as the volunteers who gave up time and resources — and ran the risk of possible injury from the militants barricaded inside the shopping mall. Our condolences go to the family and friends of those who tragically lost their lives in the atrocity, including President Uhuru, who lost family in the attack.
Systemic failures
The hard questions will already be coming out behind the closed doors and curtained windows of the intelligence and security superstructure of the country. This column has, in the past, lamented the here-today-gone-tomorrow focus of our police where security is concerned. We just don’t seem to have the required patience to painstakingly follow leads and use the intelligence garnered from them to secure the country.
The terrorist atrocity was spectacular and sudden, but if we look closer, we will no doubt find that it was a result of systemic failures in security. Our policing is rather haphazard, and seems more geared towards allowing the police to make a quick shilling via extortion, rather than actually providing citizens with the security they deserve and expect.
As we ponder this, nothing has been done about the Baragoi massacre in which dozens of police officers were slaughtered after being led into an ambush thanks to faulty intelligence, poor kitting and questionable command. The supervisors of the police force are still in office; no one ever took responsibility for the atrocity. And that was that. No one was fired for it, and it appears to have quietly receded into the hidden recesses of our collective national memory.
No stone unturned
Every so often, we have fitful initiatives, like the long-planned sweeping up of illegal arms. But political expediency intervenes and the initiatives are quietly shelved. The government has long promised to “beef up” security in northern Kenya, especially on the borders with Somalia and Ethiopia. One of the reasons that locals in those regions have firearms is to defend themselves against livestock rustling from neighbouring countries. Of course, securing the borders against such incursions, in the first place, would make it unnecessary for the locals to have firearms, and would also ensure that foreigners do not infiltrate the country to sell weapons or engage in terror activities.
But that sounds like asking too much. Every week, Kenyans are killed in various parts of the country as a direct result of lack of adequate police work. The much promised “we will leave no stone unturned” action never quite materialises, and we quickly go back to waiting for the next atrocity.
When will this vicious and tragic comedy stop?
Sunday, September 29, 2013
Are these the faces behind Westgate mall attack?
In Summary
Robow – established the first militant Islamist training camp in Somalia in 1996 and reportedly left in 2000 to train with the Taliban in Afghanistan.
Godane – held meetings in Somalia to come up with strategies on how to execute attacks in Kenya, leaked NIS report says.
Iman – is said to have been controversial since his days at Jomo Kenyatta University of Science and Technology, where he graduated with a degree in engineering.
Samantha – British media claim she was involved in the Westgate terrorist attack.
Sandheere – is believed to have been the one who escorted the terrorists who attacked the Westgate Mall.
Sheikh Mukhtar Robow alias Abu Mansur
Al-Shabaab deputy leader
A leaked NIS report says Muktar Sheikh Robow and Dahir Aweys arrived in Hela Marer area, Gedo region, from Ufuro area in the Bay region, Somalia, on March 22.
They held a meeting with 50 other leaders where they discussed the mode of training for their operatives as well as plan on how to carry out attacks on vital installations in Mandera, Wajir, Garissa, Mombasa and Nairobi.
The FBI has put a $5 million bounty on Robow.
Robow, the deputy leader of al-Shabaab, is also a former spokesman for the group.
He was one of the founders of the terror group. He is from Baidoa in the Bay region of Somalia, where his Rahanweyn clan holds overwhelming influence.
Robow established the first militant Islamist training camp in Somalia, al-Hudda, in Huddur in 1996. He reportedly left Somalia in 2000 to train with the Taliban in Afghanistan.
He returned to Somalia after the Taliban fell from power. In 2003, he helped create al-Shabaab from the remnants of al Ittihad al Islami.
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Ahmed Abdi Godane, alias, Mukhtar Abu Zubeyr
Al-Shabaab founder and overall commander
A leaked National Security Intelligence (NIS) report says that early this year Godane held meetings in Somalia to come up with strategies on how to execute attacks in Kenya. The FBI has put a $7 million bounty on him.
Godane, who was born in northern Somalia, now known as Somaliland, has been leading al-Shabaab since 2008.
He studied accounting in Pakistan and while there he occasionally travelled to Afghanistan where he came into contact with al-Qaeda, led by the late Osama bin Laden.
When he returned home he founded the northern wing of Somalia’s al-Ittihad al-Islami (Islamic Union), which was established by Somali Mujahiddins returning from Afghanistan. He was to later start recruiting and indoctrinating the militia who were later to start attacks against Western interests in Somalia, including kidnapping and killing of Western nationals.
Godane was to later join the Council of Islamic Courts before teaming up with Aden Hashi Farah to form al-Shabaab when they split from CIC.
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Sheikh Ahmed Iman Ali
According to a leaked National Security Intelligence report, Iman — who was appointed by Al-Shabaab as its de facto leader of Kenyan fighters in Somalia — was among the masterminds of the Westgate attack.
“Al-Shabaab remains focused on conducting attacks through individuals that have not been arrested before. The masterminds of the intended attacks are Kenyans, who are in middle and senior management levels of the terror group.
Among them; Maalim Abass Guyo, Ahmed Iman Ali and Jan Mohamed Khan alias Abu Musab Al Mombasa,” the NIS report says.
Last year, Iman released a video declaring war against Kenya on behalf of Al-Shabaab.
Interviews with those who know Sheikh Iman, a former chairman of Muslim Youth Centre (MYC) in Pumwani, Nairobi, say he has been controversial since his days at Jomo Kenyatta University of Science and Technology, where he graduated with a degree in engineering.
Born either in 1973 or 1974, Iman presents security agents with something new in the fight against terrorism.
Those who know him say he was a charming preacher with a fanatical following among various Kenyan communities.
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Samantha Lewthwaite a.k.a. “White Widow”
The British media has claimed she was involved in the terrorist attack on the Westgate Shopping Mall.
There is no evidence so far to link her to the attack but police and security forces say Samantha Lewthwaite— the widow of one of the four suicide bombers who devastated London in July 2005 — was involved in the Kenya attack, let alone being a “mastermind,” as the British papers have claimed.
The International Police (Interpol) has issued a red-alert calling for arrest.
She is wanted by Kenya “on charges of being in possession of explosives and conspiracy to commit a felony dating back to December 2011” as part of a suspected plot to bomb cities along the Kenyan coast at Christmas.
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Abu Sandheere
He is believed to have been the one who escorted the terrorists who attacked Westgate Shopping Mall.
He is suspected to be a 50-year-old Kenyan man who is an associate of the late Al-Qaeda leader Fazul Abdullah. Sandheere, whose parents were a Maasai and a European, is thought to have escaped moments after the assault started on Saturday.
“He escorted the attackers to the mall and then left as people were fleeing. He then travelled to the border and crossed to Somalia,” said an intelligence source.
According to counter-terrorism sources, the man seconded to Al-Shabaab by the Al-Qaeda network arrived in Somalia on Friday after days of avoiding the tight security that had been mounted across the country to stop suspected terrorists from escaping.
Sandheere, said to be the regional Al-Qaeda man in charge of intelligence, logistics and special operations, escaped from Westgate with two other unidentified terrorists. He is also described as being “extremely sharp”.
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The Independent (Kampala)
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Uganda: Kenyan Attackers Linked to Kampala
By Haggai Matsiko, 27 September 2013
Ahmed Abdi Godane, the man believed to be the mastermind of the July 2010 Kampala bombing has been linked to the Sept.21 attack on a popular shopping mall in Kenya.
The Kenyan attack is said to bear the radicalised fingerprint of the 36-year old Godane aka Abu Zubeir or ‘the emir of al-Shabaab’ who is said to be among the most brutal among the leaders of the Somali militants.
Over 60 civilians were killed when armed terrorists brandishing heavy automatic weapons attacked the Westgate Mall in Nairobi. Analysts show that Godane has links with the global terrorist group, Al Qaeda. It is the most bloody terrorist attack in the region after the 1998 twin attacks on U.S. embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam and the 2010 attacks in Kampala.
Al-Shabaab suicide bombers hit Kampala on July 11, 2010 killing 74 people watching the World Cup final at two different venues were killed.
Following that attack, the U.S. placed a US$7-million bounty on the elusive Godane for his alleged role in the attack.
Since the Nairobi attack security around major installations and public facilities in Kampala has been strengthened. Security chiefs have also been huddled in strategy meeting to avert a possible attack.
The main reason the Islamist gun men attacked the Westgate Mall, killing over 60 people, they said, was to revenge on Kenya for its onslaught on them in Somalia. They chose to strike now because they claimed they aimed for a time when Kenyan authorities least expected them.
Security on high alert:
The Uganda Army Spokesperson, Paddy Ankunda told The Independent that the fact that the terrorists attacked Kenya, which like Uganda also has troops in Somalia means that Uganda has to be on high alert too.
“I mean two years ago,” Ankunda noted, “we experienced a terrible attack to, so this is very dangerous to us too and we are on high alert, we are not leaving anything to chance.”
More than Kenya, with about 6,700 troops, the Uganda People’s Defence Force (UPDF), is the main contributor of forces in Somalia and has been responsible for most of the thorough campaigns against the terrorist group in Somalia. It is no doubt that such credentials put Uganda on the terrorists’ radar.
Ankunda, however, noted that terrorist threats are mainly an internal security issue and that the Police is the lead organ. “But the army comes in to assist when the situation is intense,” the UPDF spokesperson added. Ankunda cautioned that people, who are in the habit of expecting full proof security, need to realise that security starts with them.
“People have to be vigilant,” he said.
Sheikh Abulaziz Abu Muscab, the al-Shabaab military operations spokesman boasted on the international TV station, Aljazeera, that they had ensured they attacked Kenyans when they were least expecting it.
“Our aim is to attack our enemy when they least expect us to attack,” the terrorists spokesperson reportedly said.
The militant’s spokesperson also said they had attacked the Westgate shopping mall because it brought together tourists, diplomats and Kenya’s decision-makers.
The biggest worry now is that although Ugandan security operatives are combing public places including shopping malls like the one that was attacked in Nairobi, the terrorists might wait until normalcy returns. Unfortunately for most of Ugandans, normalcy is laxity.
Information which has gained prominence since the Nairobi attack claims the man behind it, Godane, is anxious to take the al-Shabaab jihad beyond Somalia because his hold on the local group is shaky.
Divisions in al-Shabaab:
Analysts say that in a region where clans play an important mobilising role, Godane who is from the northern Isaaq clan is sitting on a throne of straw because most of his fighters belong to a different clan, the Rahanweyn of southern Somalia.
Godane is said to belong to the most radical fringe of the al-Shabaab. Some information circulated widely alleges that one month after the Kampala attack, the slain leader of Al Qaeda Osama bin Laden, wrote to Godane cautioning him to go slow on his attacks.
Bin Laden advised the young, aspiring global jihadist not to harm too many Muslim civilians in his attacks on Amisom, the African security mission in Somalia, suggesting he should “review this matter”.
“Remain devout, patient and persistent in upholding high moral values … towards the community”.
The letter dated August 7, 2010 was allegedly found in the former al-Qaeda leader’s compound after his death. The Independent has no way of verifying these claims. The declassified document was among 17 published by the Combating Terrorism Centre at West Point, the US military academy.
Osama bin Laden reportedly rejected a request for a formal alliance between al-Qaeda and al-Shabaab because he considered Godane to be too “radical and hot-headed”.
Just this June, Somali websites that cover the activities of al-Shabaab were awash with stories of how Godane committed a bloody purge in the top ranks and consolidated his grip on the group.
In a single clash in Barawe, a coastal city in the south of Somalia, fighters loyal to Godane reportedly killed two co-founders of Al-Shabaab, including his former deputy and longtime friend, Ibrahim Al-Afghani, and chased away Hassan Dahir Aweys and Mukhtar Robow, the former spokesman for the terror group.
Al-Afghani, Aweys and Robow had reportedly complained about Godane’s authoritarian tendencies and the heavy-handed approach in dealing with foreign jihadists.
The conflict erupted after Godane on April 26 reportedly attempted to kill an American jihadist and Alabama native called Omar Hammami who had publicly criticised Al-Shabaab.
Robow, the man Godane kicked out is from the Rahanweyn clan and had been a major leader of Al-Shabaab since its formation a decade ago.
According to a major report on Godane in the UK newspaper, the Guardian, his attacks on foreign fighters such as Omar Hammami could also make it difficult for al-Shabaab to attract global fighters.
The Nairobi attack followed insistent al-Shabaab attacks in Mogadishu, including one on a UN compound.
However, while publicly these attacks can be viewed as an al-Shabaab show of force, security experts say they are in fact a sign of a weakening group that can only attack soft targets and kill civilians.
Information Minister, Namayanja Rose Nsereko, condemned the attack that she described as “barbaric, primitive and cowardly”.
She said it was a “misguided act of desperation designed by evil elements to divide the people of Kenya and break the country’s resolve and to support the Global anti-terrorism fight and the on-going UN stabilization Mission in Somalia”.
If this is why the terrorists hit Nairobi and why they chose this time, then Uganda is no doubt in the line of fire, experts say.
Security experts warn:
David Pulkol, the former Director-General of Uganda’s External Security Organisation (ESO), says that given that this enemy is more complex, Uganda’s security authorities need to be “thoroughly and consistently preparing for them”.
“This enemy operates in what is called the sleeper cell system, they camp in an area, do their homework, they are not in a hurry and strike when they are ready” Pulkol told The Independent, “This makes them tricky to deal with.”
Pulkol adds that in order to deal with this enemy, those in security and intelligence need to focus on deeper penetration in terms of intelligence gathering, building networks and tracking them.
“We also need to assess the likely methods of these enemies and our intelligence needs to follow them consistently and persistently to avoid surprises because once they carry out the attack,” Pulkol says, “then at the level of intelligence, you have failed.”
But even after the attack, Pulkol says, the security players need to be ready with skills on how to counter them.
“Who have we trained for these kinds of operations, what are the enemy’s likely targets, do we have their architectural drawings, how are we ready to work with other institutions to neutralise such attacks?” Pulkol asks giving pointers for security authorities.
“We have trained officers who can carry out these operations like the Black Mambas but are they doing rehearsals on how to rescue hostages in case a school, a market, parliament, a mall or any other public place is attacked?” Pulkol asks.
He says that although the UPDF is picking very important skills to address things, the Uganda security needs to draw lessons from the Nairobi attacks.
The former spy chief adds that this attack shows that the enemy’s psychology and methods have changed as they are now using things like hostage taking, home-made explosives and knives. For the Ugandan security officers to measure up, Pulkol calls for reinforcement in the counter-measures of the terrorists’ new techniques.
Despite the 2010 twin attacks, security in Kampala is often only beefed up whenever there are intelligence reports about a likely terror attack. Yet ever since Uganda made the move to send troops to Somalia, the country is constantly under the terrorists’ radar.
With the Nairobi attack, the terrorists have even taken their game a notch higher. For most of the time, security has been relying on intelligence tracking movements of likely bombers and bombs. At public places and functions guards are always looking out for bombs and other explosives.
However, in the Kenyan attack, which has been described as highly organised, explosives were secondary. The machine gun wielding militants attacked a shopping mall, besieged it and started killing people.
U.S intelligence experts reportedly said the attack on the Westgate Mall might be an indication that the group is now focussing on regional attacks after losing power and territory in Somalia.
Given that shopping malls litre Kampala, her suburbs and even upcountry towns, the list of likely targets is endless. And unlike with bombs, guns are much easier to transfer and wars in Southern Sudan and DR Congo have increased the proliferation of guns. The terrorists can easily acquire them.
That is why the latest attack in Nairobi means that the Ugandan security has to work even harder and be more sophisticated.
Inspector General of Police Kale Kayihura, has moved to beef up security in public places. In his drive, he told reporters, police was going to take over the security of many of these places.
He noted that the Nairobi attack signalled what threat terrorists were and cautioned those who take security alerts for granted.
Going forward, Kayihura has also noted that owners of buildings will have to put in place the requisite security measures or face the wrath of the law. Owners of security companies, he noted, will lose their licences if their guards are not well trained.
But the real test for Kayihura and all Ugandans is in how long these measures and the vigilance drive can be sustained because the terrorists will always look out for and celebrate even the slightest indication of laxity.
Sabahi (Washington, DC)
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Kenya Advocates Negotiated Handover for Kismayo
7 August 2013
Concerns Over Somalia’s Ability to Curb Violence
Region Wants Continent’s Role in Stabilizing…
Somalia Since the Guns of August
Al-Shabaab Claims 270 Attacks in Somalia
Photo: Stuart Price/UN Multimedia
Relative peace at Lido Beach in Mogadishu.
The Kenyan government says it is ready to withdraw troops from Kismayo but the handover of Kismayo airport and seaport to the Somali federal government should include Somali regional authorities, Kenya’s The People reported Wednesday (August 7th).
“We are ready to exit Kismayo and this must be done in an orderly manner to avoid compromising security gains achieved,” Defence Principal Secretary Monica Juma said. “The chief of [the Kenya Defence Forces] will meet soon to discuss on the modalities of handing over Kismayo to Somalis.”
A negotiated handover between the federal government and regional administrations would prevent feelings of discrimination and inequality, Juma and Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Karanji Kibicho said Tuesday, according to Kenya’s Daily Nation.
The two officials warned that failure to incorporate regional administrations could cause “serious deterioration of the security situation”.
Wikileaks dispatch exposes Meles Zenawi as a mercenary
EthiopianReview.com | December 2nd, 2010
U.S. diplomatic dispatched that are leaked and now posted on Wikileaks.org confirms Ethiopian Review’s report that Ethiopia’s despot Meles Zenawi was hired by U.S. Government to invade Somalia in 2006. The proxy war was spearheaded by U.S. head for African affairs Jendayi Frazer who conducted the disastrous invasion over the objection of her own colleagues in the State Department and the Pentagon. The 2006 invasion of Somalia succeeded in eliminating the benign Islamist group UIC, but it also led to the birth the al Queda-affiliated al Shabab. In short, al Shabab is the creation of Jendayi Frazer and Meles Zenawi. Al Shabab is now being financed by Saudi sheiks and it is purchasing its weapons from Woyanne and Uganda officers, as reported here by French journalist Alain Lallemand for LeMonde newspaper. Over 20,000 Somalis were slaughtered and over 2 million were made homeless as a result of Jendayi Frazer’s adventure and Meles Zenawi’s prostitution. — Elias Kifle
The following is from Wired.com:
WikiLeaked Cable Confirms U.S.’ Secret Somalia Op
2 December 2010
It was an off-hand compliment during a January 2007 dinner meeting between Abu Dhabi crown prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, plus staff, and then-U.S. Central Commander boss General John Abizaid. But Al Nayhan’s jocular praise, as reported in WikiLeaks’ trove of leaked diplomatic cables, is a rare admission that the United States played a central role in the disastrous December 2006 Ethiopian
Woyanne [the ruling party in Ethiopia] invasion of Somalia, a move that ultimately emboldened the very Islamic extremists the U.S. and
Ethiopia
Woyanne had hoped to squash.
“The Somalia job was fantastic,” Al Nahyan interjected between discussions of Iran, Saudi Arabia and the prince’s desire to buy Reaper drones for his air force. At the time of Al Nahyan’s comment, the dust was just settling from Ethiopia’s Blitzkrieg-style assault toward Mogadishu. Some 50,000
Ethiopian
Woyanne troops, supported by T-55 tanks, Hind helicopters and Su-27 jet fighters, had cut a bloody swath through the lightly-armed forces of the Islamic Courts Union, an alliance of mostly nationalist Islamic fighters that prior to the invasion had controlled much of Somalia.
The Somali attack had surprised outside observers.
Ethiopia Woyanne and Somalia had been rivals a long time, but no one had expected such brutal fighting, and so suddenly. It was fairly obvious that Ethiopia had received significant help — even urging — for its invasion. For one, Ethiopian Woyanne air force did not appear capable of coordinated air strikes in support of on-the-move ground troops; it seemed likely that the Su-27s were piloted by Russian or Ukrainian mercenaries — a time-honored tradition in Africa. What’s more,
Ethiopian Woyanne’s army didn’t possess the intelligence or logistical skill for long-range operations. Those, not coincidentally, are particular American strengths.
Washington certainly had a motive to get involved in Somalia. There was growing concern in the White House and the Pentagon that Somalia’s Islamists might ally themselves with Al Qaeda and turn to international terrorism. Already with two escalating wars on its own plate, the U.S. was in no position to openly lead its own large-scale attack on Somalia. It’d have been far simpler to simply sponsor somebody else to do the dirty work. Enter Ethiopia Woyanne. [Ethiopia has nothing to do with the invasion of Somalia.]
In early January following the invasion, USA Today’s Barbara Slavin reported on Washington’s extensive behind-the-scenes support for Ethiopian Woyanne troops. “The ties include intelligence sharing, arms aid and training,” Slavin noted. A couple days later, The Washington Post’s Pauline Jelinek, citing anonymous sources, described U.S. Special Forces accompanying Ethiopian Woyanne troops. CBS news revealed that U.S. Air Force gunships were active over southern Somalia during the Ethiopian blitz. Through all the reporting, U.S. officials remained vague or silent on the subject of Washington’s involvement. All the same, evidence was mounting that the U.S. had played a leading role in the Ethiopian Woyanne invasion. Journalists only strongly suspected it, but Abu Dhabi prince Al Nayhan apparently knew it for certain, if his praise of “the Somalia job” was any indication.
Three years later, it’s clear the Ethiopian Woyanne invasion was a bad idea. The attack rallied Somalis of all stripes and politics against the invaders, ultimately boosting support for fringe Islamic groups that now had a clear enemy in the Ethiopians Woyannes and their suspected American puppet-masters. Violence mounted as the Ethiopians Woyannes settled in for a bloody, two-year occupation.
When the Ethiopians Woyannes withdrew in 2009, the Islamists rushed to fill the vacuum. A year later, the Al Shabab Islamic group, successor to the Islamic Courts, conducted its first international terror attack. Last month, a Somali-born American teen plotted to explode a bomb in Portland. Today, U.S. Special Forces continue to target terrorists in Somalia. There are arguably more of them than ever, thanks in part to the botched Ethiopian Woyanne invasion. “We’ve made a lot of mistakes and Ethiopia’s Woyanne’s entry in 2006 was not a really good idea,” U.S. diplomat Donald Yamamoto said in March.
Related posts:
U.S. official in charge of Africa policy caught in a lie (Wikileaks)
Attack on Somali puppet troops leave at least 18 dead
Meles Zenawi declares ‘Mission Accomplished’ in Somalia
Somalia crisis stalemated by the Meles regime in Ethiopia
Meles Zenawi’s forces gun down 46 Somali civilians – CNN
Ethiopia: WikiLeaks Reveals Details of U.S. Dialogue With Meles 6 December 2010 document
Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi told top visiting American officials before elections in May this year that he would “crush… with our full force”opposition leaders who “violated the laws of Ethiopia,” according to a diplomatic cable published by WikiLeaks.
The cable, sent to Washington from the U.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa, reported Meles as telling a U.S. delegation in January that such leaders would suffer the fate of the jailed opposition leader, Birtukan Midekssa. They would “vegetate like Birtukan in jail forever,” he reportedly said.
Birtukan, who was jailed in 2005 following that year’s elections, then jailed again in 2008, was released in October this year after Meles had been returned to power in an election criticised by the U.S., European Union and rights groups.
Meles also told the U.S. delegation, which included Under Secretary for Democracy and Global Affairs Maria Otero and Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Johnnie Carson, that while Ethiopia welcomed foreign funding of charities, it would not allow donations from abroad for political activity.
The cable said Meles had said “those Ethiopians who want to engage in political activity should organize and fund themselves.” Civil society organization leaders who received foreign funding were accountable to the sources of their funding rather than to their organizations.
Replying, the delegation told Meles the May elections “would be closely watched in the U.S.” and urged him “to exercise wise judgment and leadership, give the opposition more political space, and consider the release of Birtukan Midekssa.”
The cable said Carson “stressed the importance of putting Ethiopia’s democracy on an upward and positive trajectory, and not letting it atrophy or slide backward, using the suffrage and civil rights movements in the U.S. as an illustration of challenges the U.S. has faced as it improved its own democratic system.”
From: Judy Miriga
Good People,
This is a matter for ICC Hague ………..Very very sad indeed……
Judy Miriga
Diaspora Spokesperson &
Executive Director for
Confederation Council Foundation for Africa
USA
http://socioeconomicforum50.blogspot.com
email: jbatec@yahoo.com
– – – – – – – – – – –
Jicho Pevu : Wagigisi wa mauji katika vita dhidi ya ugaidi part 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POdARlR2PJY
Published on Sep 5, 2013
Jicho Pevu – Wagigisi wa mauji katika vita dhidi ya ugaidi part 2
Watch KTN Streaming LIVE from Kenya 24/7 on http://www.ktnkenya.tv
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From: Judy Miriga
By Agwanda Saye.
The East Africa Law Society has demanded Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni to respect a court order directing withdrawal of security forces from besieged media houses.
The legal body with 15,000 lawyers as members has also called on the Speaker of the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) to force the Government of Uganda to uphold the rule of law and withdraw military and security forces from premises of The Monitor and Red Pepper publications, KFM and Dembe FM.
East Africa Law Society (EALS) President Mr. James Mwamu called on EALA to leverage its ongoing session in Kampala to call on the Government to respect the East African Community (EAC).
“Uganda should adhere to its commitments to observe individual and media rights and freedoms as contained under Articles 6(d) and 7(2) of the Treaty establishing the EAC,” Mr. Mwamu said.
The EALS President said that the Government of President Museveni should refrain from undue interference with well-meaning individual and commercial investments.
Mr. Mwamu said that the professional body with a membership of 15,000 lawyers across the region is exploring regional judicial avenues to guarantee freedom of the media in Uganda.
The EALS expressed similar sentiments in a letter dated May 27 to President Museveni, East Africa Legislative Assembly Speaker and EAC Secretariat Secretary General.
EALS is the umbrella regional Bar Association of the legal profession in East Africa and brings together the six national Law Societies of: The Burundi Bar Association, The Kigali Bar Association, The Law Society of Kenya, The Tanganyika Law Society, The Uganda Law Society and The Zanzibar Law Society; as well as their respective individual membership.
“We intend to explore other avenues to ensure cessation of the unfortunate state of affairs in the unlikely event that military forces in Uganda continue disregarding the rule of law,” Mr. Mwamu said.
He said that that a free independent and pluralistic media environment is crucial in a democratic society. “It acts as a forum for the public to access information and services understand and exercise their rights,” Mwamu said.
The EALS President also called on the EAC Secretary General to exercise his oversight mandate to ensure compliance of States with their obligations and commitments.
Mr. Mwamu said that the obligations are detailed under Article 29 (1) and (2) of the Treaty for the Establishment of the EAC.
“The Government of Uganda should abstain from any actions that have the potential of derailing the proposed political federation of the EAC,” Mr. Mwamu said.
Ends
From: Ouko joachim omolo
The News Dispatch with Omolo Beste in images
WEDNESDAY, MAY 29, 2013
While the Anti-corruption Court in Uganda orders the arrest of the Health Ministry Permanent Secretary, Dr Asuman Lukwago, for charges related to theft of more than Shs1 billion for a Global Fund project, in Kenya a parliamentary committee disregards a letter from the anti-corruption commission, advising against Mr Francis Kimemia’s clearance for Secretary to the Cabinet post.
In Kenya there are other animals greater than the others that is why when the greater animals are implicated with corruption and human rights abuses those responsible are not only seldom punished, but also given high posts to acknowledge and thank them for their heroism in the abuse.
That is why widespread impunity at all levels of government will continue to be a serious problem, despite implementation of judicial reform and the vetting of all judges and magistrates.
That is also why, even though the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission, mandated in 2008 to investigate alleged torture of Kenyans since independence has been presented to President Uhuru Kenyatta Kenyans should not rejoice as yet since the report touches the greater animals in Uhuru’s government.
Even though the judiciary asserted and maintained its independence, attempts by the executive branch to influence the outcome of judicial decisions, the judiciary cannot do much since their hands are tied.
The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) had written to the committee on Administration and National Security that vetted Mr Kimemia, raising issues touching on his integrity with regard to two corruption cases.
EACC had accused Mr Kimemia of blocking the suspension of a former Kenya Airports Authority managing director and the Foreign Affairs PS over the Sh56 billion Greenfield Terminal Project at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport and the purchase of the Tokyo Embassy property, respectively.
Because the majority in the House committee, investigations into the two matters comprises of the greater animals camp, is why they have disregarded the letter, arguing that the investigations were still at a preliminary stage and it was therefore difficult to draw conclusions on Mr Kimemia’s integrity.
In a report tabled before Parliament yesterday afternoon, the committee says the commission’s letter linking Mr Kimemia to ‘mega corruption’ was based on suspicion.
The report adds that the commission had no objection to Mr Kimemia being appointed as the Secretary to the Cabinet.
In their report, the 29-member committee chaired by Mr Asman Kamama (Tiati MP) says Mr Kimemia has the necessary qualifications and has vast experience in the public service which qualifies him for the position.
It says the nominee has risen through the ranks progressively, from a DO to his current position as Head of Public Service and Secretary to the Cabinet. “Mr Kimemia has never been implicated in any scandal,” the report says in the findings that will be debated by Parliament
Fr Joachim Omolo Ouko, AJ
Tel +254 7350 14559/+254 722 623 578
E-mail omolo.ouko@gmail.com
Facebook-omolo beste
Twitter-@8000accomole
Real change must come from ordinary people who refuse to be taken hostage by the weapons of politicians in the face of inequality, racism and oppression, but march together towards a clear and unambiguous goal.
-Anne Montgomery, RSCJ UN Disarmament Conference, 2002
From: News Release – African Press Organization (APO)
TUNIS, Tunisia, February 5, 2013/ — The African Water Facility offered a 1 million euro grant to the Community Integrated Development Initiatives (CIDI) to support their Kawempe Urban Poor Sanitation Improvement Project (KUPSIP). The project is designed to provide affordable and sustainable sanitation services to over 100,000 urban poor living in the Kawempe Municipality, in Kampala, Uganda.
Logo: http://www.photos.apo-opa.com/plog-content/images/apo/logos/african-development-bank.jpg
By expanding sanitation coverage and reducing environmental pollution, the KUPSIP is expected to help improve the health of slum dwellers and decrease the mortality rate of children under five by reducing the spread of cholera and diarrheal diseases, which is 23 per cent higher in households where facilities are inadequate and in areas where human waste disposal is improperly managed.
More specifically, the grant will support the following : provision of sanitation facilities for households, schools and the public in poor urban areas; delivery of pro-poor sanitation financing for accessing affordable and improved sanitation infrastructure; definition of a sustainable fecal sludge management and safe reuse strategy; promoting of collaboration with the private sector to identify and market affordable and consumer-friendly sanitation technologies; dissemination of targeted information, education and communication to promote better hygiene practices and generation and dissemination of knowledge products covering the entire sanitation chain through collaboration with agronomical research institutions.
The AWF grant will cover 74 per cent of the total project cost, while CIDI and collaborating partners will meet the balance of 26 per cent in form of financial and in-kind contributions.
The project will be executed by CIDI in partnership with Kawempe Municipality of the Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) and the National Water and Sewerage Cooperation (NWSC) and should be completed by the end of 2015.
About the African Water Facility (AWF)
The AWF is an initiative of the African Ministers’ Council on Water (AMCOW) hosted by the African Development Bank (AfDB), established in 2004 as a Special Water Fund to help African countries achieve the objectives of the Africa Water Vision 2025. The AWF offers grants from €50,000 to €5 million to support projects aligned with its mission and strategy to a wide range of institutions and organizations operating in Africa. Its three strategic priority activities are
1-preparing investment projects to mobilize investment funds for projects supported by AWF;
2-enhancing water governance to create an environment conducive for effective and sustainable investments;
3-promoting water knowledge for the preparation of viable projects and informed governance leading to effective and sustainable investments.
Since 2006, AWF has funded 73 national and regional projects in 50 countries, including in Africa’s most vulnerable states. It has mobilized more than €532 million as a result of its project preparation activities, which constitute 70 per cent of its portfolio. On average, each €1 contributed by the AWF has attracted €20 in additional follow-up investments.
The AWF is entirely funded by Algeria, Australia, Austria, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Burkina Faso, Canada, Denmark, the European Commission, France, Norway, Senegal, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the African Development Bank. The AWF is governed by a Governing Council representing its 15 donors, UN-Water Africa, the AU via NEPAD, AMCOW and the AfDB.
For more information: http://www.africanwaterfacility.org
Contact:
Katia Theriault, T. +216 71 10 12 79, M. +216 95 99 13 90, k.theriault@afdb.org
SOURCE
African Development Bank (AfDB)
Writes Leo Odera Omolo.
The Uganda government has envisaged the plan for screening and vetting all foreigners seeking for jobs oil exploration and prospecting companies operating I the country.
The Daily Monitor has reported that the plans to have the expatriate workers vetted were disclosed to the member of Parliamentary Ad-Hoc committee investigating the oil sector.
The revelation was made by the Commissioner for Petroleum Exploration and Production in the Ministry of Energy, Mr Ernest Rubondo whose department is tasked with the responsibility on the running and management of the oil sector.
He stated that the aim was to ensure that Ugandans do not lose out on jobs to the expatriates. Rubondo was responding to the member of the committee who had questioned the government commitment to ensuring that Ugandans and local fully benefited from the oil sector.
“If a company does not find suitably qualified Ugandan, it will be allowed to have an expatriate to fill the job. But the firm will be compelled to employ a Ugandan on the same job to understudy the foreigner and gain the necessary experience and eventually take over from the expatriate so that more foreigners do not come here,”he said.
Rubondo, however, told the committee members that the biggest challenge for Ugandan companies was lack of capacity to provide goods and services due to lack of funds to enable them compete effectively with foreign firms.
Rubondo further stated,” I believe the companies we have here are improving.”There are 77 wells so far. But all the wells pads were constructed by local firms “There is also a consultancy firm we hired to design a strategy plan on how best to achieve local contents.”
The MPs have been complaining about the lack of local employment in the oil sector, arguing that most of the foreign employees earn higher salaries than the Ugandans on the same job specification.
But Tullouw Oil Company’s president and the chairperson of the Uganda Chamber of Mines and petroleum Mr Elly Karuhanga commented, “This has been the practice because the government has an agreement with foreign firms of hiring specific foreigners with specific expertise.
Karuhanga added,”it is good that the Ugandan are employed to understudy the foreigners, “There are many foreigners whose applications for work permits are still pending.’
He disclosed that Tullouw Oil Company has employed between 15 and 20 per cent foreigners out of it workforce of about 200. Some oil companies are too technical and they are always under pressure to fulfill the immigration requirement to complete heir jobs.
Ends
From: Ouko joachim omolo
Voices of Justice for Peace
Regional News
BY FR JOACHIM OMOLO OUKO, AJ
NAIROBI-KENYA
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2012
As Uganda celebrates 50 years of independence today, the good news is that 19-year-olds, Proscovia Alengot has made history to be the world youngest Member of Parliament. She was elected as the Usuk County MP in Katakwi District, Eastern Uganda.
[image]Proscovia Alengot leaving Parliament after the business of the day/ photo-courtesy Daily Monitor
Waiting yet to join university, Hon Alengot obscured the seat after the death of her father, Michael Oromait who died from hypertension on the morning of Saturday July 21, this year.
Alengot was chosen as the ruling party’s (NRM) flag bearer in the runoff election, even when her father did not hold the seat on the party’s ticket. Some argue that Alengot was fronted and talked into the idea by the ambitious district Woman Member of Parliament, and, Minister for Education, Maj. (Rtd) Jessica Alupo, even though according to The Observer newspaper Alengot herself nurtured the desire to succeed her father.
The newspaper quoted family members as saying that Alengot took an interest in the requirements for one to become an MP, as soon as her dad passed on. She succeeded because had some powerful backers, including President Yoweri Museveni who pitched camp in the constituency to rally support on her behalf.
According to Robert Tabaro, a lecturer of Political Science and Public Administration at Kyambogo University, her age cannot have a hindrance to the potential of a good politician. At 19 she is old enough to legislate at a national level if at all she was not lured into the act by the forces surrounding her.
Paul Nyende, a psychology lecturer at Makerere University agrees with Tabaro that at 19, an individual has attained enough maturity to take part in legislation, even though their childhood experiences and knowledge base will determine how well they perform.
The good news is that as of today, Alengot seems to have a protective circle around her, especially personified in Maj. (Rtd) Alupo. Currently Alengot is a first-year Mass Communication student at Uganda Christian University in Mukono District, 23km and a 5–minute drive away from Kampala.
She attends only morning classes although she is punctual whenever she does. She sits at the back of the classroom and rarely is usually queit throughout the lectuers. She is chauffeur-driven to school and does not have meals at the University Dining Hall, where most first year students have their afternoon meals from.
Dressed with a sense of official importance, in formal wear that ensures to go below the knees, Alengot attended Soroti-Based Madera Girls Primary School, Kigulu Girls Primary School, Iganga Girls School, PMM Girls School and St Kalemba Secondary School in Kayunga. She spent a considerable part of her childhood living in Jinja District where her father’s main home was. This is about 200km away from the constituency she now represents.
The bad news is that the day is being marked when Forum for Democratic Change president Kizza Besigye is under house arrest. He has accused police of flouting a court ruling, which declared his detention under a colonial era “preventive arrest” ordinance unlawful.
The police in Uganda have become an aggressor despite the fact that they are there to protect people. Police remain heavily deployed on the road leading to Dr Besigye’s home after a mid-morning retreat from his main gate yesterday.
On his part, the Archbishop of Kampala diocese Dr Cyprian Kizito Lwanga has asked government to unconditionally release all political prisoners as a big step towards achieving genuine peace, reconciliation and justice.
The day he says is marked when there are many challenges affecting the country such as abuse of power, human rights violation, education system, corruption, ignorance and the failure to distinguish the relationship between culture, religion and politics. Despite the enactment of the land bill, people are still being evicted from their land.
The day is also marked when officers from the Rapid Response Unit regularly beat people with objects including batons, glass bottles, and metal pipes according to the 59-page report based on testimony from more than 100 interviews with former detainees, their families, and current and former members of the police unit, among others.
It documents six alleged extrajudicial killings in 2010. Two people had died from beatings during interrogations, while four others were shot dead during arrest, according to Human Rights Watch. The Rapid Response Unit makes arrests for a broad range of alleged crimes, including petty offences and terrorism.
“The unit’s personnel typically operate in unmarked cars, wear civilian clothing with no identifying insignia, and carry a variety of guns, from pistols to larger assault rifles,” the report says.
President Yoweri Museveni formed the unit in 2002. It was originally called Operation Wembley, before its name was changed to Violent Crime Crack Unit and then the Rapid Response Unit.
As the country marks 50 years there are some important personalities remembered for their role in Uganda:
Sir Edward Mutesa II
He was born to Ssekabaka Daudi Ccwa and Irene Drussila Namaganda on November 19, 1924, Makindye, studied at King’s College, Budo and Magdalene College, Cambridge. He was 39 years old on the day of Independence. He was president from 1963 – 1966 after a coalition between his party Kabaka Yekka (KY) and Uganda People’s congress (UPC) won the April 1962 final election. He was exiled after a May 24 (1966) attack on the palace by the federal Ugandan army and died on November 21, 1969, in London of unknown causes.
The Prime Minister-Milton Obote
Born December 28, 1925 in Akokoro village -Apac district in northern Uganda; he was 38 years on Independence Day. He studied at the Protestant Missionary School in Lira, and later attended Gulu Junior Secondary School, Busoga College. He eventually did English and Geography at Makerere University. He held his ministerial position from April 30 1962 until 1966 when he abrogated the Constitution and attacked the King’s palace hence declaring himself president and abolished his former position.
He established UPC, which was socialist and the only legal party between 1966 and 1971. Hugo Vickers writes, “Apollo Milton Obote, the country’s first executive prime minister, told Coutts that he expected the Queen to deliver independence in person. He was disappointed that she was sending the Duke of Kent since he was ‘young man and totally unknown in Uganda’.”
The Governor-Sir Walter Fleming Coutts
He was the Governor- General (a new position, initially was the Governor of Uganda) on the day of Independence and was the last governor of the Ugandan Protectorate. He served in this position from 1962 -1963. He was succeeded by Sir Edward Muteesa I as president.
He was born in 1912 and died in 1988. His role was to act as an agent of the British Government and a representative of the monarch. He therefore held the executive power of the Ugandan Protectorate.
The Queen’s representative- The Duke and Duchess of Kent, Prince Edward
Edward George Nicholas Paul Patrick also known as Prince Edward is a member of the British Royal Family. Born on October 9, 1935, he was exactly 27 years on the day Uganda got its independence.
He is a grandchild of King George V and has held the title of Duke of Kent since 1942. He is said to carry out royal duties on behalf of his first cousin, Queen Elizabeth II and on this day he and his wife Katherine Worsle were chosen to represent the Queen as Britain handed over the instruments of power to Milton Obote. He is the Queen’s eldest living paternal cousin.
Rhothinga – Sergeant at Arms in 1962
Little is known about the man who was the sergeant at arms at the time of Uganda’s independence. However, the little that is available about him is that he was a man who hailed from the West Nile.
(Rtd) Maj Akorimo Kanuti
“Disappointed and frustrated are the two words that describe Kanuti on this day,” read a TV presenter as she started an interview to the hero who reportedly brought down the British Union Jack and raised the Ugandan Flag on Independence day.
The 80-year-old who is tucked away way deep in Omatenga village in Kumi District was crowned a war hero during the 2003 independence celebrations, Mr Akorimo now leaves a laid back life with his two wives and children.
“While I am sitting in this damaged home, I am not happy. I did a lot for Uganda where I expected government of Uganda to be awake and see where I am,” he told NTV. He has 22 children and he was 29 at the time of independence. Many accounts have it that he lowered the Jack and hoisted the Ugandan flag. However photos on a British archive site, British Pathe, show a British man appearing to lower the Union Jack. (Sources-Uganda nation media)
Fr Joachim Omolo Ouko, AJ
People for Peace in Africa
Tel +254-7350-14559/+254-722-623-578
E-mail omolo.ouko@gmail.com
Peaceful world is the greatest heritage
That this generation can give to the generations
To come- All of us have a role.
Writes Leo Odera Omolo
A group of Ugandans living in South Africa have petitioned their host country’s President Jacob Zuma, urging him to, among many other things, end South Africa’s arms exports to Uganda.
The message is contained in the latest news posted to the website by the Uganda Correspondent website quoting its sources in South Africa
In the memorandum dated June 8, 2012, which Uganda Correspondent has seen, the signatories William Kyazze and Timothy Mugerwa, who represent an organisation called ‘Human Rights Voice International’ said they wanted to bring what they called “the brutality of the Ugandan regime” to the attention of the South African government and urge it to “reconsider” its relations with President Yoweri Museveni.
The memorandum reads: “…The prevailing human rights abuses by the government of Uganda have worsened since the 11th April 2011, when Ugandans embarked on the walk-to-work campaign to express their demands for respect of human rights.
The response by Uganda government has been that of systematic and consistent brutality on unarmed vulnerable citizens, with the help of some of the arms and armoured vehicles purchased from South Africa.
Arbitrary arrests, torture and death of opposition supporters, harassment of opposition leaders and intimidation of the general population by the police and military forces are daily occurrences. Media groups, both the local and international, have been at the receiving end too.
All this state brutality using the police and military forces has been widely covered by both the Ugandan and international media as well as many human rights organisations. This was also brought to your attention in a petition handed to your office in May last year by the Uganda Civil Alliance Network (UCAN).
Furthermore, this brutality has had the consequence of increased influx of Ugandan refugees into South Africa, thereby having a ripple effect on this country’s residents, politically, socially and economically. Sometimes the Department of Home Affairs officials have tended to misread the Ugandan situation when dealing with Ugandan asylum seekers but the reality is that the situation in the country is forcing many Ugandans to flee their country.
Though the country holds elections, Ugandans have lost faith in them under the current arrangement as they are mainly an exercise to put a face to the country’s dictatorship and do not express the true will of the people as has been shown by instability following the previous elections.”
The memorandum, issued to coincide with President Museveni’s visit to South Africa, then ends with a request to President Jacob Zuma to take action on a number of issues and says:
“…Your Excellency, as the leader of South Africa, a modern democratic and human rights respecting country, whose democratic principles are underpinned by Human Dignity, Equality and Freedom, we Ugandans wish to emulate these principles in our country, Uganda.
3.1. Your Excellency, we would appreciate if you would address the issue of human rights abuses carried out by the Uganda police and military forces, with President Museveni.
3.2. We request the South African government through you to urgently reconsider/revise its foreign policy and approach when dealing with the government.
3.3. We request that you put a stop to the sale of arms from this country to Uganda because of the misery these arms visit on ordinary Ugandans through the havoc they wreck.
3.4. We request that you review the training of the current Ugandan military personnel in this country.
3.5. We request that under the prevailing situation in Uganda, Ugandan political asylum seekers should be dealt with in relation to the existing brutal political situation in the country.”
END.