KENYA

DCI links Sakaja to global crime ring as ‘fake’ degree saga takes another twist 

Nairobi Senator Johnson Sakaja was Thursday night facing arrest after the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) said that he was a suspect in an international criminal syndicate even as his “ fake” degree saga drew in Ugandan authorities.

DCI boss George Kinoti Thursday evening said Mr Sakaja and officials of Team University in Uganda, where the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) candidate for the Nairobi gubernatorial race claims to have acquired a degree, are suspects in an international organised crime syndicate.

The dramatic escalation of a row over Mr Sakaja’s eligibility to vie for Nairobi governorship apparently followed the intervention of Ugandan Education minister, Janet Museveni, who reportedly sent government officials to seek evidence of Mr Sakaja’s time at the institution. 

Mr Sakaja faces a three-year jail term if a court finds that he forged his academic degree certificate and transcripts.

(Source: The Daily Nation)

TANZANIA

Tanzania removes Maasais out of Ngorongoro reserve

Tanzania on Thursday began relocating Maasai pastoralists from the famed Ngorongoro conservation area in a move that rights campaigners described as unlawful evictions.

The indigenous community has lived in the reserve, a Unesco World Heritage site in northern Tanzania, for over a century. But they now face the threat of eviction, as the authorities contend that their growing population is encroaching on wildlife habitat.

Officials insist the relocation is voluntary. 

The relocation has sparked concern, with a team of UN-appointed independent rights experts warning that “it could jeopardise the Maasai’s physical and cultural survival.”

“This will cause irreparable harm, and could amount to dispossession, forced eviction and arbitrary displacement prohibited under international law,” they said in a statement on Wednesday.

 (Source: The East African)

UGANDA

Uganda halts Congo military operations 

Uganda has halted the joint military mission with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), code-named Operation Shujaa, which began at the end of November 2021 to eliminate Allied Democratic Force (ADF) rebels and other subversive elements.

The decision follows two days of demonstrations by Congolese nationals against Uganda and Rwanda, mainly in the eastern DRC commercial city of Goma, on allegations of supporting M23 rebels whose fighters captured Congo-side Bunagana town on Monday, this week, following a lightning advance.

The reason for the non-military intervention, spokesman Kulayigye said, is that the M23 fighters, unlike in March, currently pose no threat to Uganda’s interests inside DRC.

(Source: Monitor)

RWANDA

Push for more women political participation gains momentum 

The inclusion of women in political processes is a key element in achieving a truly inclusive democracy, and women must have a chance to exercise their political rights and participate fully in all political decision making, a senior Tanzanian lawmaker said on Wednesday, June 15.

A lot of investment needs to be undertaken at both the regional level and also at the national level, he said, so as to achieve gender parity.

“We only have 25 percent representation of women in both lower and upper parliaments across Africa and that is not a good statistic. It must improve,” Sharamo said.

(Source: The New Times)

ETHIOPIA

Ethiopia forms body to negotiate with rebellious Tigray forces 

Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said on Tuesday the federal government had formed a committee to negotiate with forces from the rebellious northern region of Tigray, in the first public confirmation of a key step towards peace negotiations.

The nearly two-year conflict in Ethiopia, Africa’s second-most populous nation, has displaced more than 9 million people, plunged parts of Tigray into famine conditions and killed thousands of civilians.

The committee, headed by Deputy Prime Minister Demeke Mekonnen, has 10 to 15 days to hammer out details of negotiations.

Debretsion Gebremichael, chairman of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), said his group was prepared to participate in a “credible, impartial and principled” peace process and would send a delegation.

(Source: Reuters)

SUDAN

One dead in new protests against military rule 

A demonstrator was killed Thursday in a crackdown on ongoing protests in Sudan nearly eight months after a military coup upended the transition to civilian rule, doctors said.

This death brings to 102 the number of deaths in the repression of demonstrations against the military power in place since the coup d’état led on October 25 by the head of the army, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhane, according to this source.

The Forces for Freedom and Change (FLC), the main civilian group, is demanding an end to the repression and the release of prisoners before any dialogue with the military authorities.

(Source: Africanews)

ERITREA

Excerpt of Eritrea’s Statement on the ID with the SR on Eritrea 

The present mandate on Eritrea was established in 2012 as a continuation of the external threats pursued by the US and its western allies. Accordingly, harassment tools including the UN sanction imposed on Eritrea in the pretext of alleged Eritrea’s support to “terrorism/Al Shebab’ were applied to make Eritrea malleable and accept their diktat, especially on the Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission (EEBC) international award that they wanted to illegally alter at the expense of its territorial integrity and sovereignty.

In this context, the SR complemented by the Commission of Inquiry on Eritrea until it was retracted after 2 years, were established to vilify, isolate and destabilise Eritrea and served as a continuation of conflict in the Horn of Africa. The TPLF minority government in Ethiopia served this ill intent until it was ousted from power in 2018 ushering in new dynamics of peace.

The fact is however, that human rights are mainstreamed in Eritrea’s nation-building program, but like any nation, Eritrea faces human rights challenges which the government continuously works to address. But there is no human rights crisis that warrants its treatment under HRC special mandate as any challenges can better be addressed through the UPR and other engagements.

In conclusion, Mr President, the SR report at hand is again crafted only to level the ground for the continuation of the unfair and unjust mandate which has not created dividend and my delegation.

(Source: Ministry of Information Eritrea)

SOMALIA

President Hassan Sheikh Receives World Bank President 

The President of the Federal Republic of Somalia, HE Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, met with the World Bank Country Director for Somalia, HE Kristina Svensson, to discuss strengthening cooperation between the World Bank and the Federal Government of Somalia.

Ms Kristina Svensson indicated that the World Bank will support the Somali government with $100 million over the next 12 months to address the government’s priorities, praising the President for his commitment to reform. finance of the country.

President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud outlined the Federal Government of Somalia’s commitment to improving social services and youth employment, and called on the World Bank to work with the Government to modernise the Federal Government’s work process and services.

(Source: Radio Dalsan)