KENYA

Boycott election? Never, we’re not cowards, vows Azimio flagbearer

Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition presidential candidate Raila Odinga has declared that his team will not boycott the August 9 General Election even as he exuded confidence that they would win by more than 70 per cent of the votes.

Coming a day after he declared that there might not be elections if the polls agency fails to use a manual register in the election, Mr Odinga said his call had been misinterpreted as he only sought to urge the Independent Electoral sand Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to guarantee Kenyans a free and fair election devoid of manipulation.

“We are not cowards to boycott the election. We will proceed with the election, but we are telling IEBC not to dare interfere with the election because we will not allow that to happen,” Mr Odinga said at Wang’uru International Stadium.

Mr Odinga had sent political shockwaves during a tour of Kiambu on Wednesday by implying his team could boycott the vote if IEBC does not use a manual register.

(Source: Daily Nation)

TANZANIA

The journey in the push for an all-inclusive democracy

As Tanzania marks 30 years since reintroducing the multi-party system, calls for a new constitution herald a fresh challenge towards deepening democratic gains for pluralism.

The renewed outcries for a new constitution mirrors the wave of 1992 when pro-democracy activists pushed authorities to abolish the one-party system ahead of the 1995 General Election.

In a tweet, Chadema secretary general John Mnyika wrote: “July 1, 2022 will be 30 years since the multi-party democratic system was restored in 1992. This was supposed to be the #TheDayOfDemocracyInTanzania.”

He urged the government to lift the ban on public political rallies and speed up the process to re-start the new constitution writing process.

(Source: The East African)

UGANDA

Uganda distances itself from Muhoozi tweets backing TPLF

Tweets by Uganda’s Commander of Land Forces Lt Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba supporting Tigray rebels are his personal opinion, and not the stand of the army, a ministry official has said.

In an interview with the BBC’s Focus on Africa on Monday, Brig Felix Kulayigye, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Defence and Veterans Affairs and the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF), while cautiously avoiding to directly mention Lt Gen Muhoozi, said the tweets were not the position of the UPDF.

Lt Gen Muhoozi tweeted statements in support of the Tigray rebels and accused the Ethiopian government of human rights abuses.

Ethiopian media, diplomats and military have been tying his statements to the report circulating on social media accusing Uganda of funding and training TPLF rebels in Uganda.

Lt Gen Muhoozi’s tweets about M23 rebels also caused diplomatic problems to Uganda in the Democratic Republic of Congo to an extent that DRC threatened to halt the joint operations against Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebels in the eastern part of the country.

(Source: The East African)

RWANDA

DRC, Rwanda agree to ease tension and normalise diplomatic relations 

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Rwanda on Wednesday agreed to immediately cease hostilities between the two countries, Angolan President João Lourenço has announced.

Following the Wednesday meeting in Luanda, DRC President Felix Tshisekedi and Rwanda’s Paul Kagame also agreed to create an ad-hoc observation mechanism to help ease tensions, he added.

Luanda will next Tuesday host the Rwanda-DRC bilateral joint commission meeting, President Lourenço, who is also the chairman of the International Conference for the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR), said in his capacity as mediator.  He was appointed by the African Union to mediate in the Kinshasa-Kigali crisis.

Rwanda and DR Congo have been at loggerheads following counter accusations of each country supporting different rebel groups in eastern DRC hostile to the other nation.

(Source: The East African)

ETHIOPIA

‘Death sentence’: Massacres fuel protests, resentment in Ethiopia 

Mass protests brought towns in Ethiopia’s northern Amhara region to a standstill last week as demonstrators, largely university students, took their frustration to the streets over the June 18 massacre of hundreds of civilians by rebel fighters.

Protests began in the capital, Addis Ababa, on June 25, before larger demonstrations were held in the cities of Gondar and the Amhara capital, Bahir Dar, through July 1. Protesters denounced the killings and criticised the government’s inability to curb worsening ethnic violence.

Days after the protests, reports emerged of yet another mass killing of civilians in the country’s Oromia region on Monday.

(Source: Al Jazeera)

ERITREA

Eritrea: Progress on Healthcare 

The National Health Policy (NHP) of Eritrea promotes the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health for all as one of the fundamental rights of every citizen. The policy gives priority to the health and wellbeing of all through universal access to affordable, quality and essential health services delivered through resilient and responsive health systems. Its mission is ensuring physical, mental and social aspects of health of the people of Eritrea by providing Universal Health Coverage (UHC).

Eritrea has been successful in the Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI), achieving virtually universal (98%) immunization coverage.

Eritrea has made significant progress in securing mother and child care and in controlling and preventing communicable diseases. The plan is now to improve the quality and coverage of healthcare services by maintaining what has been achieved.

Eritrea has also made considerable strides in avoiding harmful traditional practices that affect health, especially on women and girls.

Eritrea is one of the few countries that have succeeded in controlling COVID-19. The total number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 since its outbreak is 9,805. Of the confirmed cases, 9,691 have recovered.

(Source: Ministry of Information Eritrea)

SUDAN

Sudan junta leader El Burhan’s speech leaves many sceptics unconvinced 

The televised speech by the leader of Sudan’s ruling military junta, Gen Abdelfattah El Burhan on Monday, in which he announced the military’s withdrawal from the current governing bodies, and gave the civilian opposition groups in the country the opportunity to form a government of technocrats, continues to prompt mainly sceptical reactions in Sudan, while initial reactions from the international community say it is still too early to call.

The National Accord Forces, the popular name for the FFC-National Accord, announced they met with the head of the Sovereignty Council, El Burhan, on Wednesday, to make inquiries about the ambiguous points in his speech.

Mubarak Ardol, Secretary-General of the National Accord Forces and Director of the of the Sudanese Company for Mineral Resources said in a press statement that the meeting was clear and transparent. He did not clarify the ambiguous points in the speech or how El Burhan explained them.

Ardol called on all political forces, “except for the [affiliates of the dissolved] National Congress Party“, to prepare for concessions for the sake of dialogue and the formation of a transitional government that is compatible around it.

On Tuesday, US State Department spokesman Ned Price said it was too early to judge El Burhan’s speech.

(Source: Dabanga)

SOMALIA

European Union Approves Financial Support For ATMIS Operation In Somalia

The European Union (EU) has announced that it will provide additional financial support to the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), which has been renamed ATMIS, according to the European Union’s Political and Security Committee.

The Union will provide financial support to the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) in the form of ATMIS Soldiers’ Allowances, to enable the mission to carry out its mission effectively.

The European Union (EU) says it is ready to fully support the strengthening of security gains in Somalia, adding that it is committed to supporting the Federal Government and the African Union Mission in Somalia (ATMIS).

(Source: Radio Dalsan)