Igihe

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  • Rwanda Celebrates 50 Years of Self Rule

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    Rwanda today July 1 celebrated the 50th independence anniversary which has also been combined with the 18th liberation anniversary.

    The celebrations are taking place and the highly packed Amahoro National stadium.

    The celebrations are being attended by regional and international leaders and representatives of international organizations.

    The President of Tanzania Jakaya Kikwete and the first lady of Tanzania are attending the celebrations.

    Also the Vice President of Uganda, Edward Ssekandi accompanied by a high-level delegation have also joined Rwandans to celebrate the country’s 50th Independence anniversary.

    The Vice President of Burundi Therence Sinunguruza of the Republic of Burund and Mrs. Sinunguruza and Burundi government delegation are in Rwanda attending the 50th Independence celebrations.

    Also Minister of Justice of Federal Republic of Ethiopia, Foreign affairs minister Congo Brazaville, Trade Minister of Republic of Kenya, and The Sirilanka vice Minister of Foreign Affairs and the United States Ambassador to Rwanda.

    Representatives of International and regional organizations attending the 50th Independence anniversary celebrations include; AU commission chairman Jean Ping.

    Also present is the East African Legistilative Assembly Speaker Margaret Zziwa, Deputy secretary General CommonWealth Masire-Mwamba, Secretary general of East African Community Dr. Richard Sezibera, Director East Africa AfDB, Deputy Executive Secretary CPGL, Executive Secretary International conference on Great lakes Region and the European Union representative.

    Also present at the celebrations include the Nobel Laureate and the man dubbed the conscience of Nigeria.

    President Paul Kagame is about to give a historical speech to tens of thousands attending clebrations at the stadium and millions following the event Live on television and online.

  • Denmark to Extradite Genocide Suspect

    Denmark has cleared extradition to Rwanda a 50-year-old Emmanuel Mbarushimana suspected of involvement in the 1994 Tutsi genocide.

    Mbarushimana had been granted asylum in Denmark under the false name of Emmanuel Kunda.

    They reported that he was suspected of being one of the ringleaders in the 1994 massacre, when over a million ethnic Tutsi’s were killed.

  • George Bush in Zambia for Community Service

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    George walker Bush, Former US president is in Zambia to check on the Bush Institute projects of breast and cancer diseases launched in Lusaka last year.

    Bush, his wife Laura and Pink Ribbon Red Ribbon executive director Doyin Oluwole arrived Saturday morning and was welcomed by that country’s Vice-President Guy Scott.

    “It is important to recognise that this [visit] is part of the Pink Ribbon Red Ribbon alliance which includes the United States government, the Bush Institute, Unaids as well as several different private organisations including different pharmaceuticals,” United States diplomat to Zambia Mark Storella told journalists at Kenneth Kaunda International Airport.

    “The total money that is being put in is certainly in millions of dollars and on this particular visit president Bush and Bush are providing $50,000 themselves to upgrade a specific facility technologically at the University Teaching Hospital,” Ambassador Storella told journalists yesterday.

    Ambassador Storella said Bush, who did not speak to reporters, was expected to do some voluntary work in the outskirts of the capital Lusaka. The voluntary work by the Americans is at a “very personal level”, he said.

    Ambassador Storella said Bush was expected to be in Zambia “for just about less than a week”.

    On his previous visit to Africa, Bush toured Tanzania, Ethiopia and Zambia.

  • Kenyan Church Explosion Kills 17, Injures 50

    In Kenya 17 people have been killed and at least 50 more injured in separate grenade attacks at Catholic’s Central Cathedral and AIC churches in Garissa.

    The Kenyan police has confirmed the terror attack .

    According to North Eastern Deputy PPO, Philip Ndulu, the nine people killed were from the AIC church while Central Cathedral accounts for the three injured.
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    An eye witness Felix Kimanzi said four masked gunmen wearing blue uniforms sprayed bullets at the congregation of the AIC church resulting in the deaths and the high number of casualties.

    “I was 100 metres away from the church when I saw two gunmen at the entrance spray bullets at the congregation. I hid from their sight,” he said.

    “They were joined by two more gunmen in blue uniforms who hurled grenades and they all fled on foot,” he added.

    He also said two grenades were hurled but only one exploded.

    The dead include two police officers, four men, nine women and two children.

    Casualties have been admitted at Garissa Provincial General Hospital.

    Paul Mwalali, 52, who was at the AIC church recounted similar event.

    “I had a front row seat in the church. I heard something fall on the roof. Then there was a huge explosion. I dived on the ground and went under the seat. Then there was shooting and people were screaming all over. When the shooting stopped, I felt a sharp pain on my leg.”

    Seven victims have been airlifted to Nairobi for specialised treatment. Three people were airlifted by Amref Flying Doctors, two by the Kenya Army and two more by the Intensive Care Air Ambulance. All patients were taken to Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH).

  • Tanzania Risks US Sanctions For Reflagging Iranian Oil Tankers

    A few days ago it was reported that about 10 Iranian Oil tankers had been repainted with the Tanzanian flag aimed at evading the US sanctions.

    However, a U.S. lawmaker Howard Berman has warned that Tanzania will face the threat of US sanctions and damage its ties with the Washington if it does not stop the practice of “re-flagging” Iranian oil tankers.

    Berman a member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, accused Tanzania of reflagging at least six and possibly as many at 10 tankers owned by the National Iranian Tanker Company.

    “This action by your government has the effect of assisting the Iranian regime in evading US and EU sanctions and generating additional revenues for its nuclear enrichment and weapons research programme and its support for international terrorism,” Berman said in a letter to President Jakaya Kikwete.

    Berman said Tanzania could face the sanctions that President Barack Obama signed into law if the tankers were allowed to continue sailing under the Tanzanian flag.

    He said Congress would also have “no choice” but to consider whether to continue the range of bilateral US programmes with Tanzania.

    Officials at Tanzania’s embassy in Washington were not immediately available to comment on Berman’s letter.

    A reliable sourcesaid in Dar es Salaam yesterday that President Kikwete had summoned Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation minister Bernard Membe over the matter.

    “The threat of US sanctions is likely to feature prominently in the discussions at State House between President Kikwete and Membe,” the source said.

    Reached for comment, Membe told The Citizen on Sunday that the US government had not yet communicated directly with the Tanzanian government.

    “Such weighty statements are usually supposed to be issued by foreign ministries, not lawmakers. If it’s not from the US Department of State, then it should not be regarded as a threat by the US government. Even here in Tanzania what MPs say is not necessarily the government’s official position,” he said.

    However, Membe said he was not aware of the letter sent to President Kikwete by Berman, but added that he would meet the US ambassador, Alfonso Lenhardt, tomorrow.

    “The government has been doing all in its power to resolve the matter… let me meet first meet the American ambassador on Monday and my ministry will give the government’s position on the issue,” Membe said.

    Chief Secretary Ombeni Sefue also said he had not seen the letter reportedly sent to President Kikwete by the American lawmaker.

    “I haven’t received any such a communication. If it’s true that such a letter has been sent, then it must have been addressed to the Foreign Affairs Ministry or the authority responsible for ship registration in Zanzibar,” he said.

    The Zanzibar government confirmed on Friday that it had granted registration to 11 oil tankers formerly registered in Malta and Cyprus, and accused the media of misleading the public.

    Zanzibar’s minister for Infrastructure and Communication, Hamad Masoud Hamad, told the House of Representatives that the vessels were operated by firms owned by nationals of British Virgin Islands and Seychelles.

    He named the ships as Daisy with a gross register tonnage (GRT) of 81479 registered in Malta, Justice (GRT 164241) registered in Cyprus, Magnolia (GRT 81479) also formerly registered in Malta.

    Other ships are Courage (GRT 163660) owned by Courage Shipping Co. Ltd, Freedom (GRT 163660) also owned by Freedom shipping Co. Ltd, Valor (GRT 160930) owned by Valor Shipping Co. Ltd and Leadership (GRT 164241) owned by Leadership Shipping Co. Ltd. All these were formerly registered in Cyprus.

    Hamad also named Companion (GRT 164241) owned by Companion Shipping Co. Ltd, Camellia (GRT 81479) owned by Camellia Shipping Co. Ltd, Clove (GRT 81479) owned by Clove Shipping Co. Ltd and Lantana (GRT 81479) owned by Lantana Shipping Co. Ltd, all were formerly registered in Malta.

    On Wednesday, The Citizen reported that an Iranian oil-tanker company has renamed at least 10 of its vessels and switched them to Tanzania’s flag to get round international sanctions, sending shockwaves through the country’s leadership.

    Government ministers and public officials went into overdrive following reports that the company had changed the registration of several of its ships and was now passing itself off as a Tanzanian firm. The vessels were apparently registered in Zanzibar.

    The Minister for Transportation, Dr Harrison Mwakyembe, said he was aware of the development and had taken action. But his Foreign Affairs counterpart, Bernard Membe, was in the dark about the saga.

    The international news agency Bloomberg reported yesterday that the oil tanker company known as NITC, which is owned by the Iranian Pension Fund, has renamed at least 10 of its vessels and switched to the Tanzanian flag.

    Membe, who described the news as “shocking, strange and irregular according to the governing laws”, said thorough investigations would be conducted to establish the truth.

    Bloomberg reported that NITC renamed five of its very large crude carriers, each holding about two million barrels of oil, and five Suezmaxes with a capacity for one million barrels.

    Quoting the Equasis shipping database maintained by the European Commission, the reports pointed out that ownership of the ships was switched from NITC to new companies operating from the same address in Tehran. NITC remains the operator, though. All the ships were previously registered in Malta or Cyprus.

    This development comes a few days before the full European embargo on Iranian crude exports, which starts tomorrow, is extended to insuring vessels that carry the oil. Some 25 NITC tankers are being used to store crude, the Paris-based International Energy Agency said.

  • Investing in Health For Sustainable Growth in Africa

    The African Development Bank will host a high-level ministerial conference on health financing in Tunisia, on 4 and 5 July, 2012.

    This conference is organized by the Harmonization for Health in Africa mechanism (HHA), in collaboration with the African Union (AU) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA).

    It will emphasize the urgent need to get the best out of available resources in order to accelerate progress towards the health MDGs and beyond.

    Participants will include ministers of finance and health, parliamentarians, civil society organizations, private sector enterprises and representatives of bilateral and multilateral development partners.

    The conference aims at discussing how investing in health is key to sustainable and inclusive growth in Africa, and must be done in a manner that makes the best use of resources in the context of good governance and enhanced accountability.

    As witnessed in North Africa, citizens increasingly demand transparent and equitable social services.

    Africa’s economic emergence is changing the way we think about health financing. The future will be marked by making use of transparent evidence-based planning and budgeting and result-based financing as well as progressing towards universal health coverage and optimizing the opportunities provided by rapidly changing technologies, such as e-health.

    The 2010 World Health Report estimates that globally, 20 to 40 percent of all health spending is wasted through inefficiency. In addition, more than half of total health spending is paid out-of-pocket by African households and plunges the poorest into further poverty.

    The reduction of development aid to Africa additionally warrants increased domestic spending and greater domestic accountability.

    Ministers of finance and health therefore share the common objective of seeking the highest value for the money spent on health services.

    The conference aims to create a common understanding of the causes of ineffective and inequitable health financing.

    It also aims to forge consensus on remedial measures, in particular by raising awareness of successful experiences from Africa and promoting South-South learning.

    The conference is expected to result in the adoption of a framework for engagement and action, which would be used by governments to engage relevant stakeholders in concrete programmes to move the health agenda forward.

    The conference will also stimulate dialogue and enhance leadership and collaboration between ministries of finance and health as well as other national stakeholders like parliamentary committees, civil society, professional associations and employer organizations.

    Key topics of the conference include planning and budgeting for results, improving performance, health insurance, results-based financing, as well as sustainability of programs related to HIV/AIDS and maternal and child health.

  • Forum Urges Compliance to L. Victoria Basin Laws

    Officials from member countries of the lake Victoria Basin region have resolved to promote compliance to existing laws and regulations in order to realise the sustainable development in the Lake Victoria Basin.

    The resolutions were confirmed during the 3rd Lake Victoria Basin Stakeholders Forum which took place at the Imperial Botanical Beach Hotel in Entebbe, Uganda.

    Participants at the two-day meeting that concluded 29th June also commended the improvements in the coordination of sustainable development issues in the Basin, in line with the Kisumu Declaration of October 2009.

    The stakeholders who participated in the Forum included Uganda’s 1st Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for East African Community Affairs Rt. Hon. Eriya Kategaya, the Assistant Minister for EAC (Kenya), Hon. Peter Munya;

    Also in attendence were senior government officials, representatives of EAC institutions, knowledge leaders from various universities, environmental management agencies, investment promotion agencies, members of civil society networks, development partners and the key players from the private sector.

    Uganda Minister for EAC Affairs, Rt. Hon. Eriya Kategaya, told stakeholders that sustainability ought to remain the basis of mutual cooperation amongst institutions and agencies working in the Lake Victoria Basin.

    “Let me make this clear: there is enough room for all of us to strive to work together in the Lake and its Basin. What we really need to do is to strive to work together on the basis of mutual trust and respect for the various institutional expertise, values and mandates,” Kategaya said.

    The Executive Secretary, Lake Victoria Basin Commission, Dr. Canisius Kanangire, noted that the Commission had contributed to the harmonisation of coordinated actions in various ways.

    Under the Lake Victoria Environmental Management Project Phase II (LVEMP II), he said, LVBC had completed the strategy on proposed options for establishing the Lake Victoria Environmental Trust Fund; the Lake Victoria Basin Water Hyacinth Surveillance, Monitoring and Control strategy; and a Basin-Wide Strategy for Sustainable Land Management in the Lake Victoria Basin.

    “I have no doubt that these strategies, when shared, understood and utilised, shall contribute to the environmental conservation and poverty eradication in the Lake Victoria Basin,” Dr. Kanangire said.

    Dr. Kanangire thanked the Lake Victoria Region Local Authorities Cooperation (LVRLAC); the Nile Basin Discourse (NBD) and East African SusWatch Network for co-organising the Forum and encouraged all stakeholders to actively contribute to the realisation of the gathering’s resolutions.

    The Lake Victoria Basin Stakeholders Forum is a biennial event organised by the Lake Victoria Basin Commission to share experiences on sustainable development issues in the Basin.

    The 3rd Lake Victoria Basin Stakeholders Forum was held under the theme: “Enhancing Partnership for Sustainable Development”.

    Participants had the opportunity to explore a diverse range of issues in four thematic areas, including: natural resources, environment and production systems; trade and investment; quality of life; and, knowledge management and information sharing in Lake Victoria Basin.

  • U.S. Warns Against Africa’s Extremist Groups

    The United States has warned that three of Africa’s largest extremist groups are sharing funds and swapping explosives.

    The U.S. is concerned that this could lead into a dangerous escalation of security threats on the continent, the commander of the U.S. military’s Africa Command said early this week.

    General Carter Ham said there are indications that Boko Haram, al Shabaab and Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb – groups that he labeled as the continent’s most violent – are sharing money and explosive materials while training fighters together.

    “Each of those three organizations is by itself a dangerous and worrisome threat,” Ham said at an African Center for Strategic Studies seminar for senior military and civilian officials from Africa, the United States and Europe.

    “What really concerns me is the indications that the three organizations are seeking to coordinate and synchronize their efforts,” Ham said. “That is a real problem for us and for African security in general.”

    The United States classified three of the alleged leaders of the Islamist sect Boko Haram, based in remote northeast Nigeria, as “foreign terrorist,” on June 20.

    However, it declined to blacklist the entire organization to avoid elevating the group’s profile internationally. Police in Nigeria said members of the group seized a prison there Sunday and freed 40 inmates.

    Islamist militant group al Shabaab is active in war-ravaged Somalia and has been blamed for attacks in Kenya. Last year it claimed responsibility for the death of Somali Interior Minister Abdi Shakur Sheikh Hassan.

    Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), an affiliate of al Qaeda based in North Africa, is mainly a criminal organization operating in the Sahel region. It kidnaps Westerners for ransom and aids Africa’s drug trade, according to intelligence officials.

    Concerned about Crisis in Mali

    U.S. and regional officials fear that a power vacuum in northern Mali following a military coup in March may open an expanded area of operations for Islamist militants. Some western diplomats talk of the country becoming a “West African Afghanistan.”

    Ham said AQIM was now operating “essentially unconstrained” throughout a large portion of northern Mali, where Islamists have imposed a harsh version of Shariah law.

    The group was a threat not only to the countries in the region, but also has “a desire and an intent to attack Americans as well. So that becomes a real problem,” Ham said.

    Emphasizing that the U.S. military plays mainly a supporting role in Africa, Ham said the United States is providing intelligence and logistical help in the hunt for Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony, whose Lord’s Resistance Army is accused of abducting children to use as fighters and hacking off limbs of civilians.

    The International Criminal Court in The Hague indicted Kony for crimes against humanity in 2005, and his case hit the headlines in March when a video entitled “Kony 2012” put out by a U.S. activist group and calling for his arrest went viral across the Internet.

    Ham said he was confident that Kony would ultimately be apprehended by African troops.

    “This is an African-led effort,” Ham said. “It is the African Union increasingly taking a leadership role with a little bit of support from the United States military. We think that is the right approach.”

  • Things Men Do That Annoy Women

    Are you a man in a relationship with a lady? Do you know the things that a man does that women find annoying and irritating?

    Here is a list of some things that men do that women find annoying.

    Being Emotionally Unavailable

    People who are emotionally unavailable are people who create barriers between themselves and other people they are with to avoid emotional intimacy.

    Women find men who are emotionally unavailable annoying because womenfind it hard to create a connection or build a relationship with a guy who isn’t available emotionally.

    Focusing Too much on Sex

    Most women know that most guys have sex on their minds.Women find it annoying when a guy focuses too much on sex when she is trying to get to know him.

    Some women say that it’s difficult trying to figure out if a guy she is interested in is really into her or if he just wants to have sex with her.

    Looking at other Women

    Women know that men are always going to look but it still annoys them when guys do that. Some women in serious relationships will actually get upset if their man is looking at another woman.

    Giving her everything she wants

    This might seem like women would like this but they don’t.There is a type of guy that gives a woman everything she wants. He’s called thenice guy.

    Women actually get annoyed when you give them everything they want because they want a little bit of a challenge in their relationships.

    Women also want something to complain about to their friends. So if a woman gets everything she wants from a man then he is robbing her of precious complaining time with her friends.

    Author Deborah Tannen describes this as “Troubles Talk”in which people complain or talk about their troubles to create social bonds.

    Not helping around the House

    Some women don’t mind doing housework but they find it annoying when their man won’t offer to help.

    Being Submissive

    Women find it annoying when men are submissive because deep down the woman wants to be the submissive one even if she wont admit it. A woman likes a man that knows how to take charge

    Being Indecisive

    Women like when a man knows how to make a decision and comeup with a decision quickly. If she is out on a date and the guy can’t decide what restaurant to take her to she is going to start to get annoyed.

    Leaving the Toilet seat up

    I don’t think I need to explain this one.

    “Making her” feel insecure

    Yes. Women actually do get annoyed at men even for things that aren’t their fault or have no control over. Women get annoyed when they feel like a man doesn’t find them to be the best thing.

    If a woman feels like you don’t think she is special or that she is the most beautiful woman in the world she will be very annoyed and blame it on you for not complimenting her enough.

  • ICC To Sentence Congolese Warlord Thomas Lubanga

    The International Criminal Court said Friday it will on July 10 sentence Congolese warlord Thomas Lubanga, convicted of using child soldiers in his rebel army.

    Lubanga was found guilty of conscripting and enlisting children.

    Lubanga, 51, was convicted in March of war crimes for using child soldiers in a brutal conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2002-03, in the ICC’s first verdict since it started work a decade ago.