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International News

Raila Odinga's path to African Union Commission chair post gets easier

Raila Odinga's path to African Union Commission chair post gets easier

Kenya is preparing to launch a continental campaign after the African Union (AU) Executive Council dropped two key proposals that would have locked out its candidate for the Commission (AUC)...

Huawei trains over 240 youth in digital skills in northern Uganda

Huawei trains over 240 youth in digital skills in northern Uganda

KAMPALA, March 12 (Xinhua) -- Chinese technology giant Huawei has provided training to 241 young individuals in Uganda's northern district of Alebtong, equipping them with a range of digital skills....

Djibouti open for business: the Sovereign Wealth Fund confirms the dates of the Regional Investment Forum

Djibouti open for business: the Sovereign Wealth Fund confirms the dates of the Regional Investment Forum

One of the world's fastest-growing economies is rolling out the red carpet for international investors this May. The Sovereign Wealth Fund of Djibouti has just announced the dates of its...

Tourist visits to Tanzania's national parks increase steadily: official

Tourist visits to Tanzania's national parks increase steadily: official

DODOMA, March 10 (Xinhua) -- The number of tourists visiting Tanzania's 22 national parks remained steady over the past year despite the damage caused by ongoing rains to the infrastructure...

An Irishman's lens on the last vestiges of South African apartheid

An Irishman's lens on the last vestiges of South African apartheid

Photojournalist Stephen Bean's images chart life in Orania, a 'whites-only' town in South Africa. An Irish photographer has captured a series of images charting life in one of the world’s...

Delicate diplomacy secured oil pipelines in Sudan – Makuei

Delicate diplomacy secured oil pipelines in Sudan – Makuei

South Sudan’s Minister for Information Michael Makuei Lueth declared that the resolution of critical issues with oil pipelines, including repairs in areas controlled by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and...

Editor's Choice

United Nations (UN) chief condemns attack on peacekeepers in Democratic Republic (DR) of Congo

United Nations (UN) chief condemns attack on peacekeepers in Democratic Republic (DR) of Congo

The UN chief on Saturday condemned an attack which saw eight peacekeepers from the UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, or DRC, wounded during clashes between the...

Pan-African Parliament set to hold elections for Bureau members.

Pan-African Parliament set to hold elections for Bureau members.

The Pan-African Parliament (PAP) will hold elections for members of the Bureau on the 25th March 2024. The elections will fill the positions of President, First Vice President, and Fourth...

President Ruto To Sign Affordable Housing Bill Into Law, Housing Levy Implementation Imminent

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President William Ruto is expected to sign the Affordable Housing Bill into law this morning, marking a significant step towards the implementation of the housing project and the commencement of...

Inside Kalonzo's charm offensive in Mt Kenya ahead of 2027 poll

Inside Kalonzo's charm offensive in Mt Kenya ahead of 2027 poll

Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka.[Edward Kiplimo, Standard] Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka is warming up to an all-out strategy to endear himself to Mt Kenya region. For the last week, the Azimio...

South Sudan closes schools as heatwave intensifies

South Sudan closes schools as heatwave intensifies

JUBA, March 16 (Xinhua) -- South Sudan on Saturday announced an indefinite closure of all schools as a result of heatwaves over the past few days with very high temperatures...

Councillors must resist Rwanda removals

Councillors must resist Rwanda removals

The Government’s dangerous Rwanda Bill looks set to pass next week, after being pushed through ‘ping pong’ between the Commons and the Lords at breakneck speed. The prospect of removals...

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Rwanda has written to the United Nations Security Council objecting to its plan to support a military deployment by southern African nations in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. The letter, dated Feb. 12, comes amid a flurry of diplomatic and military activity that threatens to put South Africa on the opposite side of a conflict to Rwanda. 

South Africa said it’s deploying 2,900 troops to the region as part of a Southern African Development Community mission that will fight the M23 rebel group, which UN experts have accused Rwanda of supporting. Rwandan President Paul Kagame, who has denied the allegation, will attend a meeting of heads of state in Ethiopia on Friday that was called by Angola to discuss the escalating conflict in Congo, his spokeswoman Yolande Makolo said. 

“The government of Rwanda would like to request the UNSC to avert the escalation of the conflict in eastern DRC by reconsidering the request to provide logistical and operational support” to the SADC mission, Vincent Biruta, Rwanda’s foreign affairs minister, said in the letter, seen by Bloomberg. “The UN Security Council should instead encourage the government of the DRC to pursue a peaceful solution.” 

Biruta argued that the mission and UN support for it will embolden Congo’s government to seek a military victory, rather than a diplomatic solution to a dispute that has wracked the Great Lakes region of East Africa for decades. 

The SADC force is set to gradually replace soldiers from the UN, who have been in the region for 25 years, and some from East African community states, who have been there for a year but have now been asked to leave by Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi.

A war that began in the region in 1998 and lasted until 2003 dragged in troops from nine nations and saw Zimbabwean and Angolan forces among others fighting the Rwandan army. Conflict has simmered ever since as Rwanda says elements of forces that carried out a genocide of the Tutsi ethnic group in the country in 1994 have taken refuge in Congo. Kagame, a Tutsi, led an army that overcame those forces and has ruled Rwanda since. With assistance from Michael J. Kavanagh, Bloomberg

In Summary

  • Compared to other global regions, East African residents who have experienced a disaster and lost access to critical infrastructure, such as clean water and electricity, have the biggest gap in confidence between national and local government with local administrations seen as much less prepared.
  • Over half (55%) of Eastern Africans who experienced a disaster have lost access to clean drinking water.
  • Two thirds (66%) of Eastern Africans who experienced a disaster have lost access to electricity. 

A global safety charity has highlighted how losing access to critical infrastructure services, such as clean water and electricity, is harming confidence in the disaster preparedness of local governments in Eastern Africa, particularly among communities that have experienced disasters caused by natural hazards. 

According to Lloyd's Register Foundation, people in Eastern Africa who have experienced a disaster and lost access to critical infrastructure are much less likely to say their local government is well prepared to deal with a disaster compared to their national government, by a margin of 12 percentage points – the biggest gap globally. The finding comes from the Foundation's latest analysis of its World Risk Poll, powered by Gallup, which surveyed 125,000 people across 121 countries. 

The findings from the Foundation's new report - Focus On: Critical infrastructure resilience and perceptions of disaster preparedness - examine the link between loss of critical infrastructure and confidence in both local and national government indicating who citizens tend to hold accountable. Respondents were asked about their experiences of losing access to one of five essential services (telephone, food, clean water, electricity, and medicine/medical help) and their confidence in national and local government disaster preparedness. 

According to the data, all regions surveyed across Africa believed their national government was better prepared to deal with a disaster than local government. Gaps in confidence in favour of national government range from 7 to 12 percentage points among African respondents who had experienced a disaster and lost access to critical infrastructure. East African residents retained the highest confidence in their national government compared to local government, by 12 percentage points, and as high as 18 percentage points in Tanzania and Zambia. However, significant differences are apparent when comparing with some more developed global regions, such as Northern/Western Europe and North America, which either have roughly even confidence or greater confidence in local government.   

Data from Lloyd's Register Foundation's World Risk Poll showed that 91% of people in Eastern Africa have lost access to at least one type of critical infrastructure for more than one day in the past year, which rises to 93% among those who have also experienced a disaster in the past five years. This includes loss of access to clean drinking water (experienced by 49% of the general population, and 55% of those who had experienced a disaster), food (47% and 57%), medicine/medical help (54% and 64%), telephone access (58% and 63%), and electricity (68% and 66%). 

In response to the findings, Jan Przydatek, Director of Technologies at Lloyd's Register Foundation, said: "The World Risk Poll has highlighted how trust and confidence in government are important components of resilience when natural hazards and other forms of disaster occur. Trust is fundamental for dealing not only with the initial impact but also for handling and recovering from the longer-term impacts on communities. 

"The figures show how maintaining reliable access to critical infrastructure even outside of disaster scenarios is challenging in regions such as Eastern Africa. Improving this situation is a key challenge for international partners to support local governments with, and this may in turn lead to greater confidence in government disaster preparedness." 

The report recommends that national governments work more collaboratively with local governments and other actors to improved disaster preparedness and response, working within the context of international agreements such as the Sendai Framework for Disaster Reduction. 

Savina Carluccio, Executive Director at International Coalition for Sustainable Infrastructure said: "Education could enhance understanding of the importance of disaster risk reduction and resilience and, in turn, improve the confidence of the public in the government's plans and actions. Educating and building capacity of policymakers is a priority, since they are responsible for developing regulations and incentives to increase the uptake of disaster risk reduction and resilience. Enhancing capacity of practitioners at local level is urgently needed, and educational settings and civil society have a key role to play here. In parallel, improving public education would result in increased public buy-in for resilience projects, increase public understanding of disaster risks, and may contribute to a culture of risk awareness and resilience."

The Lloyd's Register Foundation World Risk Poll is the first global study of worry about, and harm from, risks to people's safety. This data is from the second edition of the Poll, based on around 125,000 interviews conducted by Gallup in 121 countries during 2021. 

The data includes places where little or no official data on safety and risk exists, and so constitutes a unique resource for defining the nature and scale of safety challenges across the world, as reported first-hand by those who experience them. 

This intelligence can and should be used by governments, regulators, businesses, NGOs and international bodies to inform and target policies and interventions that make people safer, working in partnership with and empowering communities.  For more information about Lloyd's Register Foundation, visit lrfoundation.org.uk.

Through the partnership between BAL and the Rwanda Development Board, “Visit Rwanda” has been a Founding and Host Partner of the league since 2021. 

Fans will be able to fly with the airline to watch the Playoffs and Finals, which will tip off this season on Saturday, May 20 at BK Arena in Kigali, and conclude on Saturday, May 27 when a new champion will be crowned. 

Yvonne Makolo, RwandAir CEO, said: “We are proud to partner once again with the Basketball Africa League and welcome the league’s fans to Rwanda to witness the exhilaration of this season’s finals. 

“RwandAir recognises the profound ability of sports to unite people, and we are thrilled to assume the role of the Official Partner of BAL Season 3.” 

Fans can follow the event online via the official BAL social media accounts: @TheBal.  TA

Home Secretary Suella Braverman on a PR trip to Rwandan capital Kigali in March© PA

The Government's claim that Rwanda is a safe place to send asylum seekers has been savaged as figures showed the UK has granted sanctuary to dozens from the African nation.

Ministers are locked in a bitter court battle trying to salvage their controversial deportation scheme after top judges said it was unlawful. While they maintain Rwanda is a safe country, analysis of official data reveals that over 40 Rwandans have applied for asylum in the UK since 2020. 

And between 2011 and 2021, 37 people were granted asylum after officials accepted they were unsafe in their home country. Immigration expert Prof Thom Brooks, of the University of Durham, told The Mirror: "While we are told Rwanda is safe for all, the Home Office recognises that it is not safe for all Rwandans. It is unclear how Rwanda can be safe for all from any country if not safe for every Rwandan."

The Government hopes to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda as it desperately tries to tackle a massive backlog which stood at over 130,000 earlier this year. But in June the Court of Appeal ruled the scheme was illegal as judges, with judges saying it is not a safe third country.

Steve Smith, CEO of refugee charity Care4Calais said: “The Government’s claim that Rwanda is a ‘safe country’ to which we should send asylum seekers has always been pure conjecture on their part. The fact that Home Office decision makers have been granting asylum to Rwandans, whilst Ministers have been spinning their ‘cash for humans’ deal in the media, blows their argument apart."

 

He branded the Rwanda scheme, first unveiled in April last year by former Home Secretary Priti Patel and championed by her successor, Suella Braverman, an "expensive and ill thought out publicity stunt". The Home Office has repeatedly refused to reveal the total spent on the project, but it is known that £140million has been paid to the Rwandan government.

Home Office figures show 29 decisions made on Rwandan claimants since the start of 2020. Of these 14 people were granted protection, while 10 were refused. A further five applications were withdrawn.

Prof Brooks said the stakes are high for Mr Sunak as the Supreme Court weighs up whether the scheme is legal and whether Rwanda is safe. He said: "If the policy is found unlawful by the UK's top judges, the Tories are left without any plan to stop the boats except use of empty barges at extortionate cost to taxpayers - and mark a new low for 13 years of ineptitude on immigration."

Liberal Democrat Home Affairs spokesman Alistair Carmichael said: “How can the Home Secretary seriously say Rwanda is safe when the UK is granting asylum to people from the very same country? The Home Office looks more and more ludicrous by the day under Braverman.

"Pursuing these disastrous policies is doing nothing but bringing more problems upon the asylum system. Introducing safe and legal routes and getting down the backlog is the only answer. The Home Secretary must finally accept reality and scrap the unworkable and expensive Rwanda scheme. Her focus must be tackling the asylum backlog created by years of Conservative mismanagement."

In the final six years when Labour was in power, there were 59 enforced removals to Rwanda, compared to three in the past seven years under the Tories.

A Home Office spokesperson said: “Rwanda has been recognised globally for its record in welcoming and integrating migrants and asylum seekers. The number of people risking their lives by making illegal and dangerous journeys is unacceptable. That is why we have passed new legislation which will ensure those arriving in the UK illegally are detained and promptly removed to their country of origin or a safe third country.”  By Dave Burke, Daily Mirror

Ruto: I will call Raila 'my brother' if it stops maandamano

President William Ruto has defended his affectionate reference to opposition leader Mr Raila Odinga, who he recently called “my brother”. 

The term “my brother” is associated with the former Head of State Uhuru Kenyatta, who usually referred to Mr Odinga as his elder brother.

While addressing a section of Muslim leaders at State House on Monday evening during the Iftar, President Ruto said that if referring to the Azimio La Umoja One Kenya Coalition leader as his brother will make him end the protests, then he will keep doing it.

“If calling Raila as my brother will make him call off demonstrations, I’ll call him my brother ten times, and I will even refer him as my dear brother,” President Ruto said.

During the last regime, both Mr Kenyatta and Mr Odinga would call each other “my brother” as a description of their close working relationship, which started in 2018 after a Handshake.

In his recent address, which was about the bi-partisan negotiation with the opposition, President Ruto said that they agreed to end their differences and allow representatives from both the political divide to table their grievances.

Before then, the President, who is known for being sarcastic, would refer to Mr Odinga with abusive phrases such as ule mtu wa kitendawili, yule jamaa wa fujo, mtu wa handshake and mtu wa kung’oa reli, among other names.

The Monday event at State House was attended by Prime Cabinet Secretary Muslaia Mudavadi and Defence CS Aden Duale, among others.

Criticising the prayers

The President also asked his critics to stop criticising the prayers and services at the State House.

He noted that a section of Kenyans have been complaining about the frequent services that started after the Kenya Kwanza administration took over the office last year.

“I had prayers here sometime back because of the election, and some people started saying that this man has turned the place to be the house of prayers. I know that even tomorrow, they will say that I’ve turned the State House into a place of prayers. I want to ask them to stop worrying, this is the place of prayers, and it will continue to be the place of prayers” President Ruto said.

The President reiterated that Kenya was a God-fearing nation.

“As a person who believes in God, as a religious person, I take a lot of pride in associating with people who believe in God. Because I know the benefits of fearing God,” he said.

President Ruto also said that he had no apology for frequent visits to the places of worship.

He said that due to his belief in God, he will continue to forge ahead uniting Kenyans, and preaching peace. By Kevin Cheruiyot, NMG

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