East Africa

East Africa

Details: East Africa; 10 February 2023; 588

Kanungu Magistrate's court has fined Nelson Kagote Twinamatsiko, the manager of Kanungu FM Shs 200,000 after pleading guilty to assaulting a fellow employee and radio presenter Anita Tumuramye.

The incident occurred on January 26 at the radio premises. The radio belongs to Dr Chris Baryomunsi, the minister for Information Communication Technology and National Guidance, and Kinkiizi East Constituency MP.

The prosecution told court that Twinamatsiko assaulted Tumuramye when she demanded her commission off a school advert worth Shs 200,000 that she'd brought to the radio station. For the advert, Tumuramye was duly entitled to a 20 per cent commission (Shs 40,000) in line with the station's guidelines.

When Tumuramye tried to inquire from Twinamatsiko about the commission, he instead slapped her on the face which made her bleed from the nose.

Twinamatsiko further continued to drag Tumuramye to the ground. He was later arrested and paraded before the court on February 2 and was charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm contrary to 236 of The Penal Code Act. Asked to take a plea he pleaded not guilty to the charges and was remanded.

But re-appearing before the same court today Wednesday afternoon, Twinamatsiko made a u-turn and pleaded guilty to the charges. In his ruling, Asanansio Mukobi, the Kanungu grade one magistrate ordered Twinamatsiko to pay Shs 200,000 as a fine or serve an 8-month sentence in prison. Twinamatsiko opted to pay the fine. Mukobi also advised that since the two are workmates, they must reconcile.

Tumuramye later told our reporter that she has no personal vendetta against Twinamatsiko, and has no problem with reconciliation. - URN/The Observer

Details: East Africa; 09 February 2023; 590

Mr Kagame criticised Mr Tshisekedi of failing to address DR Congo’s internal issues.

Rwandan President Paul Kagame has accused his Congolese counterpart Félix Tshisekedi of dishonouring several agreements on addressing the conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

Tensions between the African Great Lakes region neighbours continue to raise as DR Congo accuses Rwanda of invading its territory “disguised in M23 rebels”.

In an address to diplomats in Rwanda on Wednesday night, Mr Kagame criticised Mr Tshisekedi of failing to address Congo’s internal issue and putting the blame on Rwanda.

Kinshasa authorities haven’t reacted to Mr Kagame’s remarks.

“This person has dishonoured dozens of agreements he has made with people… including even last time in Bujumbura”, Mr Kagame said.

“We discuss things in the open, he participated, we wrote a communiqué, giving people of what we discussed and the way forward. The communiqué is read, but the next day an opposite communiqué is read in Kinshasa,” he added.

Last weekend’s East African heads of state meeting in Bujumbura, Burundi, directed “immediate ceasefire”, “withdrawal of all foreign groups” and need for “dialogue among all the parties”.

A day later, Congolese government spokesperson said they would “only abide” by the November agreements in Luanda to end the conflict. News Day

Details: East Africa; 09 February 2023; 511

From Guinea to Rwanda, Uganda to Ghana, and Nigeria to Kenya, nations across Africa are pioneering drone use to solve last-mile problems in the medical supply chain.

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In Monkra, Krachi West District, Ghana, there is an abundance of roots and tubers. The District is famous for its yams, cassava, cereals, and legumes and is one of the major agricultural centres in the Oti Region.

However, while the region knows an abundance of food, it has also known shortage in a more critical area- medicine.

The community has had a longstanding problem accessing emergency drugs, especially anti-snake serum and other essential medicines.

Rose Ntoso, a resident of Monkra, knows this too well.

"Life has not been easy for us. When we needed drugs urgently, we had to use motorbikes to get them at the centre in Krachi. At times the motorbikes would break down on the way, I tell you, life has not been easy," she said.

But this narrative is gradually changing since the country adopted drones to deliver drugs under Zipline in 2019.

Zipline is a robotics drone-delivery company that has been facilitating automated, on-demand and timely availability of medical products in the region.

"Since the coming of Zipline, when we need some drugs, we chat with them, and they respond. They have a WhatsApp platform with all the facilities on board. During an emergency we chat with them and notify them of the drugs we need. Within 10 to 15 minutes, they fly the drugs here. It has really reduced the time we spend getting drugs during emergencies," said Tadeous Kwaku Nyoja, a senior nurse at the Monkra Community Health Planning and Services.

Low access to medical supplies, especially in Ghana's rural communities, has significantly hindered the country's effective implementation of universal access to healthcare for its citizens.

Since the introduction of drone technology, health delivery has improved greatly in the Monkra Community and other rural communities spread across the 16 regions of Ghana.

There are currently zipline centres at Omenako, Mpanya, Vobsi, Sefwi-Wiawso, Anum and Kete-Krachi.

"Since the introduction of the drone in the Municipality, health delivery has improved. Now in the community, we can get drugs on time when there is an emergency," Ntoso noted.

Krachi West's Municipal Director of Health, Victor Ahiaba, acknowledges that using drones for medical deliveries has solved the problems posed by environmental catastrophes in the region.

"During this season, the lake is overflooded and some of the communities such as Chante and Cement are cut off. We have to be on the lake for hours before we are able to send medicine to them. But with the Zipline coming on board within a very short time we are able to serve them," he said.

Since its establishment in Ghana, Zipline has flown over 15 million miles and delivered more than five million doses of vaccines, in addition to blood products and other essential medicines.

Other African countries, including Uganda, Senegal, Madagascar, Rwanda and Malawi, have also adopted drone technology to improve their health delivery system.

In Rwanda, Zipline drones have been delivering medicine since 2016. From blood plasma deliveries to mosquito larva spraying and delivering essential drugs, over 350 health centres rely on drones for crucial deliveries. The company currently has a target of completing 2 million healthcare deliveries and flying over 200 million autonomous kilometres in Rwanda by 2029.

The Ugandan Ministry of Health, in collaboration with Johnson and Johnson Corporation, has been using drones to deliver HIV treatments to the people of the Kalangala islands since 2021. With five drone routes developed, anti-retroviral medicines are now being delivered to 17 community groups.

In Conakry, Guinea, drones are being used in place of motorbikes to bypass the traffic in the metropolis and quickly deliver blood samples of children born to mothers living with HIV for a diagnostic test.

The test project aims to study ways of optimising the transport of blood samples in the city of Conakry compared with ground transport by motorbike.

Nigeria also recently commissioned the first drone deliveries in Kaduna and Cross River State.

In Kenya, Zipline already has an active MOU with four counties from the Lake Region Economic Bloc. Under an agreement signed between Zipline and one of the counties, Kisumu, Zipline will deliver medical products, including COVID-19 vaccines and blood products, to over 400 health facilities across the county.

Kofi Kafui, A Technology Expert with Inovux Consult, said the drone health delivery system has made it easier to reach remote communities where access to healthcare was a challenge.

"The drone delivery system overcomes challenges including inaccessible roads and even overcomes flooding challenges.

The technology leverages existing GPS coordinates which ensure commodities are delivered in close proximity to the given coordinates. This ensures that facilities get the needed commodity in little time compared to transport logistics via road," he said.

"Let me also add that there is efficient tracking of inventory which reduces error in data capture and management," said Kafui.

With Drones being increasingly used to support healthcare programmes in the continent, Africa may soon be on track to achieving universal healthcare coverage. By Bird Story Agency/Daily Nation

Details: East Africa; 09 February 2023; 532

Detectives have unearthed a major fraud syndicate in which Safaricom lost Sh500 million to scammers who targetted the Fuliza mobile loan facility.

Fuliza is a mobile overdraft service by Safaricom where customers can complete their MPESA transactions even when they do not have enough funds in their M-PESA account.

The suspects were arrested on Wednesday evening by detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations, DCI.

“Detectives have uncovered a high-level fraud syndicate where scammers have obtained close to Sh500 million through a popular mobile phone platform supported by mobile communication service provider, Safaricom,” the DCI tweeted late Wednesday.

It released photos of the four suspects under investigation for the syndicate.

They are all based in Nakuru and Trans Nzoia counties.

“The company lost the money in a well-coordinated scheme by eight young men based in Nakuru and Trans-Nzoia counties,” it said.

The DCI said MPESA user SIM cards, 6 laptops over 40 mobile phones, 7 routers, assorted Safaricom lines, over 1000 Safaricom subscribers’ registration forms, over 200 ATM cards from all major banks, car agreements among other exhibits were seized from them.

The telecommunications company was yet to comment on the matter by the time this article was published. By Moses Muoki, Capital News

Details: East Africa; 09 February 2023; 553

Rowdy youths blocking Langata MP Phelix Odiwour from accessing the venue of the Azimio Parliamentary Group meeting on Thursday, February 9, 2023.

PHILIP MURUTU

Lang'ata Member of Parliament Phelix Odiwuor (Jalang'o) was kicked out of Azimio la Umoja Parliamentary Group (PG) minutes after former Prime Minister Raila Odinga arrived at the venue in Machakos county.

Jalang'o, in his address to the media, stated that he was asked to leave the venue by a close security guard of Raila.

"Minutes after I walked in, one of his (Raila) close security asked me to walk out, and that is what I did.

"I feel bad because I love baba and I am a member of ODM. I feel bad that I cannot be there since Raila is in there," he stated.

Lang'ata Member of Parliament Phelix Odiwuor (Jalang'o) was blocked from attending the Azimio la Umoja Parliamentary Group (PG) in Machakos on Thursday, February 9.

The MP had just arrived at the venue when a group of men attempted to block him from gaining access to the hall.

A commotion ensued as his entourage attempted to force their way into the venue. This prompted Embakasi East MP Babu Owino and his Suna East counterpart Junet Mohamed to intervene.

Some men who attempted to block Jalang'o were also heard shouting at the MP to go to State House.

Jalang'o, however, gained access to the venue while shielded by Raila Odinga's loyalists.

The Lang'ata MP was in Machakos for the PG convened by former Prime Minister Raila Odinga.

Attempts to block the legislator from attending the PG came after several ODM MPs criticised him for attending a meeting that President William Ruto convened at State House on Tuesday, February 7.

Jalang'o was in the company of seven other MPs who reportedly dumped Raila for the government.

However, the legislators refuted the claims adding that the meeting was centred around development talks.

On his part, the Lang'ata MP explained that Ruto called him to State House to discuss a crucial project set to benefit his constituents.

"Remember, the President's first project was in Lang'ata, which was why I was there. Ruto called for the meeting.

"I was told to sit with them because I come from the region. Being a leader, it was only noble that I sit with them there," he explained.

Nonetheless, a section of ODM loyalists cautioned him from engaging the government and disobeying party orders. By WASHINGTON MITO, Kenyans.co.ke