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A three-week lockdown has been declared in two districts of Uganda as the country battles an Ebola outbreak.

Bars, nightclubs, places of worship and entertainment venues will be closed in Mubende and neighbouring Kassanda, and a curfew will come into force.

The move is a U-turn for Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni, who previously said there was no need for such measures.

This latest outbreak has killed 19 people among 58 recorded cases.

However, the real number of deaths and cases may be higher.

The outbreak began in early September in Mubende, about 80km (50 miles) from the capital Kampala and has remained the epicentre. 

President Museveni had previously ruled out lockdowns, saying Ebola was not an airborne virus so did not require the same measures as Covid-19.

But on Saturday he halted all movement in and out of Mubende and Kassanda districts for 21 days.

Cargo trucks will still be allowed to enter and leave the areas, he said, but all other transport will be stopped.

"These are temporary measures to control the spread of Ebola," he said in a televised address.

"We should all cooperate with authorities so we bring this outbreak to an end in the shortest possible time."

A map of Uganda showing the location of the Ebola outbreak

The president had already ordered police to arrest anyone suspected of having the virus who refused to isolate. 

And he has forbidden traditional healers from trying to handle cases. In previous outbreaks, healers have been associated with hotspots for spread of the virus.

The first recorded death in this outbreak was a 24-year-old man in Mubende. Six members of his family also died.

It later reached the capital Kampala, with one death recorded in October. But health officials said the city remained virus-free, as the man who died had travelled from Mubende.

This latest outbreak is of the Sudan strain of the virus, for which there is no approved vaccine. The Zaire strain, which killed 11,000 people in an outbreak across West Africa from 2013-2016, can be vaccinated against.

Ebola spreads through direct contact with bodily fluids or contaminated material.

Symptoms include vomiting, diarrhoea and in some cases internal or external bleeding. 

The incubation period can last from two days to three weeks, and the virus can be associated with other illnesses, such as malaria and typhoid.  By Elsa Maishman, BBC

Amin Mohamed. He has been appointed the new Director of DCI by President Ruto. Jeff Angote | Nation Media Group

An impressive CV and a scandal-free career spanning decades as an investigator and manager earned Internal Affairs Unit (IAU) chief Amin Mohamed Ibrahim the selection as the next Director of Criminal Investigations (DCI), replacing George Kinoti who resigned last month. 

President William Ruto yesterday morning gazetted the former head of the Banking Fraud Unit as the new DCI after he beat nine other candidates during marathon interviews conducted by the National Police Service Commission (NPSC) on Monday.

“In exercise of the powers conferred, I, William Ruto, appoint Amin Mohamed to be the director,” stated the President.

Mr Ibrahim, 58, has been in the National Police Service for the last 33 years, serving in various capacities. That made him a clear favourite from the time a shortlist of 10 candidates for the position was released by NPCSC last week.

He will, however, be going back to a familiar ground. He first cut his teeth on investigations when he was appointed the officer in charge of the crime branch at Bungoma Police Station immediately after being hired as a cadet in 1989.

Apart from various stints at the DCI where he rose through the ranks, Mr Ibrahim successfully investigated former Deputy Chief Justice Nancy Baraza when she threatened a security guard in 2012, investigated and prosecuted the killers of former Italian bishop Luigi Locati in 2005 and coordinated investigations for the 2007 post-election violence.

He has also served as the director of the Kenya National Focal Point on Small and Light Weapons; as the regional director for the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) in North Eastern; as the head of investigations at DCI; as the senior superintendent at the Anti-Corruption Police Unit; among other senior positions 

Yet, despite his good performance during the interviews where he scored the highest points, there was a push between certain political actors who wanted to impose their own candidate. But President Ruto stood firm, insisting that the person who won the interviews should be given the job.

Mr Ibrahim who comes into office as the 16th head of the investigative arm of the National Police Service since the formation of the Criminal Intelligence Unit (CIU) in 1926, is also the first director ever to be competitively recruited, an early positive change by the Ruto administration.

Despite existing provisions in the law on how the director of Kenya’s biggest investigative agency is supposed to be selected, the Mwai Kibaki and Uhuru Kenyatta regimes hired their DCI directors as Presidential appointees.

Section 30 of the National Police Service Act says: “Whenever a vacancy occurs in the office of the Director of Criminal Investigations, the (NPSC) shall, by notice in the Gazette and at least two daily newspapers of national circulation, declare a vacancy and request for applications.”

Yet Mr Kinoti, who came into office in 2018 as the 15th head of the DCI after it replaced the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) thanks to the 2010 Constitution, was appointed by President Kenyatta.

His predecessor, Mr Ndegwa Muhoro, was also appointed directly by President Kibaki on the eve of the promulgation of the 2010 Constitution, a move legal observers thought was meant to circumvent the law. 

Mr Ibrahim’s appointment as DCI has therefore given the department a much-needed breath of fresh air after a tumultuous four-year reign of Mr Kinoti that began with a lot of promise, only to get mixed up with political battles. The appointment also gives the directorate a chance to bring itself back on track.

“His vast experience in the field of investigations within and outside the directorate will without doubt inject new blood to the country’s foremost investigative agency and address the ever-changing crime dynamics,” said the directorate following Ibrahim’s appointment as its head as it welcomed him “back home”.

As DCI boss, Mr Ibrahim will be one of the most powerful people in the country. He will be in charge of the Special Crime Prevention Unit, Banking Fraud Investigations Unit, the Anti-Narcotics Unit, the Bomb and Hazardous Disposal Unit, the Anti-Terrorism Police Unit, the Cybercrime Investigation Unit, among others.

During Mr Kinoti’s term, the DCI increased its visibility among Kenyans, upgraded the Criminal Intelligence Unit to Criminal Research and Intelligence Bureau, expanded the homicide (DNA, Toxicological, Chemistry and Biology Lab Units) and commissioned the forensic laboratory that had stalled for years.

Mr Kinoti, however, left office with a significant number of unsolved murder cases and a failed war on corruption which put him at logger heads with the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Noordin Haji and President Ruto’s allies who accused him of targeting them. 

This is where Mr Ibrahim – who is known among his colleagues as a media-shy, talented, fair but firm investigator with a love for reading – is expected to pick up from. He will, however, be walking on eggshells from the time he walks into the corner office at Mazingira House along Kiambu Road, with his first challenge being how to investigate cases involving politicians.

The Ruto administration whose members came under fire during Mr Kinoti’s tenure has already drawn the line on how it wants its members to be treated by the DCI. A number of politicians allied to the president have ongoing corruption and criminal cases in court where investigating officers from the DCI are expected to testify.

Additionally, Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, who has never hidden his dislike for the DCI since he was arrested on suspicion of money laundering in 2019, has on many occasions expressed his displeasure at how the department operates. His preference is that sleuths should stay at Mazingira House instead of lurking in government offices.

His latest jab towards the directorate came two weeks ago when he said it is time to overhaul DCI operations.

“We want a professional DCI, who will not spend time on drama, who will not spend time on the press, told Citizen TV.  By Vincent Achuka, Nation

 

Tanzania has submitted a request to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) asking partners to help finance a voluntary repatriation of Burundi refugees.

Tanzania’s Home Affairs Minister Hamad Yusuf Masauni made the appeal on Wednesday at the 73rd meeting of the UNHCR’s Executive Committee held in Geneva, Switzerland.

Mr Masauni argues that the political situation in Burundi has improved since President Evariste Ndayishimiye took over in 2020 and that refugees at Nyarugusu and Ndutu camps in Kigoma Region should return home.

For the plan to succeed, authorities will have to first win over refugees still sceptical of the repatriation, the minister said, as he presented the country’s reports on the situation of refugees, in a meeting chaired by UNHCR Commissioner General Filipo Grandi.

Since 2018, three years after the political impasse in Burundi led to a mass exodus of its citizens to neighbouring states including Tanzania, the two East African countries have been holding a series of meetings over the return of refugees, but to no avail.

Hundreds of Burundians are reluctant to go back home fearing for their security. In 2015, then president Pierre Nkurunziza ran for a third term after a disputed law change that removed the two-term limit. During the fracas, more than 400,000 citizens fled to Tanzania, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

According to Tanzanian government figures, 200,000 Burundians entered Tanzania through porous borders and are being hosted at designated refugee camps of Nyarugusu and Ndutu.

In 2018, Tanzania announced it would repatriate all Burundian refugees on its soil, but the exercise was postponed owing to the prevailing insecurity and political situation in Burundi at the time.

A year later, the two countries agreed in principle to embark on refugee repatriation but only 64,000 expressed their desire for repatriation from camps in northwestern Tanzania. The voluntary exercise took place in October 2019.

Statistics by Tanzania’s Home Affairs Ministry show there are still 136,221 Burundians at refugee camps in the country. This is after the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) issued a statement that said returnees should not be forcefully returned but should only go home voluntarily. - EMMANUEL ONYANGO, The EastAfrican

Amin Mohamed. He has been appointed the new Director of DCI by President Ruto. Jeff Angote | Nation Media Group

An impressive CV and a scandal-free career spanning decades as an investigator and manager earned Internal Affairs Unit (IAU) chief Amin Mohamed Ibrahim the selection as the next Director of Criminal Investigations (DCI), replacing George Kinoti who resigned last month. 

President William Ruto yesterday morning gazetted the former head of the Banking Fraud Unit as the new DCI after he beat nine other candidates during marathon interviews conducted by the National Police Service Commission (NPSC) on Monday.

“In exercise of the powers conferred, I, William Ruto, appoint Amin Mohamed to be the director,” stated the President.

Mr Ibrahim, 58, has been in the National Police Service for the last 33 years, serving in various capacities. That made him a clear favourite from the time a shortlist of 10 candidates for the position was released by NPCSC last week.

He will, however, be going back to a familiar ground. He first cut his teeth on investigations when he was appointed the officer in charge of the crime branch at Bungoma Police Station immediately after being hired as a cadet in 1989.

Apart from various stints at the DCI where he rose through the ranks, Mr Ibrahim successfully investigated former Deputy Chief Justice Nancy Baraza when she threatened a security guard in 2012, investigated and prosecuted the killers of former Italian bishop Luigi Locati in 2005 and coordinated investigations for the 2007 post-election violence.

He has also served as the director of the Kenya National Focal Point on Small and Light Weapons; as the regional director for the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) in North Eastern; as the head of investigations at DCI; as the senior superintendent at the Anti-Corruption Police Unit; among other senior positions 

Yet, despite his good performance during the interviews where he scored the highest points, there was a push between certain political actors who wanted to impose their own candidate. But President Ruto stood firm, insisting that the person who won the interviews should be given the job.

Mr Ibrahim who comes into office as the 16th head of the investigative arm of the National Police Service since the formation of the Criminal Intelligence Unit (CIU) in 1926, is also the first director ever to be competitively recruited, an early positive change by the Ruto administration.

Despite existing provisions in the law on how the director of Kenya’s biggest investigative agency is supposed to be selected, the Mwai Kibaki and Uhuru Kenyatta regimes hired their DCI directors as Presidential appointees.

Section 30 of the National Police Service Act says: “Whenever a vacancy occurs in the office of the Director of Criminal Investigations, the (NPSC) shall, by notice in the Gazette and at least two daily newspapers of national circulation, declare a vacancy and request for applications.”

Yet Mr Kinoti, who came into office in 2018 as the 15th head of the DCI after it replaced the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) thanks to the 2010 Constitution, was appointed by President Kenyatta.

His predecessor, Mr Ndegwa Muhoro, was also appointed directly by President Kibaki on the eve of the promulgation of the 2010 Constitution, a move legal observers thought was meant to circumvent the law. 

Mr Ibrahim’s appointment as DCI has therefore given the department a much-needed breath of fresh air after a tumultuous four-year reign of Mr Kinoti that began with a lot of promise, only to get mixed up with political battles. The appointment also gives the directorate a chance to bring itself back on track.

“His vast experience in the field of investigations within and outside the directorate will without doubt inject new blood to the country’s foremost investigative agency and address the ever-changing crime dynamics,” said the directorate following Ibrahim’s appointment as its head as it welcomed him “back home”.

As DCI boss, Mr Ibrahim will be one of the most powerful people in the country. He will be in charge of the Special Crime Prevention Unit, Banking Fraud Investigations Unit, the Anti-Narcotics Unit, the Bomb and Hazardous Disposal Unit, the Anti-Terrorism Police Unit, the Cybercrime Investigation Unit, among others.

During Mr Kinoti’s term, the DCI increased its visibility among Kenyans, upgraded the Criminal Intelligence Unit to Criminal Research and Intelligence Bureau, expanded the homicide (DNA, Toxicological, Chemistry and Biology Lab Units) and commissioned the forensic laboratory that had stalled for years.

Mr Kinoti, however, left office with a significant number of unsolved murder cases and a failed war on corruption which put him at logger heads with the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Noordin Haji and President Ruto’s allies who accused him of targeting them. 

This is where Mr Ibrahim – who is known among his colleagues as a media-shy, talented, fair but firm investigator with a love for reading – is expected to pick up from. He will, however, be walking on eggshells from the time he walks into the corner office at Mazingira House along Kiambu Road, with his first challenge being how to investigate cases involving politicians.

The Ruto administration whose members came under fire during Mr Kinoti’s tenure has already drawn the line on how it wants its members to be treated by the DCI. A number of politicians allied to the president have ongoing corruption and criminal cases in court where investigating officers from the DCI are expected to testify.

Additionally, Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, who has never hidden his dislike for the DCI since he was arrested on suspicion of money laundering in 2019, has on many occasions expressed his displeasure at how the department operates. His preference is that sleuths should stay at Mazingira House instead of lurking in government offices.

His latest jab towards the directorate came two weeks ago when he said it is time to overhaul DCI operations.

“We want a professional DCI, who will not spend time on drama, who will not spend time on the press, told Citizen TV.  By Vincent Achuka, Nation

A Nairobi High Court has dropped charges against 5 accused persons in the Ksh 588 million graft case facing former Kiambu Governor Ferdinand Waititu.

The five who were employees of the Kiambu County Government had been charged with willful failure to comply with the procurement procedures prompting them to move to the High Court.

The five discharged are Zacharia Mbugua, Joyce Musyoka, Simon Kangethe, Anselm Gachukia and Samuel Mugo in the Ksh 588 million graft case facing former Kiambu Governor.

Through their lawyer Isaac Owuor the five had moved to court earlier in the year seeking to have their charges dropped.

In a judgment by Justice Esther Maina, the court found that the prosecution and EACC are prohibited from charging the five.

This now leaves Waititu, his wife Susan Wangari and five in the graft case.  By Sarafina Robi, KBC

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