African Union Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki. [Standard, file]
The African Union has condemned the heinous attack on a school in Uganda by suspected Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebels, which left at least 41 students dead.
In a statement on Saturday, June 17, the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki, reaffirmed the union's unwavering solidarity with the Ugandan government and its citizens.
"The Chairperson expresses his sincere condolences to the loved ones of the victims and wishes a full recovery to the injured students," said Faki.
"We wish to reaffirm the African Union’s continued and unwavering solidarity with the Ugandan government and people during this painful period of national loss," he added.
“The Chairperson reiterates the need for an urgent holistic regional approach to address the threat posed by all terrorist and armed groups to ensure regional security," he said.
Suspected ADF rebels attacked a school in a remote area of Uganda near the Congo border on Saturday, killing at least 41 people in a nighttime raid before fleeing across the porous frontier, according to authorities.
Among the victims were thirty-eight students who were in their dormitories during the attack.
The perpetrators, armed with guns and machetes, committed horrific acts of violence, resulting in some students being burned beyond recognition and others being shot or hacked to death.
The school is located in the frontier district of Kasese, about two kilometers (just over a mile) from the Congo border.
In addition to the 38 students, one guard and two residents of the local community in Mpondwe-Lhubiriha town were killed in the attack, as reported by Mayor Selevest Mapoze.
The rebels also abducted six students, who were forced to act as porters for looted food from the school's store, according to a statement from the Ugandan military.
Authorities have attributed the massacre at Lhubiriha Secondary School to the ADF, a shadowy extremist group that has been launching attacks from bases in volatile eastern Congo for years. By David Njaaga, The Standard
Azimio executive council chair Wyclife Oparanya reading the statement on June 14, 2023 at SKM Command Center in Karen ,Nairobi. [Edward Kiplimo, Standard] Photo Courtesy
Raila Odinga's Azimio la Umoja, also known as One Kenya, is facing its greatest challenge yet against President William Ruto's Kenya Kwanza Alliance in Parliament.
A vote on the Finance Bill 2023 on Wednesday showed that Azimio, most probably, stands no chance in its bid to shoot down government bills in parliament as they were overwhelmingly outvoted.
Debate on the Bill resumes on Tuesday, with a vote that could see it pass in the course of the week. Azimio is mobilizing its Members of Parliament ahead of this showdown and has bared its fangs to its rebels as it plans to mount a resistance against the Bill.
Raila's Orange Democratic Movement has already initiated disciplinary action against four of its members who supported the Bill and 24 others who were absent during voting, a move that should rally attendance during next week's sittings.
On Thursday, ODM Secretary-General and Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna published a list of the MPs the party would be seeking to punish for defying ODM's position on the Finance Bill, with the party's Vice-Chairperson and Taita Taveta Senator Mwashushe Mwaruma issuing show-cause letters to the lawmakers.
In the wake of the backlash that accompanied their absence, many of the absentees have vowed to be part of next week's voting.
During the last vote at the Bill's second reading, 176 Members of Parliament voted in its favour, with 81 opposing it. The overwhelming endorsement implies that the controversial Bill is bound to pass even with the Azimio Members of Parliament who skipped the vote attending the next one, given that those who supported it are more than half of the total 349 MPs.
Azimio's fortunes in Parliament are further complicated by a rebellion by some Jubilee MPs, who have defected from Azimio to Kenya Kwanza. Some of the MPs, like Adan Keynan (Eldas) and Sabina Chege (nominated), voted in favor of the Bill. During Thursday's afternoon sitting at the Senate, Sifuna pointed out the frustration of Jubilee MPs, a situation that also obtains in both Houses.
"We are having serious challenges whipping members of Jubilee in this particular House. We, as a coalition, have never disowned anyone. They have decided they don't want to associate with us. We are unable to whip these members," the Senate deputy minority whip stated.
Azimio thus finds itself lacking the numbers to mount a substantial resistance. Tactics such as filibustering, proposing multiple amendments, and subjecting every clause to a division vote could only work to delay the inevitable.
Raila's coalition is, seemingly, resigned to the near impossibility of mounting a successful opposition and has lined up measures it would pursue if MPs eventually endorsed it. The coalition's principals are expected to announce their next course of action tomorrow, as indicated during a Wednesday press briefing.
"In the event that they force this down your throat, don't give up, don't surrender. Join us in the next course of action that we will announce soon," said former Kakamega Governor Wycliffe Oparanya, who announced that Azimio would be publishing an alternative budget.
"We are reminding Kenyans that they are not helpless. The Constitution gives you sovereignty. Let us wait, and if the voices of the people are not heard, then the people must exercise their sovereignty," Narc Kenya leader Martha Karua said.
Raila recently announced that they were ready to take the fight to the courts or the streets, through demonstrations, as the opposition seeks to capitalize on public discontent over the Finance Bill and the prevailing high cost of living.
"They will pass the Finance Bill, and that will be the trumpet (that will signal) the start (of protests)," the former prime minister said at the Toi Market in Kibra on Thursday.
ODM chairperson John Mbadi hinted at the court action yesterday, which Minority Whip Junet Mohamed had talked about in Parliament on Thursday.
"The Majority side had no justification in pushing for a vote on a Finance Bill in the rushed manner in which they did. It is anticipated in law that debate on the Bill and indeed any voting would have succeeded the Budget Highlights by the CS," Mbadi said at a briefing. By Brian Otieno, The Standard
At least 40 people have been killed in a terrorist attack on a school in western Uganda, police said Saturday.
At least eight people, police said, were injured in the attack by militants linked to the Islamic State group- Allied Democratic Forces militia, on the Lhubirira secondary school in Mpondwe, near the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo.
It was not immediately clear how many of the victims are children.
According to Ugandan media, security officers are in pursuit of the rebel group who fled towards Virunga National Park in the DRC.
"So far 25 bodies have been recovered from the school and transferred to Bwera Hospital", Uganda National Police Spokesperson Fred Enanga said in a statement on Saturday. More to follow..
At least 40 people have been killed in a terrorist attack on a school in western Uganda, police said Saturday.
At least eight people, police said, were injured in the attack by militants linked to the Islamic State group- Allied Democratic Forces militia, on the Lhubirira secondary school in Mpondwe, near the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo.
It was not immediately clear how many of the victims are children.
According to Ugandan media, security officers are in pursuit of the rebel group who fled towards Virunga National Park in the DRC.
"So far 25 bodies have been recovered from the school and transferred to Bwera Hospital", Uganda National Police Spokesperson Fred Enanga said in a statement on Saturday. More to follow..
Barnaby Webber and Grace Kumar were killed in a Nottingham street on Tuesday
A female victim of the triple killing in Nottingham “tried to save” her friend as he was stabbed to death, a nearby resident revealed.
Barnaby Webber and Grace O’Malley-Kumar, both 19, were walking home after a University of Nottingham end of term party when they were fatally stabbed. Ian Coates, 65, a school caretaker, was also killed later as he made his way to work.
One resident, who has not been named, said CCTV shows O’Malley-Kumar attempting to save Barnaby as the pair were assaulted on Tuesday morning.
The woman told MailOnline: “The boy and the girl were walking on their own, there was nobody else in the picture except the attacker, who came up from behind.
“He attacked the boy first - the girl had an opportunity to run away. But she didn’t, she tried to get the man off her friend. She tried to save the boy.”
The woman said she and her husband have had to take medication to help them sleep since watching the footage, which has been handed over to the police.
She added: “What we witnessed on the screen keeps playing over in our minds. It’s awful.”
A man was due in court today charged with murder and attempted murder after three people were stabbed to death in Nottingham and three others were injured by a van.
Mechanical engineering graduate Valdo Calocane, of no fixed address, will appear before city magistrates.
Grace, Barnaby and Coates died early on Tuesday. Two people hit by a van allegedly driven by Calocane, 31, were “stable” in hospital yesterday, while a third has been discharged.
Nottinghamshire Chief Constable Kate Meynell said: “These charges are a significant development and arise as a result of our thorough investigation. Our thoughts remain with the families and friends of all those affected.”
She added: “We are keenly aware of the deep emotion being felt surrounding these tragic events and the high level of interest. However, posting prejudicial information online about an active case could amount to contempt of court and, in the most serious cases, have the potential to cause the collapse of a trial.”
Grace and Barnaby were walking home together from a night out when they were knifed soon after 4am. Ian, a lifelong Nottingham Forest fan, died shortly afterwards when his van was stolen.
The Nottinghamshire force has referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct after it emerged that a marked police car followed the vehicle briefly.
Barnaby’s parents David and Emma plus younger brother Charlie yesterday laid flowers where he died on Ilkeston Road. They said: “We chose to come to this dreadful space because we owe it to both Barnaby and Grace to let them know we are here.
“As has been expressed by so many already, heartbreak cannot begin to describe our loss. As painful as this tribute today has been, it is yet another step forward on the very long, dark journey we have been forced to take.
“We would like to thank all at Nottingham University and the police for their professionalism, diligence, respect and care they have shown.”
History undergraduate Barnaby and medical student Grace were respected cricketers, and yesterday the England and Australia teams wore black armbands for the Ashes Test at Edgbaston in honour of all the victims. The ground also held a minute’s silence.
Ian worked at Huntingdon Academy primary in Nottingham and was just four months away from retirement. By Sami Quadri, Evening Standard
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