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.
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.
The Kicukiro primary court slapped a fine of Rwf1million to Moise Emmanuel Bagirishya the driver who was involved in the accident that led to the death of a local journalist John Williams Ntwali.
Ntwali was an editor attached to local media outlets.
Court found Bagirishya guilty of involuntary manslaughter and involuntary cause of bodily harm.
During the trial hearing which took place on January 31, Bagirishya pledged guilty and apologised for the accident after his car hit a motorcycle carrying Ntwali on the night of January 18, at 02:50a.m in Kicukiro District.
Bagirishya confessed to over-speeding and told the court that he was tired and rushing to get home when the accident took place.
In reading the verdict, the judge found Bagirishya guilty of two counts and fined him with Rwf 500,000 for each crime.
Previously, the prosecution had requested the court of a two-sentence and a fine of Rwf 2 million.
According to the law any person found guilty of involuntary manslaughter is sentenced to imprisonment from six months to two years and a fine of Rwf 500,000 to Rwf 2 million or only one of these punishments. - Aurore Teta Ufitiwabo, The New Times
South Sudan government on Wednesday said it has formed a committee to engage Kenyan authorities over escalating border tensions.
South Sudan president, Salva Kiir Mayardit (Photo via Getty Images)
JUBA, FEBRUARY 8th 2023 (SUDANS POST) – South Sudan government on Wednesday said it has formed a committee to engage Kenyan authorities over escalating border tensions.
This comes after armed herdsmen from the neighboring country encroached into South Sudan territory in Eastern Equatoria state this week.
In a statement, the presidency said President Salva Kiir Mayardit received security updates from the governor of Eastern Equatoria state Louis Lobong Lojore and that the meeting discussed the escalating insecurity along the border with Kenya.
“President Salva Kiir Mayardit on Wednesday met with a delegation from Eastern Equatoria State, headed by the State Governor, Louis Lobong Lojore to brief him about the recent security situation along the border between South Sudan and Kenya,” the presidency statement reads in part.
Governor Louis said while speaking to the press following the meeting that “a Joint Border Committee has been established to engage Kenyan authorities and the local communities to resolve border tension between the two Countries.”
The senior government official further stressed “that communities along border should work together and ensure that they share their resources amicably.” Sudan Post
Three civilians were killed and a dozen others injured following an incident in eastern DR Congo where demonstrators set on fire a convoy of the UN mission, MONUSCO, on Tuesday, February 7.
Four peacekeepers’ trucks were violently attacked on Tuesday evening while on their way from a locality called Munigi in North Kivu province to Goma city, the UN mission said. As noted, rioters also stole cargo.
According to reports, the UN convoy was returning from a resupply mission north of Goma, the capital of North Kivu province, when assailants set four trucks on fire.
Other reports indicate that after vehicles were set on fire, a crowd tried to break into a container containing weapons and the peacekeepers opened fire, killing five people.
The incident followed protests in Goma, the capital of North Kivu, on Monday and Tuesday, against the East African regional force. The regional force was deployed in November 2022 to support the regional efforts to restore peace in eastern DR Congo.
Protestors are demanding that the regional force attacks the M23 rebels or leaves the country.
The protestors also blocked roads in Goma and vandalised shops and churches belonging to members of the Congolese Tutsi community which has been, for long, victims of endless hate speech and ethnic violence.
The opening of the General Synod at the Church House on February 6, 2023, in London, England. Getty Images
The archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, the religious head of the church, previously said that “God is not male or female” or “definable.”
“All human language about God is inadequate and to some degree metaphorical,” he said in 2018.
However, the Rev. Ian Paul, a member of the Archbishops’ Council of the Church of England, was among those decrying it as a step too far.
“If the Liturgical Commission seeks to change this, then in an important way they will be moving the doctrine of the church away from being grounded in the Scriptures,” he told the outlet.
He stressed that “male and female imagery is not interchangeable,” while also claiming that critics were misreading the teachings.
“The use of male pronouns for God should not be understood as implying that God is male — which is a heresy. God is not sexed, unlike humanity,” he stressed.
The church confirmed it was investigating a possible shift away from male pronouns for God.In Pictures via Getty Images
“The fact that God is called ‘Father’ can’t be substituted by ‘Mother’ without changing meaning, nor can it be gender-neutralized to ‘Parent’ without loss of meaning. Fathers and mothers are not interchangeable but relate to their offspring in different ways,” he stressed.
Prof. Helen King, the vice chairman of the synod’s gender and sexuality group, acknowledged that such “questions around gendered language and God have been around for decades, if not centuries.”
Even so, they “still have the power to bring out strong reactions,” she said.
Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby (right) during the voting at Church House in London, on February 7, 2023.AFP via Getty Images
“Clearly God is not gendered, so why do we restrict our language for God in gendered ways?” she asked.
The group Women and the Church said that “a theological misreading of God as exclusively male is a driver of much-continuing discrimination and sexism against women.”
The Rev. Miranda Threlfall-Holmes also told the UK Times that the view that “God is a man” had been used to oppose women bishops.
The plan first emerged after a female reverend asked the commission if there was an update “to develop more inclusive language” given that “many of the prayers offered for use refer to God using male pronouns.”
The commission’s vice chair, Bishop of Lichfield Michael Ipgrave, replied that it had “been exploring the use of gendered language in relation to God for several years.”
“After some dialogue … a new joint project on gendered language will begin this spring,” Ipgrave wrote in a formal reply.
A spokesman for the Church of England stressed that the debate “is nothing new.”
“Christians have recognized since ancient times that God is neither male nor female, yet the variety of ways of addressing and describing God found in scripture has not always been reflected in our worship,” the church rep said.
Still, the rep insisted that any changes would only apply to future teachings.
“There are absolutely no plans to abolish or substantially revise currently authorized liturgies, and no such changes could be made without extensive legislation,” the spokesperson said.
The Church’s Faith and Order Commission, which advises on theology, will work with the liturgical commission on looking at questions around gender terms, the spokesperson said. With Post wires New York Post
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