East Africa

Details: East Africa; 27 August 2022; 555

Electoral commission vice chair Juliana Cherera has claimed chairperson Wafula Chebukati secretly printed a second set of results transmission forms without involving other members of the polls body.

In an affidavit responding to the petitions filed by former Prime Minister Raila Odinga and Martha Karua seeking to nullify the August, 2022 Presidential election, Ms Cherera accused the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) chair of running a one man show that shrouded the polls in mystery.

Ms Cherera says on July 21, 2022, she was in Greece with another commissioner, Francis Wanderi to inspect ballot printing by Eyelpidon-based Lykos (Hellas) SA when they discovered that Mr Chebukati had instructed the firm to print two sets of forms 34A.

Form 34A is the primary presidential election results transmission form that is filled out at polling stations.

Also Read: IEBC commissioners to file individual responses to petition

Court of Appeal in 2017 ruled that results from polling stations filled in form 34A are final, and can only be overturned by the Supreme Court after filing of a petition.

Ms Cherera holds that various political parties protested the discovery of a second set of documents, boxing the IEBC into calling for a meeting with Presidential candidates to resolve the standoff.

The stakeholders resolved to store the second set of documents in a tamper-proof box.

The IEBC commissioner, however, does not state in her affidavit whether the second set of forms 34A are still intact.

In what she terms as a long list of unilateral decisions, Ms Cherera holds that the Mr Chebukati reassigned commissioners and senior staff midway through the tallying process at Bomas of Kenya.

Deputy CEO Ruth Kulundu was moved from head of election operations to protocol duties such as receiving VIPs. Her role was then assigned to a junior staffer who is not named in the affidavit.

Irene Massit, the commissioner in charge of the IEBC’s legal committee, was reassigned to hospitality which covers logistics and security.

Justus Nyang’aya, the commissioner in charge of ICT, was also reassigned to protocol duties.

“The chairperson undertook the foregoing re-designations unilaterally without consultation with the commissioners,” Ms Cherera adds.

Ms Cherera claims that while she was in charge of media briefings, Mr Chebukati would hand her unverified hand-written results to read out to the public.

Also Read: The smoking gun in Raila Odinga’s petition

The affidavit states that on August 13 Mr Chebukati ordered all returning and presiding officers to first report to him with the physical forms 34A and 34B before taking any other action.

August 15

For the first time, details of what occurred on August 15, the declaration date, have emerged.

Ms Cherera claims that Mr Chebukati summoned all commissioners to the boardroom at Bomas of Kenya and handed them a summary of presidential results.

Mr Chebukati claimed to have tallied the results from IEBC’s backend server and verified them.

“The chairperson did not indicate how the errors and concerns raised by the representatives of the Presidential candidates and political parties were dealt with. In the said meeting, the commission once again sought to tally and verify the results but the chairperson indicated that he would announce the results and that the commissioners were at liberty to join him at the podium,” she says.

“On August 15, 2022 the chairperson of the commission proceeded to announce what he termed as the final presidential election results which had not been tallied and verified by the commission,” Ms Cherera adds. By Brian Wasuna, Nation Media Group

Details: East Africa; 25 August 2022; 586

This funding will enable our humanitarian partners address the most urgent emergency needs, including supporting those newly displaced-

The European Union (EU) has allocated an additional €4 million (Ugx 15.2 billion) to Uganda, to help the country address the influx of new refugees from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and address the food insecurity in Uganda's Karamoja region, on the border with Kenya.

EU Commissioner for Crisis Management, Janez Lenarčič, said: “Prevailing insecurity in the eastern DRC has led to an increase in the number of refugee arrivals in neighbouring Uganda, which is already hosting the largest refugee population in Africa. This funding will enable our humanitarian partners address the most urgent emergency needs, including supporting those newly displaced. In addition, funding has been allocated to Uganda to help the country address the rapidly deteriorating food security situation in its Karamoja region, where half a million people are in urgent need of food assistance.”

More than 500,000 people are in urgent need of food assistance, with around 100,000 children and pregnant and lactating women being acutely malnourished

The top-up amount brings the total funding for Uganda to €34 million (Ugx 130 billion) in 2022.

The security situation in the DRC has resulted in a large number of people seeking refuge in neighbouring Uganda, with more than 57,000 arriving since January 2022. Uganda already hosts the largest refugee population in Africa (1.5 million) and the third largest in the world.

The Karamoja area, in Uganda's northeast, is currently facing the devastating consequences of the drought affecting the Horn of Africa – often described as “the worst in a generation.”

More than 500,000 people are in urgent need of food assistance, with around 100,000 children and pregnant and lactating women being acutely malnourished.

The additional funding allocated by the EU will allow humanitarian partners to provide food and nutrition assistance, including immediate life-saving assistance to the most vulnerable. Of this latest additional EU funding, €2 million is earmarked for support action in Karamoja while €2 million will support the emergency in southwestern Uganda.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Delegation of the European Union to Uganda.

Details: East Africa; 25 August 2022; 595

File photo of Uganda's President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni during the past address to the nation FILE

. Former Ugandan Security Minister, retired General Elly Tumwine, died at the age of 68 at a hospital in Nairobi Kenya after a long battle with lung cancer.

President Yoweri Museveni confirmed that Tumwine passed away on Thursday, August 25. Museveni made the announcement after consoling the deceased's widow.

"With deep sorrow, I announce the death of General Elly Tumwine which occurred at 5:46 am this morning in Nairobi, from lung cancer," Museveni stated.

The late four-star general was airlifted to Nairobi for specialised treatment on Tuesday, August 9. His situation worsened a few days later and on Sunday, August 14, he was reported to have been fighting for his life.

The late General Elly Tumwine in military attire TWITTER

The late who served as a commander of the National Resistance Army (NRA) from 1984 to 1987 was also Museveni's student when the head of state taught at Burunga Primary School in 1967.

Museveni eulogised Tumwine as a dedicated and hard-working cadre in the government.

"Condolences to his family, to the NRA-UPDF- NRM fraternity, and to all Ugandans. May his soul rest in eternal peace," Museveni mourned.

Tumwine was a pillar in the 1986 bush war that saw the National Resistance Movement rise to power.

In the Cabinet, he served as Minister of State for Defence in 1989 and in 1994 was appointed Director General of the External Security Organization (ESO).

Notably, in 1996, Museveni appointed him as his Presidential Adviser, a position he held from 1996 to 1998.

In July 2022, the late retired from active military service in the general rank.

Conclusively, his health was a topic of discussion in Uganda that year following speculations that he had passed away. Tumwine dismissed the claims as misleading and urged the public to refrain from sharing fake news.

The late General Elly Tumwine in military attire TWITTER

Details: East Africa; 25 August 2022; 571

Photo Courtesy ES

Heavy rainfall brought chaos to London commuters on Thursday with localised flooding across the capital and major hubs, Paddington and Charing Cross, forced to close in parts.

Five flood warnings were in place across the capital, while a yellow thunderstorm warning was issued across the city and the south-east.

Paddington - one of London’s busiest stations - was exit-only on the Bakerloo line, according to the TfL website.

Exits one and two were also shut at Charing Cross. Meanwhile “heavy flooding” means Dagenham Heathway Underground station was closed, and northbound trains are not stopping at Tooting Bec.

Barking and Dagenham Borough Council said on Thursday morning there was a “severe flooding across the borough” and urged people to drive carefully.

Meanwhile, a lorry driver tragically died after his vehicle overturned in treacherous conditions in east London shortly after 6am.

The fatal crash happened on the A13 eastbound near Wennington in the borough of Havering, sparking a huge emergency response. As of 9.30am, the road remains closed between Ferry Lane Interchange and Wennington Interchange.

It came after the Met Office said there is a “good chance” of driving conditions being affected by rain, while delays to train services also likely.

The weather service said some parts of the south-east could see 50mm of rain fall across six hours.

“Some flooding of a few homes and businesses [is] likely,” it says, “leading to some damage to buildings or structures”.

Meanwhile, the Environment Agency has placed flood warnings for five waterways in London.

The warnings are for: the area around Bevery Brook in Merton, Sutton, Kingston upon Thames, Richmond upon Thames and Wandsworth; the River Hogsmill area from Ewell to Kingston-upon-Thames; the Ravensbourne area in the boroughs of Lewisham, Bromley, Greenwich and Croydon; the River Wandle area in Wandsworth, Merton, Lambeth, Croydon and Sutton; and Shuttle and Cray.

A flood warning is also in place just outside the capital in Surrey, near the River Rythe from Oxshott to Thames Ditton.

The Met Office says: “Outbreaks of heavy, thundery rain are likely to develop and move across east and southeast England from the early hours of Thursday.

“Ten to 20mm of rain is likely over quite a large area but with some embedded thunderstorms some sites are likely to see 30 to 40 mm in two to three hours and perhaps 5mm or more oversix hours,” it said.

“Lightning will be an additional hazard. The area of rain is expected to ease from the southwest before clearing into the North Sea during Thursday afternoon.”

It is hoped the wet weather will clear up in time for the bank holiday weekend, which the Met Office predicts will be “largely dry and sunny” for the south-east. By Lydia Chantler-Hicks, Evening Standard

Details: East Africa; 24 August 2022; 603

The Judiciary has assured Kenyans that it is working to fix an electronic system failure that was experienced for the better part of Wednesday, August 24.

The systems which support the electronic filing of documents, services, search of cases, payment, and receipting experienced downtime from morning hours.

In a statement dated Wednesday, August 24, the Judiciary said its e-filing and case tracking system were experiencing downtime.

Additionally, the Judiciary confirmed that its technical team was working around the clock to restore the system.

Supreme Court Judges during a past court hearing

FILE

Further, the Judiciary directed that to avoid disruptions, it had reverted to the guidelines on manual operations during system breakdown issued by the Chief Registrar on August 23.

The e-filing system of cases was officially launched by former Chief Justice, David Maraga, on July 1, 2020. This was part of the Judiciary's efforts, to increase the use of technology in all its functions and achieve higher levels of efficiency and convenience for all stakeholders.

The Kenyan court system is anchored in common law, which is characterized by paper-based procedures and physical court appearances.

However, the disruptions caused by the pandemic made the court system to delay its mandate of delivering justice, forcing the judiciary to adopt measures to mitigate the effects and ensure continuous access to justice.

To actualize this, electronic systems were launched. The e-filing system helps to allow the court users to submit e-documents to the courts, perform self assessment and make payments to the court, cash bail, or court deposits.

The second system is the the case Tracking System. This is a registry automation system that tracks the life cycle of a case, indicates the status of a case, generates the Cause list, keeps an e-diary, and generates reports.

The case-tracking system is important in helping court users to track cases assigned to the office for hearings, and manage caseloads and case works.

The Judiciary says for applications under certificate of urgency and time-bound pledges are supposed to forward the same through the respective court's station email address and copy to the deputy registrar for processing(automationdeputyregistrar(at)court(dot)go(dot)ke)

The system, adopted in 2020, has attracted both praise and criticism in equal measure from court users.

from right; Azimio flagbearer Raila Odinga, prof. Makau Mutua and Azimio deputy presidential candidate Martha Karua filing their petition at the supreme court on August 22, 2022 By Oscar Nalyanya, KENYANS.CO.KE