Jaffer kapasi was just a teenager when he stepped off a charter plane at London’s Stansted airport in October 1972. It was very cold, he remembers, the more so perhaps since he and his family had boarded the plane in the sunshine of Uganda. His parents were disorientated and depressed.

They spoke little English and were leaving behind a comfortable life in east Africa, complete with servants and chauffeurs. From the airport the family was taken by bus to a former army barracks in Essex, and then on to a similarly spartan camp in rural Wales.

The Kapasis were victims of Idi Amin, the thuggish dictator of Uganda. On August 4th 1972 he had announced that all 76,000-odd people of Asian descent in the country had to leave within 90 days. Amin’s decree was an act of economic suicide.

Ugandan Asians accounted for about 90% of the country’s tax revenues; with their expulsion, the economy all but collapsed. The consequences for Britain, one of the principal destinations for newly minted refugees, were far better. The Economist

The Russian Embassy in Kenya has congratulated William Ruto on being declared President-elect following the August 9 General Election.

“The Embassy of Russia is looking forward to continuing and further developing comprehensive and mutually beneficial cooperation with Kenya. We are confident that the friendly relations between our two countries and peoples will be reinvigorated and further strengthened,” it said in a statement on Thursday. 

Russia joins other embassies in Nairobi lauding the country for a peaceful election and for setting an example to the East Africa region and the African continent by large.

“We commend the people of Kenya for the peace and calm displayed on Election day, the IEBC’s organisation of the elections, and the positive roles played by civil society, religious and business leaders, and the security sector.” 

The statement dated August 17 was issued by Embassies and High Commissions in Nairobi including Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland, Australia, Denmark, and the UK.

Ruto was declared president-elect on Monday by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) chair Wafula Chebukati, with 50.49 per cent of the total votes cast against his closest competitor Raila Odinga who got 48.89 per cent. By Betty Njeru, The Standard

Photo Courtesy PD

Azimio la Umoja-One Kenya coalition presidential candidate Raila Odinga and his running mate Martha Karua on Thursday, August 18 met the United States congressional delegation

Raila said they discussed matters relating to the recently held general election in Kenya. 

"We held candid discussions on developments around our general election and bilateral relations with the congressional delegation of the US Senate and House of Representatives," Raila said.

Raila to move to court

The leaders also discussed Azimio la Umoja's decision to move to court to challenge the presidential results.

"We reiterated our commitment to pursuing legal means to resolve issues around the presidential election results," Raila added. 

The delegation earlier met President-elect William Ruto at his Karen residence where they held talks surrounding the just concluded general election.

"Held talks with Congressional Delegation from the United States led by Delaware Senator Chris Andrew Coons in the company of US Ambassador to Kenya Meg Whitman at the Karen Office, Nairobi County.

"The talks touched on the just concluded elections in the country and areas of cooperation between Kenya and the United States.

"We commit to deepening relations and further partnership for the mutual benefit of the citizens of the two countries," Ruto said in a statement. 

Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) Chairman Wafula Chebukati on Monday, August 15 announced that Ruto won the August 9 presidential election with 7.17 million votes against Raila's 6.94 million.

Raila rejects election results

However, Raila said that the figures announced by Chebukati were null and void and should be thrown out by a competent court of law.

One of the grounds of his rejection of the vote was the disagreement that rocked the electoral commission just before Chebukati announced the winners.

Four of the seven commissioners rejected the results on Monday saying the last phase of counting and tallying had been opaque.

Raila’s rejection of the results came even as Chebukati on Tuesday gazetted Ruto and his running mate Rigathi Gachagua, as President-elect and Deputy President-elect respectively.

Vowing to fight the results, Raila said: “The figures announced by Chebukati are null and void and must be quashed by a court of law. In our view, there is neither a legally and validly declared winner nor a president-elect. Mr Chebukati’s announcement purporting to announce a winner is a nullity.”

He also thanked his supporters for remaining peaceful as he and other Azimio leaders prepared to challenge the results.

He said that Chebukati had acted with gross impunity and in total disregard of the Constitution and the laws, adding that he could have plunged the country into chaos had Azimio supporters not exercised restraint. By Evans Maritim, People Daily

Zimbabwe extended an incentive for the country’s biggest gold miners to produce above state-set output targets.

Large producers that exceed their goals will receive 80% of the payment for the additional output in foreign currency, Deputy Mines Minister Polite Kambamura said in an interview. That compares with the existing 60-40 split between foreign and local currency payments for gold produced in the southern African country.

“Overall, it’s a good policy,” said Isaac Kwesu, chief executive officer of the Chamber of Mines. “But for those that are already operating at full throttle, they will not be able to benefit from it.” 

Zimbabwe’s gold miners say they can only make the investments required to help reboot the country’s economy if they can retain a larger share of their foreign currency earnings. Gold exports are the No. 3 foreign currency earner, after platinum and remittances, in a nation that suffers from an acute shortage of dollars.

Kambamura said the government has identified two local lenders that could help provide the US$1 billion of funding needed by the gold industry over the next five years.

Kuvimba Mining House Ltd., 65% owned by the state, plans a fivefold increase in production at its Shamva Gold operation by next year, the deputy minister said.

“Shamva is coming up with a massive expansion project which will see them doing open cast mining,” he said. Mothballed state-owned gold mines will be reopened, while those not fully operational will be recapitalized, Kambamura said. 

Gold output in Zimbabwe climbed 47% in the first seven months of this year. The government wants the gold sector to account for a third of the targeted US$12 billion the mining industry will generate next year, the deputy minister said.- Bloomberg/Insider