Donation Amount. Min £2

East Africa

 

A total 150 troops of the Rwanda Defence Force (RDF) and 36 Rwanda National Police members, on Friday, May 26, travelled to Uganda to participate in the 12th East African Community Armed Forces Field Training Exercise, codenamed “Ushirikiano Imara 2022.”

The exercise will run from May 27 to June 16. Its objective is to promote the EAC integration agenda, by enhancing joint state of readiness and interoperability of EAC partner States’ Armed Forces, Police, Civilian Components and other stakeholders in responding to complex security challenges, according to a statement from RDF.

The Division Commander, Mechanised Division, Maj Gen Wilson Gumisir iza, briefed the departing contingent on behalf of the RDF leadership, reminding them to uphold RDF values of patriotism, honour, valour and integrity and also maintain discipline throughout the exercise.

The two-week long exercise is attended by all six EAC partner states’ armed forces, police personnel and civilians. - James Karuhanga, The New Times

5 suspects arrested for kidnapping a man and demanding for a ransom to set him free on Thursday, May 26,2022.
Image: DCI

Women are now luring unsuspecting men from social networking sites before leading them to a room.

In Summary

• The five are Joseph Makau Mulatya, Patrick Wekesa Omosa, Rehema Njeri, Vigilance Mumbi and Hadija Ong’ai.

• The man had called his relatives claiming that he had been involved in a road accident and needed Sh100,000 for treatment.

Detectives based in Parklands have arrested five suspects for kidnapping a man and demandinga ransom to set him free.

The five are Joseph Makau Mulatya, Patrick Wekesa Omosa, Rehema Njeri, Vigilance Mumbi and Hadija Ong’ai.

Director of Criminal Investigations George Kinoti said it is a crime that is growing where women lure unsuspecting men from social networking sites, before leading them to a room where the man is held hostage and asked to buy his freedom. 

Three women who were arrested prey for men online, promising them a good time as a way to trap them.

Man and woman among the 5 suspects arrested for kidnapping a man and demanding for a ransom to set him free on Thursday, May 26,2022.
Man and woman among the 5 suspects arrested for kidnapping a man and demanding for a ransom to set him free on Thursday, May 26,2022. Image: DCI

With a special preference for men of caucasian origin, the women lure the smitten men to a house behind Ruaraka’s Naivas supermarket, with a promise of an action packed night from two to three women depending on ones preference.

"But moments before they get down, a rude knock suddenly interrupts the occasion as a man posing as a boyfriend to one of the women suddenly appears, throwing a spanner in the works of an eventful evening," Kinoti said.

"What follows are demands for a ransom depending on how deep one’s pockets are."

In Thursday’s incident, sleuths from a special team that has been on the trail of the 'babes' stormed the house where the victim was being held hostage.

"They found him stark naked, as the five suspects eagerly waited for an Mpesa transaction of Sh100,000 to set the man free."

"The man had called his relatives claiming that he had been involved in a road accident and needed Sh100,000 for treatment," DCI said.

Two women among the 5 suspects arrested for kidnapping a man and demanding for a ransom to set him free on Thursday, May 26,2022.
Two women among the 5 suspects arrested for kidnapping a man and demanding for a ransom to set him free on Thursday, May 26,2022. Image: DCI By Purity Wangui, The Star 

Russian President Vladimir Putin, seen in the Black sea resort city of Sochi, Russia, on May 24. (Mikhail Metzel/Pool/Sputnik/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock)/Photo Courtesy

Forty-two former presidents and prime ministers have added their signatures to a growing list that calls for the creation of an International Anti-Corruption Court, citing both the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the loss of coronavirus funding to fraud as new evidence of the ill effects of grand corruption.

Among those signing the declaration were former leaders of Argentina, Britain, Canada, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Mexico, Peru, South Korea, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and many others, according to an announcement made Wednesday by nonprofits Integrity Initiatives International and Club de Madrid.

Grand corruption — the abuse of public office for private gain by a nation’s leaders — “has global dimensions and cannot be combated by the affected countries alone,” said Danilo Turk, president of Slovenia between 2007 and 2012 and the current president of Club de Madrid, a forum for former elected world leaders. 

Though a proposal for the court was first made a decade ago, some of the signees are now explicitly linking a potential court to growing anger in Western capitals over the impact of dirty Russian money ahead of the invasion of Ukraine.

Former British prime minister Gordon Brown, one of the former world leaders calling for the court, wrote for the Times of London this year that Russian President Vladimir Putin needed to be brought to justice not only for the war in Ukraine but also for “three decades of deceit and corruption.”

Brown and others have added their names to a declaration that includes more than 250 high-profile figures from more than 75 countries. Sitting governments in Canada and the Netherlands have made establishing the court part of their official foreign policy, pushing the creation of the court as a vital international issue. 

“Corruption among public officials isn’t just a financial problem; it also undermines democracy and the rule of law in a country and exacerbates inequality among its people,” Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs Wopke Hoekstra said at a meeting of European Union foreign ministers in April.

But Hoekstra also emphasized that the Netherlands, which houses the International Criminal Court in The Hague, could only establish an anti-corruption court with the support of many other nations — a level of support that is far from assured.

No former U.S. president has signed the declaration, though it was first proposed by Mark L. Wolf, a U.S. district judge appointed by President Ronald Reagan who founded Integrity Initiatives International. The United States, home to a number of secretive tax havens, is considered one of the key facilitators of international corruption. 

Reps. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.) and Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) introduced a bill that called on the United States to oppose kleptocracy around the world by supporting the development of an International Anti-Corruption Court in 2020. However, the momentum quickly fizzled due to a lack of support.

The United States has long had a fraught relationship with the International Criminal Court, with U.S. critics citing concerns about sovereignty and fears that Americans could be targeted for prosecution. Congress never ratified the 2002 Rome Statute that established the court, even though it had been signed by President Bill Clinton, putting the United States at odds with the 123 backers of the court.

After the court moved to open an investigation into possible war crimes in Afghanistan in 2019 — the first ICC investigation that could involve U.S. troops — the Trump administration sanctioned a variety of court officials, including then-prosecutor Fatou Bensouda. (The Biden administration dropped the sanctions last year.) 

The ICC has also developed a complicated reputation in Africa, since so many of the cases it has brought have been against current or former African leaders — in part due to the difficulty of bringing cases against more-powerful nations.

The invasion of Ukraine might have led to a new perspective on international justice in countries that were once skeptical.

In March, Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) sponsored a bipartisan resolution that called on the United States to petition the ICC to authorize any and all “investigations into war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by the Russian Armed Forces and their proxies and President Putin’s military commanders, at the direction of President Vladimir Putin.”

The invasion has also led to new moves against corruption in Western capitals once known as accepting receivers of suspect Russian money. “Oligarchs in London will have nowhere to hide,” British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in February, despite the fact that many Russians accused of corrupt gains had been hiding in the British capital for decades

Though 189 countries are already party to the 2003 United Nations Convention Against Corruption, the treaty requires them only to have domestic laws criminalizing corruption. Though many do, such laws are often unenforced, while the sprawling, international nature of modern financial systems makes corruption an international issue.

The signed declaration in support of the court states that “kleptocrats enjoy impunity because they control the administration of justice in the countries that they rule.”  By The Washington Post 

 
Photo Courtesy
 
Senior officials from Turkish gov't agencies, foundation join panel on Africa's human capital in Turkey-Africa Media Summit

Turkish media organizations are sharing their experiences with African outlets to help prevent misconceptions on the continent in the media, the deputy head of Turkey's Presidency of Turks and Related Communities Abroad (YTB) said on Thursday.

"We're conducting media studies at the YTB, especially with non-governmental organizations that know the sociology of Africa," said Abdulhadi Turus, speaking at a panel titled "Investing in Africa's human capital" held under the Turkey-Africa Media Summit in Istanbul.

At the summit, organized by Turkey's Communications Directorate, Turus underlined the importance of how events are perceived and that the YTB aims to build accurate perceptions in the world, against those that are false.

Likewise, Turkey also aims to prevent misconceptions and spread the truth, as well as to help people facing oppression or poverty in any part of the world, he added.

Besides Turus, the panel was attended by Rahman Nurdun, vice president of the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA), and Birol Akgun, the chief of Turkey's Maarif Foundation. It was moderated by Ibrahim Bachir, a researcher at the University of Bayreuth in Germany.

Nurdun noted that TIKA, which serves as Turkey's state-run aid agency, opened its first office in Africa in 2005, when it opened its Addis Ababa branch in the Ethiopian. This was followed by its offices in Kenya and Senegal, he added.

"TIKA carries out an average of 400 projects every year in Africa. Our difference from the aid activities of other countries is the Turkish type of development model that our president (Recep Tayyip Erdogan) has always expressed. We never impose our own demands on African countries," he added.

Meanwhile, Akgun emphasized that Turkey-Africa relations have strengthened and evolved to a new dimensions since Ankara launched an initiative in 2005 to expand ties with the continent.

Turkey and Africa complement each other and their relations have gone beyond humanitarian aid and development, he added.

The two-day summit kicked off on Wednesday, marking Africa Day on May 25.

A range of issues were discussed, including post-pandemic challenges in journalism, journalism under digital siege, and women in journalism.

Among the participants were 80 members of the media from 45 African countries, African diplomats, public officials, and civil society members.

The program aims to strengthen Ankara's cooperation with African media outlets and professionals. Yeni Safak

Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan speaks at the African Continental Free Trade Area offices in Accra, Ghana, on May 25, 2022. PHOTO | COURTESY | IKULU, TANZANIA

Tanzania is ready for regional integration and is in the process of completing road and railway networks with the goal of linking neighbouring countries, hence contributing to continental integration efforts, President Samia Suluhu Hassan has said.

However, the country will need more external funding to finance the construction of the next phases of the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) as well as proposed highways to Kenya, Democratic Republic of Congo and Burundi, she said on Wednesday in Ghana after receiving an award for her country’s recent infrastructure projects.

“It is my belief that with connecting the RECs (regional economic community blocs), eventually our entire continent will be connected,” she said. 

“We think that the connectivity shall play a major role within the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCTA). 

“If we must progress, Africa must produce, process and trade within its boundaries. The connectivity must begin within our national boundaries then extend within our regional economic blocs then eventually to the entire continent.”

The AfCTA is the continental treaty meant to improve intra-African trade by eliminating barriers. It will require better trade to facilitate movement of goods. By AGGREY MUTAMBO, The East African

About IEA Media Ltd

Informer East Africa is a UK based diaspora Newspaper. It is a unique platform connecting East Africans at home and abroad through news dissemination. It is a forum to learn together, grow together and get entertained at the same time.

To advertise events or products, get in touch by info [at] informereastafrica [dot] com or call +447957636854.
If you have an issue or a story, get in touch with the editor through editor[at] informereastafrica [dot] com or call +447886544135.

We also accept donations from our supporters. Please click on "donate". Your donations will go along way in supporting the newspaper.

Get in touch

Our Offices

London, UK
+44 7886 544135
editor (@) informereastafrica.com
Slough, UK
+44 7957 636854
info (@) informereastafrica.com

Latest News

Ugandan police defy orders to avoid sanctions

Ugandan police defy...

Ugandan police officers are reportedly defying official directives largely to avoid sanctions from t...

Two in hospital after blaze at dockyard where UK's new nuclear submarines are being built

Two in hospital afte...

A 'significant' fire has take hold in the warehouse of BAE Systems' Devonshire Dock Hall where the...

CS Mutua declares zero tolerance on harmful practices against children

CS Mutua declares ze...

In addition to combatting FGM, Dr. Mutua announced that his ministry is collaborating with partners...

You're lying about cause of SHA hiccups, Omtatah tells CS Barasa

You're lying ab...

Busia Senator Okiya Omtatah raised questions about the lack of a transitional period from NHIF, yet...

For Advertisement

Big Reach

Informer East Africa is one platform for all people. It is a platform where you find so many professionals under one umbrella serving the African communities together.

Very Flexible

We exist to inform you, hear from you and connect you with what is happening around you. We do this professionally and timely as we endeavour to capture all that you should never miss. Informer East Africa is simply news for right now and the future.

Quality News

We only bring to you news that is verified, checked and follows strict journalistic guidelines and standards. We believe in 1. Objective coverage, 2. Impartiality and 3. Fair play.

Banner & Video Ads

A banner & video advertisement from our sponsors will show up every once in a while. It keeps us and our writers coffee replenished.