South Sudan's president has downplayed reports of security tensions in Juba as his group and army generals aligned with First Vice President Riek Machar disagree on how to implement security arrangements as stipulated in the 2018 peace deal.
Tensions were high in South Sudan's capital on Sunday after President Salva Kiir sent troops to surround the home of first vice president Riek Machar.
“Without prior information, the SSPDF [South Sudan People’s Defense Forces] deployed armed forces with armoured personnel carriers on the routes to my residence. Persons who attempted to go to the residence were turned off by these troops. The deployment was removed only at 6.15 am this morning [Monday] with no explanation provided,” Machar said in a statement seen by Radio Tamazuj.
He pointed out that the South Sudan People Defense Forces (SSPDF) deployment undermines peace in the country.
Last week, SPLM/A-IO, led by Dr. Machar, pulled out of peace monitoring mechanisms in Juba to protest continued “unprovoked” attacks on its positions by SSPDF in Upper Nile and Unity states.
Both sides accused each other of starting the attacks.
Speaking to reporters at a press conference in Juba on Monday, President Salva Kiir downplayed the deployment of troops to surround Machar’s house, saying it was a normal security routine.
“In Juba here, there are criminals that have mixed up with residents. And these people may go and open fire near Riek Machar’s house...if we hear the sound of a gun; it might look like it is Riek attacking us. So, the presence of forces on the road doesn’t mean that there is insecurity in Juba,” said Kiir.
According to the South Sudanese leader, his forces did not declare war against Machar’s SPLA-IO forces, saying the recent statement by SSPDF spokesperson Lul Ruai Koang that the military has declared war on SPLA-IO forces was a personal statement.
When asked about the challenges facing the implementation of the 2018 peace agreement, President Kiir said: “Well, there is no obstacle that cannot be resolved. Any obstacle on the way, you must resolve it before you proceed. If there is dialogue, all the obstacles can be resolved."
The president underscored that the implementation of the peace agreement is on track, saying the peace partners consider the agreement as the path to stability in South Sudan.
The 2018 peace agreement brought Kiir and Machar together in a government of national unity.
But challenges remain, including the unity government’s failure to unify the army.
A group of United Nations experts warned in a report last year that “the stability of South Sudan has remained at risk” as a result of missed deadlines and disagreements on key issues. - Radio Tamazuj
Makueni Governor Kivutha Kibwana greets Prof. Philip Kaloki Image:KIVUTHA KIBWANA/TWITTER
The former Kibwezi MP has not yet revealed which political position he will pursue at the Capital.
In Summary
• His decision comes a week after he said he was the best bet to take over Kivutha Kibwana's seat.
• The professor had indicated that he wanted to vie for the seat on Kibwana's Muungano party.
Makueni County politician Philip Kaloki on Thursday announced his decision to drop his gubernatorial bid.
News his decision to drop the bid was announced on Thursday by Governor Kivutha Kibwana who said Kaloki had instead relocated his interests to Nairobi County.
The professor had indicated that he wanted to vie for the seat on Kibwana's Muungano party.
"Prof. Philip Kaloki who had expressed interest to vie the Makueni County gubernatorial position on a Muungano party ticket has decided to relocate his ambitions to Nairobi county," Kivutha said on Facebook.
The Makueni governor said he wholly submitted to Kaloki's decision and wished him the best.
"We wholeheartedly defer to his wishes. Democracy means open politics. We wish him bon voyage."
The former Kibwezi MP has not yet revealed which political position he will pursue at the Capital.
His decision comes a week after he said he was the best bet to take over Kivutha Kibwana's seat.
Kaloki had stated that if he ascended to the seat, he would continue with Governor Kivutha's track and uplift the lives of Makueni people.
In 2013, he lost the senator race to Mutula Kilonzo Jnr, after he garnered 9,762.
His drop has left the race to Senator Mutula Kilonzo Jnr, two-term Kibwezi MP Patrick Musimba, County Minister for Devolution Joshua Wambua, Minister for Gender Bob Kisyula and businessman David Masika. By Sharon Mwende, The Star
Kira Municipality MP Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda questioned the President’s decision to return the Bill after 30 days within which he is supposed to return it had elapsed. PHOTO / FILE
What you need to know:
They have also ring-fenced the deputy speaker slot for Bugiri Municipality MP Asumani Basalirwa in case the position falls vacant when the current office bearer, Ms Anita Among, is approved by the Central Executive Committee of the ruling party to run for speakership.
Opposition political parties in Parliament have indicated that they have fronted Kira Municipality MP Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda for the impending Speaker race to replace fallen Jacob Oulanyah.
They have also ring-fenced the deputy speaker slot for Bugiri Municipality MP Asumani Basalirwa in case the position falls vacant when the current office bearer, Ms Anita Among, is approved by the Central Executive Committee of the ruling party to run for speakership.
Sources that attended the meeting yesterday told Daily Monitor that Mr Yusuf Nsibambi, who run for the Deputy Speaker last year, opted out of the race, giving lee-way to Mr Basalirwa who had earlier expressed his intentions to stand for the position.
This decision was temporarily arrived at during a meeting of the shadow cabinet chaired by the Manjiya County MP John Baptist Nambeshe who doubles as the Opposition chief whip in Parliament.
Mr Nambeshe told Daily Monitor yesterday that the decisions by the Shadow Cabinet were pending Opposition caucus approval, which will be sitting tomorrow to rubber-stamp their candidate.
“We don’t have enough time to prepare for this abrupt election but we sat and made decisions. There are people who ran in this race but when we approached them, one of them refused to stand. But we shall have a caucus meeting on Thursday to finish up this matter,” Mr Nambeshe said in an interview.
Lawmakers will on Friday elect a new Speaker of the 11th Parliament following the death of incumbent Oulanyah, according to the Constitution.
Most of the Opposition political parties Daily Monitor talked to indicated that they would be waiting for the decision from the caucus, which according to them, will give the final direction which the entire minority group in Parliament will follow.
Mr Basalirwa said: “I have presented myself for the position and provided my documents to the top leadership of the Opposition. I am waiting for their decision in caucus after the Thursday meeting. I know I am a qualified candidate and I know my members will support me.”
On whether or not, the National Unity Platform (NUP), the largest Opposition party in Parliament will present a candidate, Mr David Lewis Rubonoya, the party secretary general, said: “We have not come up with any names from within because we are an inclusive party. We know that some parties presented members in the same positions during the last election whom we would like to support. But if any changes are to be made, we will inform the public.”
Mr Patrick Oboi Amuriat, the FDC president, earlier yesterday told Daily Monitor that they were not intending to present any candidates since they already have Mr Ssemujju and Mr Nsibambi who were in the previous race.
“If they agree to run, our policy is that the candidates who have been in the race will hold the party flag until the end of the term of office. This means we already have candidates if they agree to stand,” he said. By Derrick Wandera, Daily Monitor
After three years of successful operation in Kenya, Microsoft's premier engineering hub, the African Development Centre (ADC), is relocating to its own offices in Nairobi, demonstrating the company's commitment to the continent.
The ADC will now be based at Dunhill Towers along Waiyaki Way in its new ultra-modern state-of-the-art facility, the first of its kind serving the East African region.
The facility will house the engineering, design, research, and innovation teams, as well as the Microsoft Garage, an incubation hub launched as part of the ongoing efforts to scale tech innovation in the continent.
The facility was officially launched by president Uhuru Kenyatta, who was accompanied by Joe Mucheru, the Cabinet Secretary for ICT, Innovation and Youth Affair among other key guests.
Since its inception in Nairobi in 2019, the ADC has grown to over 450 full-time employees working in areas such as software engineering, machine learning, data science, market research, infrastructure, and much more.
Speaking at the offices' opening, the ICT Cabinet Secretary praised the development, noting that it strengthens the country's position as a leading regional digital innovation hub, putting Kenya on the path to achieving large-scale industrial technology status, as other countries such as China, India, and Israel.
"Our Vision 2030 recognizes the role of science, technology, and innovation in a modern economy, in which new knowledge plays a central role in wealth creation, social welfare and international competitiveness through effective exploitation of knowledge, innovation system and flourishing entrepreneurship, among others. As a Ministry, our strategy is to build capacity in tech innovation and utilization of knowledge to transform the economy of this country and therefore we welcome the work that the ADC and Microsoft are doing towards contributing to this agenda," Mucheru said.
On his part, the ADC Managing Director, Jack Ngare said: "One of our proud achievements in developing this facility was during the construction phase when we hired over 100 builders, artisans, architects, artists, craftsmen, women groups, and other skilled and unskilled workers, all during the height of the COVID pandemic. In addition, most of the construction materials were locally sourced thus ploughing back into the economy. We anticipate more employment will be created in the future, both in the day-today running of the facility and to staff the various community engagements that will take place."
The facility was built in a similar style to Microsoft's global offices to optimize space utilization, air conditioning, and lighting adjustments as part of Microsoft's global ambition to be net carbon negative by 2030. There will also be self-heating windows, a mini solar plant to power the facility, and a water treatment facility to recycle and purify the water, which are not yet available in other Microsoft offices but are available at the new ADC facility.
"The facility will continue our efforts towards training, equipping and hiring engineering talent in Kenya and Africa as whole to contribute to the development of Microsoft products that are in use by over 1 billion devices and empowering millions of users and organizations across the world to do more," Ngare added. The Nairobi-based centre was launched days after the ADC Nigeria which serves the West African region.
Speaking about The Garage, Lydia Karanja, its lead for Kenya said: "The Garage in Kenya will help Microsoft employees, customers and developers tap into their creative prowess to come up with cutting edge technologies that will solve the problems we have in the world today. I can't wait to see the next big thing coming out of Africa."
The Garage is structured as a freeform workspace where Microsoft employees, interns, schools, and community groups can find the tools and training they need to launch products and learn skills.
"The Garage is meant to spread the values of openness and collaboration throughout the Microsoft ADC, where people come to The Garage to work with interdisciplinary teams on passion projects that sometimes make their way into Microsoft products - this should ultimately allow Microsoft ADC to become a more prominent shaper of Africa's tech culture," Karanja explained.
Projects born out of Garages around the world include an app that uses artificial intelligence to narrate what a smartphone camera is seeing to visually impaired users. Another project used AI to build a platform hospitals and doctors can use to communicate with patients, including automated symptom checkers and health plan information. The Garage has locations in Boston, Vancouver, Israel, India, and China.Capital News
Safaricom has rolled out a campaign to position tech solutions for enterprise and public sector customers.
The company seeks to leverage its connectivity and experience to venture into the technology space by expanding its tech solutions in the areas of digital business through cloud computing, cyber security and internet of things (IoT) underpinned by IT consulting services.
Besides reinforcing Safaricom’s new business strategy to become a technology company, the telco is banking on these recent efforts to enable it to play a bigger role in digitizing and transforming businesses in various sectors including education, health and manufacturing.
“As Kenya’s digital economy continues to expand across various sectors, we are well prepared to provide matching tech solutions that will meet the digital trends and opportunities for large, small and medium sized enterprises, who seek to digitize their businesses in areas such as fleet management, storage of information, disaster recovery and remote tracking of various assets. This aligns with our long-term strategy to offer technology-based solutions that ensure everyone has the capacity to participate and thrive in the digital economy as we seek to become a purpose-led technology company,” said Peter Ndegwa, CEO, Safaricom.
“Technology has changed and continues to change the way businesses are run. To be a digital business, owners must take advantage of the efficiencies created by technology. For example, cloud computing offers many options for a business from running efficient processes to disaster recovery options”, said Kris Senanu, Chief Enterprise Business Officer, Safaricom.
According to research done last year by the Communications Authority (CA) and the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS), in Kenya 35.6 per cent of public sector institutions use cloud computing services in comparison to only 22.9 per cent of private businesses.
Cyber-security threats remain a major factor in the success of a digital economy with sector statistics report by the Communication Authority of Kenya indicating detection of over 70 million cyber threats during the first quarter of the 2021-2022 financial year. This has become a critical area for a business that is considering digitalization of its processes.
Recently, Safaricom announced the successful pilot of its telematics solution for vehicle tracking – a part of the internet of things (IoT) solutions under development. By installing smart sensors in two East African Classic Rally vehicles that continuously relayed data to a connected digital platform, the telco proved the resilience, elasticity and ubiquity of its telematics smart tracking system. Source: AfricaTech
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