East Africa

East Africa

Details: East Africa; 05 February 2023; 710

Wiper Party Leader Kalonzo Musyoka addressing Kenyans during a past event. TWITTER KALONZO MUSYOKA

Wiper Party leader Kalonzo Musyoka cautioned former President Uhuru Kenyatta of accepting scaled-down security from the government.

Kalonzo made those remarks while attending the Azimio rally at Kamukunji Grounds in Kibera, Nairobi on Sunday, February 5.

Giving out his reasons, Kalonzo revealed the loyalty of the new officers could not be ascertained.

Former President Uhuru Kenyatta alongside his security detail at a past event in 2020. PSCU

“The government is saying that they have scaled down Uhuru’s security, they are even exaggerating the number of police officers assigned to the former president.

“When Raila and I were out of government, I got my own private security and I urge the former president to do the same,” he told a charged ground.

The former Vice President remarked that it is not easy to trust a driver or bodyguard you have not vetted.

“You cannot wake up one day and be given a new driver whom you know nothing about, Uhuru should be careful,” the former Vice President opined.

On February 3, Inspector General of Police Japhet Koome addressed the issue of scaling down the security detail of Uhuru and former cabinet secretaries.

The Inspector General assured Kenyans that there was no cause for alarm as the restructuring process was a routine National Police Service (NPS) exercise.

"Once the president has retired, the commander is a superintendent of police.

"An officer who was of the rank of an assistant Inspector General was with the retired president making him be reporting to another assistant Inspector General," Inspector General Koome explained what necessitated the changes.

Uhuru is entitled to a lifetime of security, having served as the country’s fourth president from 2013 to 2022.

According to the Presidential Retirement Act of 2003, former heads of state are entitled to a maximum of six officers to provide them with round-the-clock security.

Inspector General of Police Japhet Koome FILE

Details: East Africa; 05 February 2023; 1348

Safina party leader Jimi Wanjigi. Image: FILE

"Hamutatatua mkitafuta mali ya Jomo Kenyatta. That one we will not allow," he said.

In Summary

Wanjigi said if the Kenya Kwanza regime has a bone to settle with former President Uhuru Kenyatta, it should focus on him alone.
On Saturday, Mama Ngina fired back at the state over the allegations that she has been absconding taxes.

President William Ruto has continued to come under criticism over his resolved to take on the former first family head on over taxes.

Safina leader Jimmy Wanjigi is the latest to ask the president to steer clear of any clash with the Kenyatta family whom he has insinuated to be tax cheats.

Speaking on Sunday at Power of Faith Church International in Kiambu, the former presidential candidate warned the government to leave Mzee Jomo Kenyatta's property alone saying saying targeting it won't help the government.

"Hamutatatua mkitafuta mali ya Jomo Kenyatta. That one we will not allow," he said.

Wanjigi said if the Kenya Kwanza regime has a bone to settle with former President Uhuru Kenyatta, it should focus on him alone.

While making reference to the scriptures on the plight of widows and orphans, Wanjigi said Mzee Jomo Kenyatta's family should not be attacked.

"Why are you targeting Mama Ngina? Now you are crossing the line because if you are after his property, who are we?" he asked.

On Saturday, Mama Ngina fired back at the state over the allegations that she has been absconding taxes.

While speaking at a church in Lamu county, the former first lady said the due process of the law should be followed in addressing the matter rather than soiling people's names.

"There is no need of spoiling my name and that of others so that you can be seen to be working. Let those accused be taken to court and pay what he or she is supposed to pay," she said.

She went on to dare the state to auction her properties in the event she is discovered to have failed to meet her tax obligation.

Mama Ngina said the attacks meted out on her family are unfair and false further challenging the state to come clean on the issue instead of politicking.

"It is not true that I have not paid tax and people know they are not saying the truth," she said. By SHARON MWENDE, The Star

Details: East Africa; 04 February 2023; 986

President Paul Kagame arriving in Bujumbura to join other Heads of State of the EAC for a meeting to evaluate the security situation in eastern DR Congo on Saturday, February 4. Photos by Urugwiro Village

President Paul Kagame on Saturday, February 4, arrived in Bujumbura, Burundi, to join other Heads of State of the East African Community who are meeting there to evaluate the security situation in eastern DR Congo, where the bloc deployed a joint force in November 2022.

The leaders will be hosted by President Evariste Ndayishimiye, who is also the chair of the EAC. The 20th Extra-Ordinary Summit of Heads of State comes at a time when the volatile security situation in North Kivu province, where government forces face M23 rebels, is sharply deteriorating.

ALSO READ: Kenyatta calls urgent meeting as DR Congo situation worsens

It follows an urgent meeting between EAC technical advisors and Uhuru Kenyatta, Kenya’s former president and the facilitator of the EAC-led peace process for eastern DR Congo.

ALSO READ: Rwandan officers deported from DR Congo enjoyed immunity - EAC chief

The leaders will also discuss the way forward for the situation, the EAC secretariat tweeted on Friday.

ALSO READ: Biruta, US Deputy Secretary of State discuss DR Congo situation

The Congolese government has been in the spotlight recently, due to its unilateral decision to deport three Rwandan military officers who were serving the regional force.

On February 1, the EAC secretary general Peter Mathuki wrote to the Congolese prime minister Christophe Lutundula, seeking clarification on the deportation of officers, who enjoyed immunity.

ALSO READ: DR Congo ignored Luanda agreement – Minister Biruta

Kinshasa also faces accusations of abandoning the Luanda agreement, which called for the disarmament of militias like the FDLR, among other things.

It is understood the M23 rebels are the only party that has begun implementing the Luanda agreement, with a gradual withdrawal.

ALSO READ: UN urges restraint over Rwanda-DR Congo tensions

Tensions between DR Congo and Rwanda have also risen, following the violation of Rwandan airspace by a Congolese warplane, the third such incursion in three months.

By Alice Kagina, The New Times

Details: East Africa; 05 February 2023; 995

Pope Francis blesses President of South Sudan Salva Kiir during a holy mass at the John Garang Mausoleum in Juba, South Sudan, on Sunday. Pope Francis is on a three-day visit to South Sudan to promote peace and reconciliation in the world's youngest country, riven by the scars of civil war and extreme poverty. Photo by Vatican Media/EPA-EFE

Pope Francis ended his six-day trip to Africa on Sunday by delivering mass to an estimated 100,000 people gathered in the South Sudan city of Juba as he urged for peace in the country.

Francis, who spent last week in South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo, departed from Juba's International Airport on his papal plane around 11:56 a.m. to return to Rome, according to Vatican News -- the news agency operated by the Holy See.

The pope in his message to those gathered in Juba urged for peace in South Sudan "and in the entire African continent, where so many of our brothers and sisters in the faith experience persecution and danger, where great numbers of people suffer from conflict exploitation, exploitation, and poverty."

Francis also urged people in the country to reject what he called the "venom of hatred" while telling the country's leaders to focus on ending conflict, the BBC reported.

Sudan, which once also included South Sudan, was essentially governed by British colonial rule via a governor-general appointed by Egypt until 1956.

British colonial forces largely maintained a policy of treating the northern and southern parts of the country as two separate territories, focusing on developing the Arab northern region while neglecting the southern region.

As a result of the colonial rule and its new independence, Sudan suffered through a couple of coups and civil war over the next 20 years between the country's north and south regions. That civil war ended with the establishment of South Sudan as an autonomous region of Sudan.

Eventually, control of the country was seized by dictator Omar al-Bashir in another military coup in 1989 amid a second civil war in Sudan which began in the southern region.

Al-Bashir suspended political parties in the country and introduced an Islamic legal code at the federal level while imprisoning political opposition and journalists.

The second civil war ended in 2005 but South Sudan ultimately gained its independence from Sudan and became a sovereign nation in 2011 after a referendum.

South Sudan was plagued with its own civil war from 2013 to 2020 after a fallout between the country's president and his then-vice president.

The pope ended his message to South Sudan with encouragement to "never lose hope and lose no opportunity to build peace," a similar message he delivered to the Democratic Republic of Congo which has endured its own conflicts in past decades. By Adam Schrader, UPI

Details: East Africa; 04 February 2023; 1768

President Wiliam Ruto coming out of his jet after landing at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Nairobi. KENYANS.CO.KE

President William Ruto jetted out to Bujumbura City in Burundi on Saturday, February 4, for an extraordinary summit on the worsening security situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

The East African Community (EAC) Heads of State met in Burundian City in a bid to find a long-lasting solution to the ongoing skirmishes in the neighbouring country.

Among the leaders who attended the meeting include Presidents Samia Suluhu (Tanzania), Félix Tshisekedi (Democratic Republic of the Congo), Salva Kiir (South Sudan), Paul Kagame (Rwanda), Yoweri Museveni (Uganda) and host Évariste Ndayishimiye (the President of Burundi).

"The summit will be evaluating the security situation in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo," Ruto's communication clarified.

Kenya defence forces delievers food aid to Congo. FOREIGN AFFAIRS KENYA

Ruto who addressed Journalists immediately after landing in Bujumbura explained that the Congolese have a rare opportunity to take the destiny of their country into their own hands.

"The moment is long overdue for the international community to most vigilantly audit industrial supply chains and make sure that global production and consumption honour Congolese resource sovereignty and do not profit out of the conflict and human suffering the country has been experiencing," Ruto warned.

The Head of State noted that time is running out for East Africans to bring the Democratic Republic of the Congo back to the line of peace.

He also warned foreign elements that are causing divisions and fights among citizens in DRC, noting that such persons must be defeated.

"History has amply documented the direct relationship between slavery and colonialism in Africa and the industrial revolution in the West.

"It is time for the world to recognise the obvious: the resources of the DRC belong to the people of the DRC, and that global demand for these resources must enhance their well-being and not inflict misery on them," Ruto explained.

Ruto appreciated the concerted efforts that have been mounted by EAC nations that also volunteered peacekeeping troops to DR Congo.

In November 2022, President William Ruto flagged off thousands of troops to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in an arrangement that is seeking to restore peace in the country.

Former President Uhuru Kenyatta, who is also serving as the East Africa facilitator for the Nairobi Peace Process, on Tuesday, January 31, met the EAC technical advisors to establish facts about the deteriorating security situation in DR Congo.

Uhuru also briefed EAC leaders that the situation in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo had gotten worse following renewed fights between rebel groups and the country's military.

The most affected town in the eastern DR Congo are Ituri and North Kivu which have witnessed serious fighting from rebel groups.

Reports indicate that a number of civilians have been killed and DRC soldiers injured as the fighting continued to escalate.

Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) in a peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on Wednesday, November 16, 2022.

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