IEBC chairman Wafula Chebukati's lawyer Erick Mutua told the court that the orders being sought were meant to kick his client out of the office without proof that he had violated the constitution Mutua argued that the court should give his client a chance to tell their side of the story regarding how the 2017 General Election was run Chebukati was replying to a case filed by Samwel Clinton Elijah, who wants him kicked out of office for "mismanagement" of the 2017 presidential poll that the Supreme Court ruled was marred by irregularities

Chairman of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) Wafula Chebukati has asked the court to dismiss a case seeking to kick him out of office. IEBC chairperson Wafula Chebukati is accused of elections irregularity which was identified in the 2017 General Election. Photo: IEBC. Source: Facebook Chebukati’s through his Lawer Erick Mutua, told the court that he had not violated the constitution to warrant his dismissal from office.

 “If you look at those two orders being sought, the import is to bar the respondent (Chebukati) from sitting in a constitutional office. For those orders to be issued, the court must be convinced those violations have occurred,” Mutua said. Chebukati not qualified to oversee major election The lawyer argued that the court should give his client a chance to tell his side of the story.

Chebukati was replying to a case filed by Samwel Clinton Elijah, who wanted him kicked out of office on the basis of a Supreme Court ruling that found irregularities in the 2017 General Election. Loopholes in 2017 General Election Elijah accused IEBC of not facilitating public participation or ensuring that the gaps found in the commission after the 2017 General Election are sealed.

“The respondent (Chebukati) failed to adhere to the constitution and the applicable laws hence steered the 1st interested party (IEBC) in conducting a presidential election that was marred with irregularities and illegalities which were substantial and significant that they affected the integrity of the presidential election of August 8, 2017, the results notwithstanding,” court papers filed by Elijah’s lawyer Denis Seko read.

ODM Youth Wing Accuses Wafula Chebukati of Siding with Ruto, Gives Him 14 Days to Resign Elijah wants Chebukati stopped from heading the commission until the case is heard and determined. He also claimed that the election body was ill-prepared for next year’s (2022) elections, saying it had failed to fill vacant critical positions by commissioners who quit or retired.

Ezra Chiloba The applicant also stated that the commission has an additional staff deficit of 296, including a chief executive officer. “On September 2018, the then IEBC Chief Executive Officer Ezra Chiloba was sacked by the respondent. The position remains vacant to date and the first interested party has not had a substantive chief executive officer since 2018,” he said. Since the commission is not fully constituted even after President Uhuru Kenyatta appointed four new commissioners, Elijah asserts that Kenyans are not confident next year’s elections will be free and fair. Tuko

JOHANNESBURG

South Africa's president announced a further relaxation of COVID-19 restrictions late Sunday in a bid to revive the continent’s most industrialized economy as virus cases slowed.

In a televised address to the nation, Cyril Ramaphosa said the Ministerial Advisory Committee on COVID-19 advised the government to ease restrictions on the movement of people and gatherings.

“The Cabinet has therefore decided that the country should be moved from Adjusted Alert Level 3 and placed on Adjusted Alert Level 2 with effect from tomorrow, Monday, the 13th of September 2021,” Ramaphosa announced.

The president said the number of people allowed to gather indoors has been increased from 50 to 250, while the number of people allowed to gather for outdoor events is now 500 compared with 100 previously.

“This includes religious services, political events and social gatherings, as well as restaurants, bars, taverns and similar places,” he said.

The relaxation also comes as a relief to local politicians, who will now have an opportunity to hold small campaign rallies ahead of Nov. 1 local government elections.

The South African leader also allowed the sale of alcohol from retail outlets for off-site consumption between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. from Monday to Friday.

Alcohol consumption remains prohibited in public spaces, he said.

Ramaphosa also announced that the night curfew will now start at 11 p.m. instead of 10 p.m. and end at 4 a.m.

The president also said he will soon be providing further information on an approach to vaccine passports, which will be used as evidence of vaccination against COVID-19 and could help people gain access to public spaces such as for events.

Ramaphosa encouraged South Africans to get vaccinated to fight the pandemic and return to normal lives.

“If many people are not vaccinated and remain vulnerable to infection, the chance of new and more dangerous variants emerging is far greater,” he said.

South Africa, with a population of over 60 million, has administered 14.6 million vaccine doses and more than 7 million people are fully vaccinated.

“I want to stress that the vaccination program is open to all people in South Africa, whether or not they are South African citizens,” he said.

South Africa has the highest number of COVID-19 cases on the continent with more than 2.85 million and 84,877 fatalities recorded. Anadolu Agency

Uganda is pushing for vaccination before opening schools to while Burundi has opened schools after closing for three months. Photo via Nation

Schools in Burundi are set to reopen on Monday September 13, after a three-month long holiday, amid a surge in Covid-19 cases countrywide.

The Ministry of Health has imposed mandatory Covid-19 screening for students reporting back to school.

“The tests are mandatory for students in secondary school and boarding schools, the rest may go for the test voluntarily,” Jean Bosco Girukwishaka, spokesman for the Minister of Health told The EastAfrican.

Mass testing for students, teachers and staff members of boarding or secondary schools kicked off on Friday, and will run to Tuesday September 14.

“In the first week of September 2021 Covid-19 cases increased especially in Bujumbura and other towns in the countryside and this is as a result of not complying with already preventive measures against the pandemic,” reads a statement from the Ministry for Health.

According to the government’s Covid-19 report dated September 6, 2021 the daily average rate of new Covid-19 cases stood at 154, since July 21, 2021 the date when the highest number of new cases was recorded.

However, the situation is different in Uganda. Schools remain closed in the country to date, despite several hints by government officials and a slow successful teacher vaccination campaign initiated late August. Recently, First Lady Janet Museveni echoed President Yoweri Museveni’s stand that schools will only open if all the teachers and non-teaching staff were vaccinated

Since closure in May 2020, only a few classes such as the candidate and finalists have had in-person lessons. Students from the rest of the classes such as Senior 1 and 2 as well as Primary 1 have not been to school since.

And in a TV appearance recently, Information and National Guidance Minister Chris Baryomunsi and said while it won’t be long before schools are opened, clear safety measures will have to be put in place.

“Since we expect dozens of vaccines, we should be able to vaccinate as many people as possible,” he said. The Ministry of Education spokesperson Denis Mugimba, says about 183,000 teachers have been vaccinated out of 550,000 teachers targeted, in addition to about 180,000 non-teaching staff. - NELSON NATURINDA/MOSES HAVYARIMANA, The EastAfrican