Prime Minister Boris Johnson is under-fire following claims of coronavirus rule breaches in No 10 (Joshua Bratt/PA) (PA Wire)
Boris Johnson is facing mounting pressure to get a grip on the drip feed of revelations about No 10 rule-breaking as he fights to stay in office.
Former Conservative minister Tobias Ellwood said the Prime Minister must “lead or step aside”, telling the BBC: “We need leadership.”
The comments by the chairman of the Commons Defence Committee came as further claims emerged of regular “wine time Friday” gatherings in Downing Street while coronavirus rules were in place.
The Mirror said the weekly events are a long-standing No 10 tradition, including under previous administrations, and they continued after Covid restrictions were introduced prohibiting indoor mixing between households.
The newspaper said staff bought a £142 fridge to keep their bottles of alcohol chilled, and the Prime Minister was aware of the socialising.
A No 10 spokeswoman said: “There is an ongoing investigation to establish the facts around the nature of gatherings, including attendance, setting and the purpose with reference to adherence to the guidance at the time.
“The findings will be made public in due course.”
Ministers have called on disgruntled Tory MPs to wait until senior civil servant Sue Gray has published her investigation into claims about lockdown-busting parties in Government.
Former defence minister Tobias Ellwood (Yui Mok/PA) (PA Archive)
But backbencher Andrew Bridgen said he did “not need to see what Sue Gray says to know that, for me, Boris Johnson has lost the moral authority to lead the country”.
The North West Leicestershire MP confirmed he submitted a letter of no confidence in Mr Johnson’s leadership “some time ago”.
Only a handful of Tories have publicly declared they have submitted letters to the 1922 Committee of backbench MPs, but the Telegraph said sources estimated about 20 might have been handed in – although that is well short of the 54 needed to trigger a leadership vote.
Mr Bridgen, asked by BBC Breakfast about reports of “wine time Friday” sessions in Downing Street during lockdown, said: “It doesn’t matter, quite honestly, if the Prime Minister was present or not present.
“Ultimately, he is responsible for what goes on in Government, he is responsible for the culture in No 10, and what we’re seeing is a culture where it is one rule for them and the rest of us do as we’re told, and that’s just not acceptable.
“I’m not sure that any apology is going to put that right.”
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer repeated Mr Bridgen’s assertion that the Prime Minister had lost his moral authority, and called for the Tory party to topple him.
He told the Fabian Society conference in London: “The moral authority matters, of course, in relation to Covid, but we’ve got other massive challenges facing this country.
“We’ve got a Prime Minister who is absent – he is literally in hiding at the moment and unable to lead, so that’s why I’ve concluded that he has got to go.
“And of course there is a party vantage in him going, but actually it is now in the national interest that he goes, so it is very important now that the Tory party does what it needs to do and gets rid of him.”
Mr Johnson faced further embarrassment this week after Downing Street was forced to apologise to Buckingham Palace on Friday after it emerged two staff parties were reportedly held on the eve of the Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral.
Witnesses said alcohol was drunk and guests danced to music as two after-work events merged on April 16 2021, with a person sent to a local shop with a suitcase to buy wine, according to the Telegraph, which first reported the allegations.
Ms Gray is said to have been “completely blindsided” by the latest revelations, the Times reported.
The newspaper said the Cabinet Office official is concerned that Downing Street staff are withholding information about parties from her as she looks to establish the facts.
Wiper Party Leader Kalonzo Musyoka addresses residents of Mukuru during a courtesy visit to distribute foodstuff to victims of the demolitions at Sisal Zone in Mukuru Kwa Njenga, Nairobi on January 13, 2022.
The Wiper boss is top on all the three simulations done by the Oka technical team.
In Summary
Oka chiefs will converge in Elmentaita today to receive the final report from the technical team.
This comes amid overtures from ODM boss Raila Odinga and DP Ruto.
Wiper party leader Kalonzo Musyoka has dwarfed his One Kenya Alliance co-principals in the battle for the party's presidential ticket.
Kalonzo has topped the search for the Oka presidential flagbearer, emerging as the most favourite to secure the coveted ticket.
According to details gleaned together from the Oka technical committee, the former vice president topped at least three simulations.
This even as the Oka principals- Musalia Mudavadi (ANC), Gideon Moi (Kanu), Moses Wetang'ula (Ford Kenya) and Kalonzo - retreat to Elementaita, Nakuru, today to review the report by the technical committee working on the presidential nomination formula.
In the first set, Kalonzo has been proposed as the Oka presidential flagbearer with Musalia as his possible running mate.
The second simulation proposes that Kalonzo be paired with Narc Kenya party leader Martha Karua as the deputy president.
Karua is the leader of the Mount Kenya Unity forum that brings together a section of political bigwigs from President Uhuru Kenyatta’s backyard.
The third and final proposition suggests a Kalonzo-Moses Wetang'ula ticket for the August 9 General Election.
Wetang'ula is the Bungoma senator.
Kanu chairman Gideon Moi did not feature in any of the simulations since he hails from the Rift Valley-a region seen as a political bedrock of Deputy President William Ruto.
A source within the technical committee that has been holed up in meetings in Elementaita, Nakuru, told the Star that the team had done its work.
“We have concluded the task the principals gave us. Now it is upon them to make the ultimate decision,” said the source who sought anonymity as he is not authorised to speak for Oka.
The committee is said to have explored various variables in arriving at the proposed line ups including the ability of each of the principals to garner votes nationwide.
They are also said to have looked at the financial war-chest at the disposal of each of the presidential hopefuls to fund a presidential race against rivals.
The Oka chiefs will today formally receive the report containing the simulations amid rising tensions within their camps.
It has emerged that Musalia might not have sent all his representatives to the technical committee for the crucial three-day assignment.
This has exposed the political intrigues roiling the Oka outfit amid reports of overtures from Ruto and ODM boss Raila Odinga.
On Tuesday, Kakamega senator Cleopas Malala, a key Musalia ally, wondered why there was another retreat, yet the task force had ‘completed its work’ long ago.
“They should give us a presidential candidate. The technical team had already come up with the modalities of identifying a candidate. These retreats will not help us. Time is running out,” he said. By James Mbaka, The Star
Kampala, Uganda - Kakwenza Rukirabashaija, a Ugandan satirical novelist who was selected International Writer of Courage by PEN last year, has been jailed and tortured for criticizing the President Yoweri Museveni and his son, according to his lawyer.
After a series of tweets against the country's President, Yoweri Museveni, including one calling him a crook and his son a potential successor "an ignorant pig-headed curmudgeon," gunmen arrived at the writer's home on December 28 and has since been in custody in unknown location.
On Monday, he was escorted by cops to the family's rural house for a search. His wife was astounded to see her husband weak, bruised, limping, and wearing bloodstained underwear.
She claimed she observed cuts on his feet, and he claimed there were more on his buttocks, as well as the fact that he had been denied food. "When I served him a drink of milk, he retched it," she wrote in her affidavit to the court.
The arrest and detention of Rukirabashaija has sparked widespread condemnation of President Museveni and his son, both abroad and locally.
Kiiza Eron, the author's lawyer, is urging that he be released, as Ugandan law only allows police to keep someone for 48 hours without charge. He has a court order for Rukirabashaija's release, but the authorities are refusing to comply.
"Police have admitted to keeping him, but they refuse to let us see him... he has been held incommunicado since the day of the search," Eron said.
PEN America demanded his immediate release.
"Despite the Ugandan authorities' persistent suppression of dissident viewpoints, Kakwenza Rukirabashaija has bravely persevered to speak out," Karin Deutsch Karlekar, head of Free Expression at Risk programs, stated.
"These abuses of human rights show a vengeful application of the law, as well as the reality of many of the criticisms Rukirabashaija has made in his literature."
Eamon Gilmore, the EU's special envoy for human rights, is one of the diplomats who has also expressed his displeasure on twitter.
"Reports of author Kakwenza's alleged abuse and incommunicado confinement concern me. Despite a court order for his unconditional release, he remains in jail without trial. Eamon Gilmore said, "I urge Ugandan authorities to uphold the rule of law and due process."
The Ugandan Human Rights Commission (UHRC) released a statement on Friday a day after it said it was barred by the constitution from investigating cases before the court, such as that of the Kakwenza requesting that the government to "immediately" free novelist Kakwenza Rukirabashaija, or present and charge him in court.
"The UHRC has been visiting several security and jail facilities across the country in the last few days to locate him.
Security agencies and relevant government officials have also been contacted by the Commission to guarantee that justice is served for Kakwenza.
While we continue our search for Kakwenza, we urge the government to either release him immediately or produce him and charge him in a courts of law," the statement read.
The novelist, on the other hand, has yet to be charged in a court of law. The Uganda Police Force has also ignored a court order to free the novelist granted by Makindye Chief Magistrate Court Grade One Magistrate Irene Nambatya on January 4, 2022.
Mr Charles Twiine, a spokesman for the Criminal Investigations Directorate, said on Monday that Kakwenza would be presented in court on Tuesday last week.
On Saturday, January 8, the East Africa Law Society (EALS), an umbrella regional bar organisation, released a statement "strongly denouncing" the infringement of Ugandan novelist and human rights campaigner Kakwenza Rukirabashaija's rights.
"The East Africa Law Society strongly condemns the violation of his rights as guaranteed by the Ugandan Constitution and several international instruments to which Uganda is a party, including the Treaty Establishing the East African Community, which requires member countries to ensure respect for human rights and rule of law (Articles 6 (d) and 7 (2))."
Most importantly, it should be underlined that EALS strongly opposes the continuous disobedience of the court order in this case.
"All judicial systems are built on the foundation of respect for court orders, which is the cornerstone of the rule of law. We implore the Ugandan government to obey the court's judgment and provide Mr. Rukirabashaija with constitutionally granted due process," Reads the statement.
The police have recently been accused of disobeying court orders, but Attorney General Kiryowa Kiwanuka advised them not to do so in November. Mr Kiwanuka wrote to Inspector General of Police Martins Okoth-Ochola on November 4, 2021, instructing police to always follow all court instructions to avoid litigation and rewards.
Mr Kiwanuka wrote at the time, "The purpose of this letter is to advise you to direct your officers to comply with the said directives of the court and perform their duties and obligations as is required by law, as failure to do so may result in contempt of court proceedings filed against the Inspector General of Police personally."
The police spokesperson, Fred Enanga, subsequently stated that they will follow the Attorney General's court instructions. Mr Kakwenza's ongoing detention has been criticized by international and local human rights advocates.
Arrests on many occasions
The author obtained a claim for "The Greedy Barbarian," a satire novel set in 2020 that depicts high-level corruption in a fictional society. He won the PEN Pinter Prize for an International Writer of Courage in 2021, which is given yearly to a writer who has been persecuted for expressing their opinions.
Since the publication of "The Greedy Barbarian," Kakwenza has been detained several times. He claims he was tortured while being questioned about his work by military intelligence.
He was accused of breaking the Covid-19 social distance regulations, inciting violence, and encouraging sectarianism at the time. In his most recent book, "banana republic: Where Writing is Treasonous," he described his experience in detention as "inhumane and demeaning."
Museveni has ruled Uganda since assuming power in 1986, when he helped end years of dictatorship under Idi Amin and Milton Obote. He was once lauded as a reformer.
However, the former rebel leader has cracked down on criticism and amended the constitution to allow him to run for office multiple times.
Journalists have been attacked, lawyers have been imprisoned, election monitors have been prosecuted, and opposition leaders have been violently muzzled in Uganda because of Museveni's dictatorship.
The US imposed sanctions on Uganda's military intelligence head, Major General Abel Kandiho, last month, alleging his role in significant human rights violations such as beatings, sexual assault, and electrocution.
Two additional members of Uganda's military forces were sentenced to long prison terms just two days after the punishments were imposed for their roles in the violence against demonstrators in 2020, which resulted in the deaths of more than 50 people.
By NANGAYI GUYSON
Kampala, Uganda - Kakwenza Rukirabashaija, a Ugandan satirical novelist who was selected International Writer of Courage by PEN last year, has been jailed and tortured for criticizing the President Yoweri Museveni and his son, according to his lawyer.
After a series of tweets against the country's President, Yoweri Museveni, including one calling him a crook and his son a potential successor "an ignorant pig-headed curmudgeon," gunmen arrived at the writer's home on December 28 and has since been in custody in unknown location.
On Monday, he was escorted by cops to the family's rural house for a search. His wife was astounded to see her husband weak, bruised, limping, and wearing bloodstained underwear.
She claimed she observed cuts on his feet, and he claimed there were more on his buttocks, as well as the fact that he had been denied food. "When I served him a drink of milk, he retched it," she wrote in her affidavit to the court.
The arrest and detention of Rukirabashaija has sparked widespread condemnation of President Museveni and his son, both abroad and locally.
Kiiza Eron, the author's lawyer, is urging that he be released, as Ugandan law only allows police to keep someone for 48 hours without charge. He has a court order for Rukirabashaija's release, but the authorities are refusing to comply.
"Police have admitted to keeping him, but they refuse to let us see him... he has been held incommunicado since the day of the search," Eron said.
PEN America demanded his immediate release.
"Despite the Ugandan authorities' persistent suppression of dissident viewpoints, Kakwenza Rukirabashaija has bravely persevered to speak out," Karin Deutsch Karlekar, head of Free Expression at Risk programs, stated.
"These abuses of human rights show a vengeful application of the law, as well as the reality of many of the criticisms Rukirabashaija has made in his literature."
Eamon Gilmore, the EU's special envoy for human rights, is one of the diplomats who has also expressed his displeasure on twitter.
"Reports of author Kakwenza's alleged abuse and incommunicado confinement concern me. Despite a court order for his unconditional release, he remains in jail without trial. Eamon Gilmore said, "I urge Ugandan authorities to uphold the rule of law and due process."
The Ugandan Human Rights Commission (UHRC) released a statement on Friday a day after it said it was barred by the constitution from investigating cases before the court, such as that of the Kakwenza requesting that the government to "immediately" free novelist Kakwenza Rukirabashaija, or present and charge him in court.
"The UHRC has been visiting several security and jail facilities across the country in the last few days to locate him.
Security agencies and relevant government officials have also been contacted by the Commission to guarantee that justice is served for Kakwenza.
While we continue our search for Kakwenza, we urge the government to either release him immediately or produce him and charge him in a courts of law," the statement read.
The novelist, on the other hand, has yet to be charged in a court of law. The Uganda Police Force has also ignored a court order to free the novelist granted by Makindye Chief Magistrate Court Grade One Magistrate Irene Nambatya on January 4, 2022.
Mr Charles Twiine, a spokesman for the Criminal Investigations Directorate, said on Monday that Kakwenza would be presented in court on Tuesday last week.
On Saturday, January 8, the East Africa Law Society (EALS), an umbrella regional bar organisation, released a statement "strongly denouncing" the infringement of Ugandan novelist and human rights campaigner Kakwenza Rukirabashaija's rights.
"The East Africa Law Society strongly condemns the violation of his rights as guaranteed by the Ugandan Constitution and several international instruments to which Uganda is a party, including the Treaty Establishing the East African Community, which requires member countries to ensure respect for human rights and rule of law (Articles 6 (d) and 7 (2))."
Most importantly, it should be underlined that EALS strongly opposes the continuous disobedience of the court order in this case.
"All judicial systems are built on the foundation of respect for court orders, which is the cornerstone of the rule of law. We implore the Ugandan government to obey the court's judgment and provide Mr. Rukirabashaija with constitutionally granted due process," Reads the statement.
The police have recently been accused of disobeying court orders, but Attorney General Kiryowa Kiwanuka advised them not to do so in November. Mr Kiwanuka wrote to Inspector General of Police Martins Okoth-Ochola on November 4, 2021, instructing police to always follow all court instructions to avoid litigation and rewards.
Mr Kiwanuka wrote at the time, "The purpose of this letter is to advise you to direct your officers to comply with the said directives of the court and perform their duties and obligations as is required by law, as failure to do so may result in contempt of court proceedings filed against the Inspector General of Police personally."
The police spokesperson, Fred Enanga, subsequently stated that they will follow the Attorney General's court instructions. Mr Kakwenza's ongoing detention has been criticized by international and local human rights advocates.
Arrests on many occasions
The author obtained a claim for "The Greedy Barbarian," a satire novel set in 2020 that depicts high-level corruption in a fictional society. He won the PEN Pinter Prize for an International Writer of Courage in 2021, which is given yearly to a writer who has been persecuted for expressing their opinions.
Since the publication of "The Greedy Barbarian," Kakwenza has been detained several times. He claims he was tortured while being questioned about his work by military intelligence.
He was accused of breaking the Covid-19 social distance regulations, inciting violence, and encouraging sectarianism at the time. In his most recent book, "banana republic: Where Writing is Treasonous," he described his experience in detention as "inhumane and demeaning."
Museveni has ruled Uganda since assuming power in 1986, when he helped end years of dictatorship under Idi Amin and Milton Obote. He was once lauded as a reformer.
However, the former rebel leader has cracked down on criticism and amended the constitution to allow him to run for office multiple times.
Journalists have been attacked, lawyers have been imprisoned, election monitors have been prosecuted, and opposition leaders have been violently muzzled in Uganda because of Museveni's dictatorship.
The US imposed sanctions on Uganda's military intelligence head, Major General Abel Kandiho, last month, alleging his role in significant human rights violations such as beatings, sexual assault, and electrocution.
Two additional members of Uganda's military forces were sentenced to long prison terms just two days after the punishments were imposed for their roles in the violence against demonstrators in 2020, which resulted in the deaths of more than 50 people.
Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa has taken a three-week break and handed over power to his deputy Constantino Chiwenga.
President Mnangagwa's office on Friday said the 79 year-old Head of State will remain in the country during his annual vacation, which began on Thursday and will run until February 5.
"During this period, Honourable Vice President, General (Retired) (Constantino) Chiwenga is acting president," the president's spokesperson George Charamba said in a brief statement.
On Twitter Mr Charamba added: "He will spend the break in the country, largely at his farm."
Mr Ncube, who was a close ally of the President, was accused of engineering intraparty violence in Zanu PF during internal elections in President Mnangagwa's Midlands Province.
A fortnight ago, Zanu PF held its first internal elections since the ouster of its long-time leader Robert Mugabe in 2017.
The polls were marred by allegations of massive rigging and violence by different factions. The 2017 coup catapulted President Mnangagwa, a long-time confidant of Mr Mugabe, into power.
Gen Chiwenga was the commander of the Zimbabwe Defense Forces at the time of the coup.
There are reports that the two are embroiled in a vicious power struggle after President Mnanagwa allegedly reneged on a deal to only serve for one term and hand over power to his deputy.
Unlike Mr Mugabe, who spent his vacations in Malaysia and Singapore, President Mnangagwa does not travel outside the country. By Kitsepile Nyathi, Daily Nation
Five journalists and their driver died in a ghastly car crash on Tuesday 11 January in Nyamikoma area in Busega district, Simiyu Region in northern Tanzania.
The journalists were traveling in the convoy of the Simiyu Regional Commissioner, David Kafulila, to a public event in Ukerewe, as part of the tour of Mwanza province.
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) joins its affiliate the Journalists Workers Union of Tanzania (JOWUTA) in extending its sincere condolences to the families of the journalists who lost their lives and to all the media fraternity in Tanzania.
The vehicle was reportedly involved in a head collision with a minibus coming in the opposite direction which attempted to overtake other cars and crashed in their convoy of local communication officials, television and newspapers journalists.
According to a statement issued by JOWUTA, the media workers who lost their lives in the accident were Mwanza Regional Information officer, Abel Ngapemba, Ukerewe District Information Officer, Steven Msengi, Johari Shani of the Uhuru Media Group, Husna Mlonzi, Anthony Chuwa of ITV and the Driver, Paul Silanga all died on the spot. Vanny Charles of Icon TV and Freelance journalist, Tunu Herman, sustained injuries and are still admitted in hospital. The crash also claimed the lives of eight other passengers.
JOWUTA, who joins victims' families and loved ones in mourning, also paid tribute to all the deceased journalists for their service to the Tanzanian media with professionalism and dedication.
IFJ General Secretary Anthony Bellanger said: "This is a terrible tragedy that is devastating to the whole profession. These journalists died in the service of their public and their deaths are a huge loss to their families and profession. The IFJ extends its deepest condolences to their families, colleagues in JOWUTA and the entire media fraternity in Tanzania." - International Federation of Journalists
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