Malawi’s President Lazarus Chakwera has renewed his appeal for international assistance to address severe food shortages affecting more than one-quarter of the country’s population of 20 million.

Malawi is currently facing one of its worst food shortage situations in decades with about 5.7 million people affected, according to a recent Malawi Vulnerability Assessment Committee report. This is about a quarter of the country’s population of about 20 million people.

In rural areas, some villagers were reported to be surviving on wild plants like buffalo beans. In a televised address to the nation Wednesday evening, Chakwera discussed the ongoing issue.

"We are not out of the woods yet," he said. "This is why I continue to lobby for international support to address the humanitarian crisis we are facing."

In March of this year, the president appealed for $200 million in food aid for millions of citizens facing starvation due to a drought linked to the El Nino weather conditions. In his renewed appeal on Wednesday, Chakwera acknowledged the donations that Malawi has so far received from various development partners through the U.N. World Food Program.

"From the governments of Sweden and Netherlands, the WFP received a donation of $11.8 million," he said. "I say thank you. From the government of the United States, the WFP received a donation of $7 million, and I say thank you. From the government of the United Kingdom, the WFP received a donation of $3.8 million, and I say thank you. From the government of Japan, the WFP received a donation of $1.9 million, and I say thank you."

Chakwera said additional food aid is urgently needed to save lives.

"If you are out there standing with Malawians and giving them the help they need during this crisis, I can assure you that Malawians are honest and fair-minded people who will remember those who are bringing them food in this season of drought and hunger, and who know how to distinguish them from those who brought them nothing," he said.

Kylie Scott, head of partnerships and communication for the UN’s World Food Program in Malawi, told VOA that the UN’s food agency still needs more assistance.

"At the moment, we have got funding until the end of the year," Scott said. "But there will be a gap until March 2025. So, we are working really hard to make sure that we can close that gap and make sure that no one gets left behind."

In the meantime, Malawi’s Department of Disaster Management Affairs, the World Food Program and several local humanitarian organizations are distributing assistance to communities facing food shortages. By VOA

The Ethics and Anti-corruption Commission (EACC) has once again initiated the prosecution of 47 public officials accused of engaging in graft adding up to Ksh2.1 billion according to its latest corruption report.

The commission has reportedly handed over the files to the  Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) who is expected to make the decision on the way forward. 

Among high-profile officials facing prosecution is Gladys Boss Shollei, the current deputy speaker of the National Assembly who is facing charges of alleged graft during her tenure as the Judiciary Chief Registrar.

Shollei is being accused of the irregular purchase of the Chief Justice’s residence that cost Ksh310 million in 2013. It remains unoccupied to date.

Alongside her then-deputy, EACC has recommended they be charged with abuse of office and lack of project planning.

Former Wajir Governor Mohamed Mohamoud is also facing charges regarding tender irregularities totaling up to Ksh1.2 billion. 

His wife, daughter, and senior aide have also been implicated in the corruption scandal as well as 12 companies connected to him.

Payments to the companies were supposedly made without supporting documents and thus the 12 directors are all facing a court case.

Alex Tolgos, the Elgeyo Marakwet ex-governor, also faces similar charges of tender irregularities amounting to Ksh1.8 million as well as conflict of interest and unlawful acquisition of property.

He is accused of carrying out this deal in the procurement of petroleum products from a company associated with him and a close associate. 

Three senior accountants at the Kenya Rural Roads Authority (KeRRA) are also on the radar of the commission for similar charges in a scheme worth Ksh274 million.

The EACC also urged the parliament to fast-track a conflict of interest bill in order to ensure similar cases are handled efficiently. By Maurine Kirambia, Kenynas.co.ke

Dubliner Declan Peppard joined British Airways from school as a reservation sales agent back in 1983 on the princely salary of IR£6,400 a year. It was a modest start to what blossomed into a fruitful 20-year career with the airline that saw Peppard appointed to senior management positions in Zimbabwe, Uganda and Brazil.

Since 2000, Peppard has lived in the Ugandan capital, Kampala, and for the past 20 years he has been at the helm of Travel care Uganda, a corporate travel agency he cofounded in 2005. More than 90 per cent of the company’s turnover is related to outbound business travel, with the remainder accounted for by private holidaymakers, typically from Europe, who come to Uganda mainly for gorilla trekking.

Travel care employs 14 people and, although Uganda is a relatively small market, he says the company has “become a big fish in a small pond and the quality of the service provided by our travel advisers rivals and often surpasses what you’d find anywhere else”, who used to run with Raheny Shamrocks and now keeps fit by going to the gym six times a week and playing what he describes as “lousy” golf.

Peppard attributes his peripatetic career to the fact that, in his early 20s, he became part of BA’s overseas pool, which was a small group of employees who provided cover at BA operations around the world. “This was 1989 when BA still had many expat country managers and airport managers on the payroll and we covered when they were on leave or there was a crisis,” says Peppard. 

“In 1991 I was posted to Zimbabwe as customer service manager with the airline and spent two years there. In 1993 I moved to Uganda as country manager and my key responsibility was to make the London-Entebbe route profitable. With the help of a great team, we succeeded. In 1997 I left Uganda for the role of commercial director for Brazil, with a remit to dramatically improve our sales performance: over the course of two years, we grew sales from $34 million to $64 million.”

In 2000, Peppard was headhunted to run a travel agency in Uganda. Five years later he and two others struck out on their own to set up Travel care Uganda.

Peppard says the sudden shutdown of international travel when Covid hit was a very worrying time for the company but it weathered the storm by getting involved in arranging repatriation flights.

“Thankfully this generated enough income to tide us over with no lay-offs but when it happened, I thought, jeepers we’re really in trouble now,” says Peppard, who has a family of four girls including twins at college in the UK and daughters working in Dublin and Harare.

“Opening and operating a business in Uganda is relatively straightforward. And as long as you adhere to the regulatory requirements, you can grow your business with minimal obstacles,” says Peppard. “It’s crucial to remember that, even though I now hold both Irish and Ugandan passports, I am still a guest in Uganda and must always respect the local laws, culture, and traditions.

“One key aspect of doing business here is the importance of maintaining a respectful and human approach to both colleagues and customers. In Uganda, this personal touch is deeply valued and integral to business success. I sometimes feel that, in Ireland, with the rapid advance of technology, we might have lost a bit of that human connection in our business dealings.” 

The people here are genuinely good-natured and extremely friendly. We are free of violent crime and I have never felt threatened or at risk, even during elections

Peppard says there is a vibrant Irish community in Uganda with events such as St Patrick’s Day, All Irelands and the Six Nations tournament well celebrated.

“Our current ambassador, Kevin Colgan, regularly hosts the Irish community and every one of the ambassadors who have been here in my time have been truly remarkable individuals who have enhanced Ireland’s reputation in the region,” he says. 

Despite being a big fan of the “perfect Ugandan climate, which never gets too hot and is never cold”, Peppard misses the changing seasons and the crisp autumn air that marks the passage of time back home.

“The year here is divided by wet and dry seasons and when it rains, it really rains and there’s a lot of flooding and the road system struggles to cope. You try not to drive anywhere at this point as a normal 15-minute journey could take an hour or even two. At the best of times, Kampala is a bit chaotic with horrendous traffic and overcrowding with private taxis and boda-bodas (bicycle and motorcycle taxis).

“But the people here are genuinely good-natured and extremely friendly. We are free of violent crime and I have never felt threatened or at risk, even during elections.

“Sometimes living in a landlocked country makes me long for the sea as there’s nothing quite like the calming presence of the ocean. And I truly miss St Anne’s Park in Dublin. It’s always been my sanctuary, a place where I could escape, reflect and recharge,” Peppard adds.

“On the plus side, working abroad has given me opportunities I wouldn’t have had at home, particularly in terms of the exceptional training I received during my time with British Airways. The overseas pool programme provided invaluable experience that greatly influenced my career. Now as I approach 41 years in the airline and travel industries, I can confidently say that such international exposure has been pivotal to my success in business.” By Olive Keogh, Irish Times

The reconstitution of the electoral body suffered another blow on Friday after the High Court quashed changes to the law.

A case filed by Busia Senator Okiya Omtatah, and supported by 13 opposition Senators, has rocked the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).

The High Court declared that last year’s amendments to the IEBC Act were unconstitutional. 

As a result, the appointment of the seven-member selection panel and subsequent inclusion of the opposition members to the panel through the National Dialogue Committee (Nadco) is now null and void.

Unless the Court of Appeal intervenes, both the government and the opposition will have to go back to the drawing board and use the law as it was before the 2023 amendments to constitute a new body. 

If Kenyans must wait for MPs to amend the law again, then both houses of Parliament will need to consider fresh amendments before a new team is constituted.

This comes as time runs out to prepare for the next General Election, with the IEBC failing to meet the deadline for reviewing constituency boundaries.

In his verdict, Justice Lawrence Mugambi said that the Senate had not been forthcoming about what transpired regarding a report that raised pertinent issues about the selection of the panel to recruit the commissioners. 

According to Justice Mugambi, the withdrawal of the Senate Standing Committee on Justice, Legal Affairs, and Human Rights report from the House floor meant that public views were trashed without consideration.

“The respondents have not been transparent about what happened to the public views that were gathered and which informed the Senate Committee’s report, leading to recommendations for amendments after the report was withdrawn without debate,” said Justice Mugambi. 

He pointed out that although the National Assembly claimed that it had conducted public participation, this did not absolve the Upper House from scrutiny for failing to do the same.

“In the circumstances, I find that the processing of the Bill in the Senate violated Articles 118 (1) (b) and 10(2) (a) of the Constitution hence the ensuing Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (Amendment) Act No. 1 of 2023 is unconstitutional null and void,” he ruled.

Omtatah, in his case, argued that the IEBC selection panel was appointed using an illegally passed law. He claimed the Senate irregularly passed the law without considering the views, opinions, and report of the committee. 

The Act established a seven-member IEBC selection panel made up of two persons from the Parliamentary Service Commission, one nominated by the Public Service Commission, Political Parties Liaison Committee and the Law Society of Kenya, and two nominated by religious organisations.

After the law came into force, President William Ruto appointed Bethuel Sugut, Euralia Atieno, Charity Kisotu, Evans Misati, Benson Ngugi, Nelson Makanda, and Fatuma Saman to the Selection Panel on February 27, 2023.By Kamau Muthoni, The Standard